Tear Jerker / Zootopia 2

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WARNING: Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies to Tear Jerker pages. All spoilers will be unmarked.

• The oppression Gary and his fellow reptiles have suffered over the years.
  Jesús: The fanging didn't just change how folks saw snakes. No mammals trusted any reptile after that. That's why we all left.
• When Jesús is talking about how Marsh Market is going to be paved over as part of the Lynxleys' plan to expand Tundratown, we cut to shots of other reptiles expressing their concerns over the situation. One shot is of a family of lizards, with the father wrapping his arms around his wife and child.
• Nick and Judy's relationship takes a turn for the worse throughout the whole Copenhoofen segment, where Judy blames Nick for "losing the snake" because he was more concerned with saving her life when she was running out of air in the water tube. It’s at this point that their pent-up frustrations with each other finally boil to the surface. As they climb up to the Honeymoon Lodge, they then get into an argument (which is played for laughs, at least at first) in the form of fighting over the carrot pen that's a symbol of their partnership until it results in the pen falling from the cliff and shattering on the ground. Both are momentarily stunned silent by this, before Judy angrily starts climbing even faster, ignoring Nick and going off into the lodge without him. Nick says nothing to Judy, clearly unable to find the right words, indicating how terrible he feels. Nick searches the lodge, wanting to apologize, but the floor gives out beneath him, and he realizes the building is too weak to support more weight. He also sees that the ZPD is almost at the top of the canyon. When Nick finds Judy, he yells that they need to escape before the cops get there. They argue again over whether or not to keep going in the conspiracy: Judy because it's the right thing to do and Nick because he knows that if they keep going, there's a very good chance they'll both be killed by the Lynxleys. Nick eventually snaps and says he doesn't care about the case. This makes Judy stop cold as these words very clearly break her heart, before Nick begs her that the whole thing isn't worth dying for. Judy claims that the world will never be a better place if no one is brave enough to do the right thing. Nick refutes that sometimes being a hero doesn’t make a difference. This makes her think that maybe they are just too different to be a good team, even though Nick later confesses to Nibbles in jail that, even though he didn't care about the case... he did care about Judy, and was more worried about what would happen to her if they kept pursuing Gary. Made even more heartbreaking in the novel when Nick thinks Judy ditched him for Pawbert.
  Nick: And then she left me for the cat.
• When Nick gets arrested and thrown into a prison van, Milton cruelly tells him how foxes are lesser animals just like aquatic mammals. Since Nick is a victim of prejudice for being a fox, this is a serious Kick the Fox moment. It also makes one wonder if any fellow predator has ever called Nick that before.
• After Judy is rescued by Gary and Pawbert, when she regains consciousness (as she had taken a tranquilizer to the arm), the first thing she asks is where Nick is, hoping that somehow he was able to be saved by them. But when they say the ZPD got him, she looks heartbroken. It's clear that despite their argument, she never wanted to leave her best friend, and clearly wants to go back. But Pawbert says the only thing they can do now is keep moving, and Gary says that by solving the mystery, they will save Nick. It still doesn't reassure her completely. She misses him.
• That poor old tortoise lady who was unceremoniously murdered by Ebenezer Lynxley (her boss) all those years ago, trying to save and return Agnes' patent.
  • Not only that, but the first one to come out and see if the tortoise was okay was Agnes. While this allowed her to grab the patent (the only evidence that could clear her name and expose Ebenezer), it also made it easier for Lynxley to frame her. Agnes was almost arrested simply for trying to be a decent reptile.
• The exodus of the reptiles as a result of Ebenezer's doings.
• The third act's climax at the Weather Wall. Where to begin with this heartbreaking scene? First, how about the moment Pawbert betrays Judy and Gary, stabbing her with snake venom and trying to freeze Gary to death? Judy is left totally immobilized, her body slowly shutting down. With the last bit of strength before going completely limp, she begs Pawbert, who seemed like such a nice guy, to reconsider.
  Judy: (Grabbing his leg, begging) Pawbert, please... You can be different than your family.
  Pawbert: I don't wanna be different.
  (He slams the door shut and locks it)
  • Judy and Gary's reactions to being betrayed and left behind by Pawbert, with the latter being left out in the cold after he understandably tried to attack Pawbert for stabbing Judy. The sad faces on both of them, with Gary shivering, show how heartbroken they are, as they both considered him a friend.
  • The worst part is that when Judy offers Pawbert her Last-Second Chance, Pawbert doesn't instantly reply. He pauses and looks away for a moment as if he's actually considering it. Part of him, on some level, wants to listen, but his need for validation wins out, and he crosses the point of no return.
    • There are other small moments that imply some level of regret. He immediately catches Judy after stabbing her, almost subconsciously before he lets her fall to the floor and when throwing Gary outside, he apologizes and says he hates to leave him out in the cold, but he's going to. Even when he confronts Nick, his ears fall down as he lies about Judy being dead while telling the former it was a quick death. The script even describes his look to Nick as one that says "sorry, you gotta die", showing he doesn't want to kill them but feels its necessary.
• Pawbert is injecting venom into Judy because he wants to frame GARY for the murders on the chance that he might survive, just like his great-grandfather did to Gary's great-grandmother.
  • Pawbert's rejection of Judy's plea that he could be different. In English, his words are "I don't wanna be different," which are bad enough. In Polish, he says "I've already been different." A small change, but one that very much underlines his motivation to be regarded as a "proper" Lynxley.
  • A subtle bit - after he walks away, there’s a Traitor Shot where Pawbert’s eye shine gives him Glowing Eyes of Doom in the dark…then he walks fully into the light, revealing his expression, rather than victorious or resolute, is regretful. He knows now he’s fully Beyond Redemption, and he’s not sure at all if it was worth it.
• When Pawbert viciously attacks Nick on the roof, he demands to know where Judy is. Pawbert dishonestly says that she's not only poisoned...she's DEAD. Nick looks as if his heart has been ripped out of his chest. At that point, he looks almost ready to give up his will to live. The charismatic fox is broken beyond possible recognition. Judy had been one of his sole reasons he thought he had meaning in his life. Now that meaning is GONE. Pawbert notices and plays on it, telling Nick to give up and stop fighting him because "She's gone!"
• Judy, almost totally immobilized, witnesses Nick's total despair and Pawbert's attempted murder over the security camera video monitor. She begins crying in heartbreak at the horrible sight, weeping that not only is Nick, her best friend, going to die, but he will suffer in grief and agony in his last moments. She nearly gives up hope. She can't bring herself to say that "Nick's gonna die." It's too horrible for her to say those three words.
  Judy: (tearfully) I can't... move. And, you're too cold to help... and he's gonna... Nick's gonna...
  • It's even harsher because, when Judy saw Nick on the security monitor earlier, she was so happy to see that he managed to escape custody and returned for her. First thing she likely wanted to do was rush down, give him a big hug, and apologize for their earlier tiff. But when Pawbert injects her with venom, she likely fears that chance is gone, and cries because she believes that if this is the end, the last thing that she and Nick did together was argue. She would never get the chance to apologize. Fortunately, Gary and Nick save her, and she's able to reunite with her best friend.
  • Judy has always been such an optimist. But this is the moment where she resigns herself to passing away as the thing she always feared she was: A failure. She had always tried so hard, even to the point where she accidentally put herself in danger (something Nick criticized her for at the beginning of the movie). Now she realizes that Nick's fear is coming to pass and feels horrible about it. Even if she somehow makes her way out of this one, she fears she'll be too late to save Nick. In short, the Wide-Eyed Idealist bunny comes very close to crossing the Despair Event Horizon on the verge of death.
• Gary's pep talk that he gives Judy is both this and heartwarming. He says she didn't fail, and that it was because of her good heart that he got a second chance. And he tells her it isn't over. They can still succeed. Gary then asks if it's okay to hug her, to which she weakly nods "yes." He's not only doing it to comfort her, but to warm himself up so he has enough strength to put his plan in motion.
  Gary: Judy... the world... was never... meant... to be... on one... animal's shoulders... That's why... my great-grandma... wanted... Zootopia... to be... for... everyone... so... we could... all... help... each other...
  Judy: (crying, losing strength) I... didn't... help...
  Gary: You did... You chose... to help... me... and became... my best... warm... blooded... friend... Very... warm...
• When Judy runs to save Nick, she has no idea that Gary will catch them. Keep in mind that Judy was seconds away from death just before this. She was fully prepared to die with Nick if she couldn't hold him and the roof at the same time.
• When Nick reunites with Judy on the roof after being saved from falling to his doom, both stare at each other for a second, unable to believe the other is alive. As if they've been struck by lightning, Judy and Nick rush up to each other at breakneck speed, and hug tighter than they've ever before, both bursting into tears, each sobbing that they thought they had lost the other. It's also powerful because, while Judy has been seen crying before, Nick is crying for the first time in possibly years.
• Nick opening up to Judy on the roof for the first time after being saved has to be the most heartwarming moment in the franchise. He admits everything.
  Nick: I don't care that we're different. You know? I- What I care about...is you. I care about you. Okay? And I didn't say it. I should've said it, but I didn't... because... (shrugs) Uh... Well... (chuckles) 'Cause I am an emotionally insecure source of your discomfort who's not good at expressing his feelings. Probably because I've been on my own my whole life. It's not an excuse; It's just...It's why instead of telling you that you're the best thing that ever happened to me, I-I make jokes about your ears and-and I tell you that you try too hard, when, you know, the truth is: I just don't want you to get hurt because...because no one else in the world matters more to me than you do.
  • Judy's reaction to what Nick has just said. She looks as if she's just milliseconds from bawling uncontrollably, her eyes huge with emotion, tears almost filling them to the brim. It's the best thing he's ever said to her.
  • She barely manages to stay in control of her composure and instead admits all her insecurities, too, such as putting too much pressure on herself for wanting to change the world, even to the point where it puts her in danger. She also says that she only takes Nick's criticism personally because he was the first one in her life who fully believed in her abilities. She also says she should have told him a long time ago that, just like what Nick said about Judy, no one else matters more to her than Nick does. At this point, both have tears in their eyes, and as they continue opening up to each other, it changes from hurt and vulnerability to happy tears.
    Judy: (talking fast, amidst sobs) I... I do try too hard because deep down I'm afraid I am what everyone thinks I am, and I suppress my discomfort because I'm worried it makes me look weak and I wanna be strong, and I think I'm failing all the time and I only take what you say personally because you're the only one in my life who ever believed in me, even when I don't even believe in myself! And I should have told you that... (her lip quivers, tears pouring down her face)... No one else in the world matters to me more than you do, either.
    (Nick is so moved, it seems something inside him snaps. He can't hold back his thoughts anymore.)
    Nick: (almost in a trance) I have unresolved childhood trauma that I refuse to discuss because being vulnerable scares me.
    Judy: I make dangerous choices because I have an unhealthy bunny hero complex.
    Nick: And I didn't join the ZPD because I wanted to be a cop; I joined because I always wanted to be part of a pack,... and the thought of losing you scares me because... because you're my pack.
    Judy: (moved, Judy cries harder) I should never have left you. And I do need a herd of therapy animals, and I should've told you that you're the only partner I would ever want because... you're my fluffle.
    (Nick is confused, not knowing what that means.)
    Nick: Um...?
    Judy: (practically wailing) That's a bunch of rabbits!!! (sniffles)
    (Both giggle, wiping away their tears.)
• When Nibbles demands that Milton pardon Marsh Market, she points to the TV screen showing the community that now has snow falling, with a sea lion and her crying pup now about to be evicted from their home.
• The gang finds Reptile Ravine, buried under the ice. The town hasn't been destroyed after all.
• The family tree at the De'Snakes' house shows a portrait of Agnes with her husband, who didn't appear with his family in the flashbacks or in a photo at the inn. This suggests that Agnes was a widow when she came up with the climate wall.
• The final moment with Pawbert in prison with the rest of his family, leaning defeatedly on the cell bars as his family bickers in the background. Pawbert finally realizes that everything he did during the movie wasn't worth it, but it's too late. His family still hates him; he burned his bridges with the only people who accepted him, and he will spend the rest of his life an outcast, the thing he was trying to change about himself. 
• Something absolutely tragic to bring up about Pawbert is that his life must've been a lot worse before even the events of the first movie. He was the un-favourite of the family, and yet, he still craved his family's approval despite how toxic and cruel they truly were. He also comes across, even before the reveal of his true nature, as rather shallow and distant. He values the cold and distant vibes of his family over genuine warmth/kindness, and this attitude from his vile family over the course of his life has twisted him. It also doesn't help that his family has psychologically and even physically abused him, and he genuinely believes this is normal despite how genuinely frightened he is in scenes where his family hurt him regardless. What's even sadder about Pawbert's life is that he could've gotten actual psychological treatment earlier in his life so he would end up having a normal childhood. Instead, he was being used for cruel work meant to undermine the city he has lived in for years, and he could've genuinely had friends who cared about him instead of clinging to his cruel family who clearly don't care about him and only use him for whatever they need to get done. To say Pawbert desperately needs psychological help and a restraining order away from his abusive family to help him adjust into a mentally healthier life for himself is a severe understatement. This point also falls under Nightmare Fuel for similar reasons.
  • The sheer fact that Pawbert normalizes his family's abusive behavior is especially heart-wrenching, because as Truth in Television, there are plenty of abuse victims who legitimately don't see anything wrong with their loved ones hurting them and are completely brainwashed into thinking they themselves are the reason why they're abused.
  • The fact his own father didn't even hesitate to order him killed alongside Judy and Gary, just because he assumed his son had betrayed him. Pawbert doesn't even know about this either until the very end of the movie.
  • As much as we all feel bad for Pawbert, we also cannot help but feel bad for Cattrick and Kitty despite the terrible things they've done. Because they were raised and corrupted by their evil father's influence due to the crimes their great-grandfather committed decades before the movie's events. To make matters worse, Milton only saw them as tools rather than family members and didn't seem to care about their safety, like when he used them as living shields against Winddancer, like the pathetic coward he really is. The fact that, for all of their own mistreatment of him, they actually look worried for Pawbert when Milton starts to get violent with him could imply that they too would've turned out better if they weren't raised (if not abused) into their current mindset.
    • The scene above is actually hauntingly realistic of a sibling's real-life scenario in abusive families. In some abusive dynamics, there are cases of children who let their siblings take the heat as a survival mechanism, so they can avoid getting beaten themselves. Sometimes, there are even cases of the siblings only following their abusers' leads so they don't face the same fate. Just the idea that Cattrick and Kitty could have been conditioned into becoming the bullies they are today as a result of their father's pre-meditated cycle of abuse is just heartbreaking.
  • In the original scene, Milton would've struck Pawbert in the face, while his siblings instead watched total indifference and even contempt for him.
• The Stinger ends with a sign that birds are coming to Zootopia. However, since there was no sign of them in Zootopia beforehand, this gives room to suggest whether they faced the same kind of oppression from mammals as reptiles did. Especially since, cladistically speaking, birds are reptiles.