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Giacchino's instrumentation for Zootopia 2 is still much the same as heard in the first score, which means that almost every instrumental sound is pilfered for humor. And, of course, there are silly retro vocals that tickle his fancy, too. He rented exotic instruments with the enthusiasm of a middle-schooler, in his words, and the result is a combination of every orchestral and pop instrumental blend you can imagine along with ethnic solos from all over the world. There's 1970's rock, 1960's jazz, 1950's jingles, Western hoedown lines, weird 1920's lounge tones with a banjo, and snazzy orchestral espionage interludes. You'll hear East Indian sitar tones for the snakes, creepy cimbalom for the lynxes, French accordion for faux romance, twangy Country fiddle, banjo, and harmonica for straight, dorky, hick humor, and Swedish goat-herding tune silliness. But not all these applications amount to a steaming pile of sonic shit, as the most appreciable contributor is what sounds like a bansuri flute in a wet atmosphere for the snakes and their origins tale. Giacchino admits that this score is pure insanity for much of its length, actually stating that some of the sequel's music is "more cartoony and dumber." The orchestral bombast is indeed there, though, but it takes several cues to even show up in the work. Some of the action cues are very well written, "Get Out of Lodge" in particular. The tricky aspect about Zootopia 2 is that it's one of those scores that can be really awful in its first half but then unleashes great material thereafter. In this case, the tone of the score shifts in "Wilde Caught" to replace the idiocy with exotic adventure and the maturation of the two new major themes, both of which definite winners. This stance continues that monumental tonal resonance in "Cover Story" and persists in flashes through the climax of the story, later culminating in "Zootopia 2 Suite" for one of the composer's best single cues in years. If you started this score at "Wilde Caught" and pretended that the entire first half didn't exist, you'd be hearing top-notch Giacchino adventure/fantasy music with occasional sideshows of animation genre levity. Thankfully, the thematic narrative of this score is far better organized and stated than that of its predecessor, too, yielding the main attractions.

The score for Zootopia offered themes for both Judy and Nick, but it was really just the rabbit's theme that anchored the sensitivity of the narrative. Her identity returns in Zootopia 2, its ascending then descending three-note phrases ranging from robust to remorseful but best known for the latter mode. Heard briefly on brass at 1:19 into "The Old Zoo Review" but eaten alive by the 1970's groove, her theme is slick with confidence on retro tones in "A Commuted Relationship" and occupies a lazy guitar at 1:02 into "Journey to the Journal." It's slowed back to its contemplative origins in "Gary a Twain Shall Meet," and this mode continues early in "Bunny and Overshare" on solo cello as well. The Judy melody adopts one of the score's new exotic theme's personalities at 2:06 into "Our Differences Don't Make Any Difference" for a change. It opens "Zootopia 2 Suite" lightly on electric guitar and revisits the finale cue's grand, adventure-worthy posture in the second minute, later returning to solo cello at the end of the cue. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the theme for Nick, which was summarized nicely in last minutes of "Suite From Zootopia" in the first score. This theme seems completely absent from Zootopia 2, perhaps because he is a changed character. Given the idea's lackluster development before, its absence here is disappointing. But Giacchino makes up for it by supplying two outstanding new themes for this score, one for the snakes and the origins of the city while the other representing the lynxes and their revealed history of deception. The origin theme for the snakes is structured and rendered much like Steve Jablonsky's equally attractive theme for the egg artifacts in Red Notice, and it likewise stands out like a sore thumb here. It ultimately represents the integration of reptiles back into the city and slithers around key in its progressions, which is clever. It takes a while for this idea to reveal itself, foreshadowed for a moment in the jazz of "The Old Zoo Review" and previewed as a quasi-adventure alternative in the middle of "Journey to the Journal." The idea introduces itself with the snake during the action of "Snake Away Pt. 1" and starts to focus better in the first minute of "Snake Away Pt. 2."

The exotic allure of the snakes and origins theme in Zootopia 2 fully consolidates in "Wilde Caught" and has truly nice flavor to it. It continues with the bansuri flute and other worldly contributors in "Cover Story" and persists in similar form at the outsets of "Wall of Judy" and "The Weak Lynx." Connecting the rabbit and lynx themes in "Gary a Twain Shall Meet," the identity is softly appealing on the heart-melting bansuri at start of "World's Worst Detention" and guides the whole cue. In the summary closing, this theme is featured at 2:33 into "Zootopia 2 Suite" in its familiar mysterious shades and developed really well into a thunderously percussive extension for the ensemble. Later, it blends with the rabbit theme at the end of the suite for a fantastic send-off. Revealing itself a little more slowly is Giacchino's sneaky theme for the lynx, which doubles for the concept of deception as appropriate. It serves as a really great, waltz-inspired counterpoint to the snake theme and shines fully in all its shifty glory during three cues. The cimbalom introduces itself as the representation of the idea in "Wilde Caught," and the theme marches on that instrument with varying other soloists in the midsection of "Cover Story." After a muscular rendition on brass in the latter half of "Wall of Judy," this identity becomes intelligently sneaky in its underlying chords a minute into "The Weak Lynx" and is extensively presented in the latter half of "Gary a Twain Shall Meet." As with the snake theme, the one for the lynx is once again very well developed in the middle of "Zootopia 2 Suite," where Giacchini surely plays up the waltz rhythm for all the high-class insincerity he can muster. It cannot be understated just how different the second half of this score is from the first. There are still a few wild diversions in the latter portions, and the absolutely wretched "Lizard Lounge" bonus track after the suite on the album is perfect torture material to use whenever you seek to make a poor impression upon someone. But there is over twenty-five minutes of very engaging and easily digestible development of the two new themes in that latter half, and don't miss it because the rest of the score is, as the composer concedes, insane. Do yourself a favor and start listening at "Wilde Caught" before visiting the rest, and be prepared to tap "Zootopia 2 Suite" as a certain inclusion in any compilation of Giacchino's best thematic summaries, vastly eclipsing the first score.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Michael Giacchino reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.47 (in 45 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.13 (in 24,477 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 66:52