6 Innuendos in Zootopia 2 That Only Adults Understand

Discover jokes about safe words, threesomes, & 'The Shining'

Co-authored by Daniel Merrifield and Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: March 20, 2026 Fact Checked

The best kids' movies are the ones that are as entertaining for parents and other adults as they are for children. That's why, if you're a grown-up watching the hit Disney cartoon Zootopia 2 (2025), you'll probably notice subtle innuendos and references to horror films that will go over most kids' heads. If you didn't catch all the adult jokes in Zootopia 2, never fear! We're here to share all the film's "dirty" secrets. Keep reading to see what you missed!

Are there adult jokes in Zootopia 2?

Yes, there are some references to innuendos and horror films that only adults will understand. For example, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps go to partners therapy (a play on couples therapy) and get a "safe word" to use for when their session gets too intense. The movie also parodies The Shining and The Silence of the Lambs.

1

Nick and Judy use "safe words" in partners therapy.

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Their therapist tells them to use a safe word if their session gets too intense. At the beginning of the movie, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps go to a work partners therapy to try to sort out their differences. "Partners therapy" is a joking reference to "couples therapy," but that's not where the innuendo ends, explains Film and Pop Culture Analyst Daniel Merrifield.^{[1]
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Daniel Merrifield
Film and Pop Culture Analyst

Expert Interview} During their session, the therapist gives Nick and Judy a "safe word" to say if their session gets too emotionally charged. In real life, a safe word is a word adults say when they're having sex and one partner decides they want to stop.
- Did you know Nick Wilde is wikiHow readers' number-one "hear me out" character? See who else made the cut at our article, "The Most Common "Hear Me Out" Characters, According to Our Readers"!

2

Nibbles Maplestick suggests forming a "threesome."

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The conspiracy theorist and "Ewetuber" wants to partner up with Nick and Judy. The "threesome" Nibbles references is completely platonic, of course. She really just wants to help Nick and Judy find Gary De'Snake and prove the reptile community's innocence in a crime. But adults may find it a funny double entendre, since a real-life threesome is when three people engage in sexual activities with one another at the same time.
- Later in the movie, when Gary De'Snake joins forces with Nibbles, Nick, and Judy, Nibbles discusses forming a "foursome."

3

The maze chase scene parodies The Shining.

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Pawbert channels Jack Torrance as he pursues Judy through a hedge maze. In Stanley Kubrick's iconic 1980 horror film The Shining, the main character, Jack Torrance, chases his young son Danny through a hedge maze in an attempt to murder him. It's the middle of winter in the Rocky Mountains, and—spoiler alert—Jack freezes to death before he can find Danny. In Zootopia 2, Pawbert chases Judy through a sprawling hedge maze buried in ice and snow.
- He even does the "Kubrick stare," an iconic movie expression where the character tilts their head down, directs their gaze upward, and stares directly into the camera.^{[2]
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4

Nick's jail scene references The Silence of the Lambs.

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Nick encounters Zootopia villain Dawn Bellwether in a Hannibal Lecter-style cell. The Silence of the Lambs is a famous psychological horror movie about Hannibal Lecter, an imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer whose help the FBI needs in order to hunt down another killer. At the beginning of the 1991 film, FBI agent Clarice Starling meets Lecter in his cell to interview him. In Zootopia 2, while trying to escape from prison, Nick Wilde discovers the villain from the first film, Dawn Bellwether, locked up by herself in a cell with bulletproof walls. This encounter parodies Starling and Lecter's first meeting.
- What makes it even funnier is that Bellwether is a sheep.

5

The soundtrack references furries with the song "Hot Fursuit."

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The track title is a pun, but also likely a furry reference. "Hot Fursuit" is obviously a play on the term "hot pursuit," which refers to an intense chase. But it is also probably a tongue-in-cheek reference to the furry community. Furries are people who dress up in animal costumes called fursuits, so they can pretend to be animals instead of humans.
- Many people think being a furry is about sexual kinks, but that's a stereotype that doesn't apply to the community as a whole. Most furries just want to hang out with other furries and pretend to be animals, which is super fun!

6

Judith wants to make cement shoes for Duke Weaselton.

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In Zootopia, Mr. Big's daughter Fru Fru gets married, and in Zootopia 2, she has a daughter named Judith. Judith loves helping her grandfather interrogate other animals. In one scene, she makes Nick kiss her candy ring like he kissed Mr. Big's ring in the first movie. Later, she reminds her grandfather, "You said we were gonna make some nice shoes for Mr. Weaselton." Then she smirks. Though she doesn't explicitly say it, it's obvious that the "nice shoes" are cement shoes, which would cause Duke Weaselton to sink to the bottom of the river and drown. Like grandfather, like granddaughter!