2016 was a great year for animation. Disney gave the world a new musical masterwork in “Moana.” Pixar had its biggest hit up to that point in “Finding Dory.” Even underdog Laika came out with cult classic “Kubo and the Two Strings.” But the winner of the Best Animated Feature Oscar that year wasn’t any of those films (“Finding Dory” wasn’t even nominated), it was another Disney movie, “Zootopia.” It wasn’t a terribly controversial choice either, with critics and audiences alike praising the film for its more-thoughtful-than-usual look at race relations, symbolized as relations between various species of animals, though usually taking the form of predators vs. prey. The film was so successful, funny, and poignant that at time I advised Disney to add a whole Zootopia section to their Animal Kingdom theme park. To date, the property has only gotten a single attraction – a 3D movie in the park’s Tree of Life – but it’s in a key location. Anyway, here’s a look at the less-poignant sequel.

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Following the events of the first “Zootopia,” bunny police officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) was hailed as a hero, along with her unlikely ally, former con-artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). Now the two are both officially cops, and partnered together as a mismatched-on-paper duo that Judy is determined to turn into the superstars of the station. She decides that the best way for the team to make its mark is to bust a smuggling operation without consulting buffalo police chief Bogo (Idris Elba) or even Nick. Poor communication turns the desired bust into, well, a bust, and Judy and Nick soon find themselves at the bottom of the department’s figurative food chain.

Nick wants to wait patiently to get out of the (again, figurative) doghouse, but Judy wants to turn things around immediately, so she doubles down and drags Nick into another unauthorized mission, this time to protect the theft of a book that details how the weather accommodates all the animals in Zootopia. The book belongs to the powerful Lynxley family (of lynxes, naturally), and patriarch Milton (David Strathairn) has graciously decided to display the book at a fancy gala, where Judy interacts with his son Pawbert (Andy Samberg), the most charmingly awkward runt of a family since Hans from “Frozen.”

The book does indeed get stolen by Gary (Ke Huy Quan), a venomous snake. This is a big deal for the city, as for all its supposed inclusivity, reptiles, especially snakes, have been banished from Zootopia for the last century. Judy and Nick naturally want to stop Gary, but there’s more to the story than a simple book theft. If Gary can just use the book for its intended purpose, he can end the reptile ban and make life better for himself, his family, and his whole class of animals. But the city at large, including the Lynxleys and stallion mayor Winddancer (Patrick Warburton), are more interested in protecting the accepted truth than the actual one. Judy and Nick have to rely on unconventional resources like beaver conspiracy theorist Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster), all while questioning if they really belong as partners after all.

“Zootopia 2” is a fine movie, if missing some of the magic of the first. A few too many gags take the form of terrible puns or played-out schtick, but there are more than enough funny jokes to balance them out. What really dinged the film for me was the idea of the acceptance of the reptilian race hinging on a single piece of information. The Zootopia of the first movie was too complex to rely on outdated concepts like “banishment.” Prejudice, sure, maybe mistreatment, but not black-and-white banishment. Oversimplified shortcuts like these are why this film can’t measure up to its predecessor. Then again, the worldbuilding is still creative and the chemistry among the cast still sharp. It’s a movie that I’m happy to recommend, but as with last year’s “Moana 2,” that happiness is somewhat dulled by remembering the heights that the franchise reached before.

Grade: B-

“Zootopia 2” is rated PG for action/violence and rude humor. Its running time is 108 minutes.

Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.