‘Hoppers’ review: A minor Pixar effort, but one of refreshing idiosyncrasy
Pixar may not have suffered the dramatic fall from grace of other Disney subsidiaries like Lucasfilm or Marvel, but it has lost its track record of being a consistent source of originality and optimism.
They may not have ever been able to consistently put out animated films on the level of Toy Story or The Incredibles, but the last decade has seen it become overly reliant on franchise continuations, with some (Inside Out 2, Toy Story 4) being more worthwhile than others (Cars 3, Lightyear). The more concerning issue is that the original films Pixar has made haven’t had the studio’s fullest confidence, and often feel like watered-down versions of what could have been remarkable concepts. Turning Red, Elemental, and Onward, for example, would be viewed as breakthroughs if they were produced by Dreamworks or Illumination, but they feel rather underwhelming for the company behind Up and Coco.
Pixar might be banking on Toy Story 5 to be its $1billion hit for 2026, but Hoppers is a completely original feature, if it does liberally borrow from the plot of Avatar. Set in the aptly-named city of Beavertown, Hoppers is the story of the college student Mabel Tanaka (voiced by Piper Curda), who has a strong dedication to the preservation of wildlife and nature that was fostered by her late grandmother (voiced by Karen Huie).
Mabel has been so dedicated to activism that it has consumed her life, but she isn’t willing to give up when Mayor Jerry Generazzo (voiced by Jon Hamm) plans to replace the city’s glade with a new freeway. Although her favourite professor, Dr Sam Fairfax (voiced by Kathy Najimy), encourages her to calm her efforts, Mabel learns that the scientists at her university have developed technology that allows humans to inhabit the avatars of animals in order to communicate and conduct research. This leads Mabel to take control of the programme so that she can, in the body of a robotic beaver, infiltrate the glade’s animal society and encourage them to revolt and save their home.
Hoppers takes awhile to get moving, as at first it seems to so completely advocate for all of Mabel’s platforms that it risks being smugly self-satisfied. While the film is concerned about how a passion can become an all-consuming obsession, it doesn’t change the fact that Mabel’s life in the ‘human’ world is rather limited, which ironically makes her better-suited to joining a completely different society. Even if the scientific explanations aren’t intended to make sense, Hoppers coasts along on flimsy logic, making its attempt to score salient points about relevant political topics harder to take seriously.
The animal humour is, for better or worse, broader and more expressly goofy than anything the studio has ever done before. While the worldbuilding in films like Ratatouille and Finding Nemo had a good deal of inherent comedy, Hoppers has a rapid-fire string of jokes, most of which involve the different animals and their exaggerated features. It does cause a tonal clash when the rest of the story, humans involved, is amplified to the same level, but the film is refreshing in how unapologetically absurd it is. It might not be a cutting-edge visual achievement, but there’s a great deal of creativity that went into mining the comedic potential of the scenario.
Where Hoppers becomes transcendent is in its third act, where it relishes all semblance of being a ‘Pixar weepie’ for the sake of a ridiculous, slapstick series of shenanigans that manage to keep topping themselves. Director Daniel Chong previously served as the creator of the popular Cartoon Network series We Bare Bears, and Hoppers has a similarly mischievous sense of humour. At times, it even shares hallmarks with Adult Swim-levels of surrealism, while still aimed at a youthful audience.
It’s because Hoppers is so devoted to being entertaining that the eventual heart-tugging turn is more effective; the message that love is more powerful than hate may be simple, but it’s handled with maturity. Moreover, the film is also remarkable in its willingness to cast a fair number of actors with significant experience in animation, rather than simply relying on celebrity voices.
Although there are a few famous names like Meryl Streep and Sam Richardson in minor roles, Hoppers does feature genuine breakout work from Curda, whose personality elevates the character of Mabel above some generic archetypes. Most notable, however, is Dave Franco in a role that plays a significant part in the third act; it’s definitely a major swing, but it’s also a memorable Pixar villain worthy of Lotso in Toy Story 3 and Syndrome in The Incredibles.
Hoppers has the benefit of ending much stronger than it started, and does congeal around nice truisms after some thematic confusion. The expectations for a Pixar release are often so high that simply making a tender, funny film for children doesn’t get the enthusiasm that it deserves; it might not be aimed at adults, but they’ll likely enjoy it.
