Next stop? Zootopia!

Zootopia 2, the highly anticipated sequel, arrives in theaters tomorrow — and if the early reviews are any indication, the nine-year wait has certainly been well worth it.

While 2016’s Zootopia charts the unlikely friendship between an anxious, rookie rabbit police officer, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), and a cynical con artist fox, Nick (Jason Bateman), Zootopia 2, which picks up a week after the initial film wraps, explores the complexities of their dynamic and the challenge of both establishing — and maintaining — mutual respect. While Judy and Nick’s affecting albeit dysfunctional bond remains the film’s focal point, where Zootopia 2 also shines is in its delightful roster of animal characters, both old and new.

“I feel that this movie is a little bit more about individual differences, but about how those individual differences make us better puzzle pieces,” Goodwin told ABC News of Zootopia 2. “We can’t be our best selves without other people’s different best selves. I think it’s a really powerful thing that comes together.”

Here’s what critics are saying about Zootopia 2:

‘Dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor and doses of genuine emotion’

Referring to Zootopia 2 as the “best buddy cop movie in eons,” the Hollywood Reporter praises the sequel for its “fast and furious” gags and exceptional voice talents (Andy Samberg, Macaulay Culkin, John Leguizamo and Dwayne Johnson are among the stars that made vocal contributions to the film).

“More than worth” the near-decade-long wait, the Hollywood Reporter says that Zootopia 2 “ knocks it out of the park” with its “dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor and doses of genuine emotion.” Goodwin and Bateman have once again brought an affecting, magical quality to their onscreen, animated counterparts, and their relationship “forms the heart of the film.”

‘Comedy first and crime-film homages second’

Zootopia and Zootopia 2 both combine comedy and homage to crime films,  but where they shine, according to Variety, is on their underlying, more affecting level.

“These movies are comedies first and crime-film homages second, but it’s their tertiary value as social commentary that makes the franchise so indispensable: Behind the laughs are teachable moments,” highlights.

With Zootopia 2, co-directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard successfully “steer us through all-new neighborhoods” and provide “fresh insights into oft-stereotyped critters along the way.”

A ‘slightly watered down’ version of the original

While Zootopia excels in its thoughtful and affecting approach to race and prejudice, its sequel, the Associated Press argues, struggles to capture that same depth. Described by the outlet as “a little toothless,” Zootopia 2 offers “a slightly watered down version of what came before.”

Per the Associated Press: “The fun caper spirit of the first movie is alive enough to carry Bush and Howard’s film, but you can’t help feel like sequel-ization also means domestication.”

‘A stagnant sequel’

Despite offering up a sweet message and stellar performances from Goodwin and Bateman, the AV Club criticizes Zootopia 2 for being a “stagnant sequel” that would rather repeat the beats of the first film than “enter new territory.”

“There are plenty of callbacks to the original to delight young fans … and plenty of knowing jokes for the adults in the audience,” the outlet says. “A sequel of this magnitude has the ability to reach higher, though, with more creative world-building balancing out the dime-a-dozen pop culture references and cheap gags.”

An ‘ode to community’ and the pursuit of justice

RogerEbert.com describes the animated film as “pure delight,” that’s “every bit as exciting and heartwarming and imaginative” as the original. Zootopia 2 is “an ode to community, those who fight for justice” and “to being open-minded about who to trust,” the outlet says.

Above all, the film is about friendship and the beauty that lies in harmoniously coexisting in “a gorgeously designed world where animals of all sizes and habitats live together in peace.”

‘Funny, zippy, and highly enjoyable’ with a pro-equality message

IndieWire commends Zootopia 2 for its balancing of hysterical hijinks and meaningful messages. The long-awaited sequel is pro-equality and anti-racist, all without sacrificing any “funny, zippy, and highly enjoyable” moments. Other Disney films could take note, per IndieWire: Zootopia 2’s got heart.

“It’s also got the kind of heart that has too long seemed to be missing from other Disney animated offerings,” according to the outlet. “There’s a weight to the messaging of the film. There’s real care behind the bond between Nick and Judy.”