ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Many pet owners, whether current or in the past, have probably wondered what would happen if we were able to truly communicate with our furry friends, and recently, the geniuses at Pixar decided to find that out with their newest release, “Hoppers.” The film follows Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda), an animal lover, whose mind is transferred into a lifelike robotic beaver to communicate with animals and save their habitat from destruction, inadvertently starting an uprising in doing so.

To start off, the voice cast was PERFECTLY chosen. Piper Curda is amazing and puts forth so much passion and heart into Mabel’s character, and she just generally sounds like she had an absolute blast in the recording booth. Mabel is so feisty and fierce and so full of heart, and one of my favorite moments in the movie comes about two-thirds into it when she has a mild breakdown and talks about being tired of being the only one who cares about what’s going on and saving her new animal friends’ habitat. I’ve had that moment myself multiple times, and I’m sure many fellow viewers will be able to relate to some degree. Jon Hamm is also perfectly smarmy as Mayor Jerry, and he definitely made me want to give him a slap on the head – Mayor Jerry is very reminiscent of multiple modern politicians, and I can’t help but feel Hamm knew exactly what he wanted his characterization to be. I also very much enjoyed Bobby Moynihan as beaver King George, he’s very sweet and sensitive and trusting, and there were a handful of moments that reminded me of Moynihan’s portrayal of Louie Duck in the “Ducktales” reboot. King George also isn’t afraid to drop a few truth bombs in the movie that can apply to nature and/or humanity (or both simultaneously), which I loved. Moynihan did such a good job in the role, I can’t help but think there’s more than a slight chance his spirit animal is legitimately a chonky beaver. Another standout for me was Dave Franco as as Titus, the Insect King who becomes the movie’s villain – his character doesn’t really come into play until late in the movie, but he does such a good job and almost steals the show. Overall, the people in charge of picking the voice cast made great selections all around.

The movie’s animation is also wonderful. All of the animals look so furry and cuddly, and the outdoor/nature scenes all look and sound so lifelike and vibrant. Like Pixar’s other efforts, there was NO effort spared in terms of making sure everything looked amazing, especially with lighting and overall color, and the end result is pretty and spectacular to look at. Overall, the crews in charge of animation did a wonderful job, and I would absolutely not be surprised if the movie earns some love next awards season.

While “Hoppers” is advertised as more of a children’s movie, there’s a lot more depth than viewers might expect, and I really liked how this movie shows life isn’t always split perfectly into black and white. One great example is how Mabel learns yelling and being an overall nuisance about her cause doesn’t exactly gather a lot of support, but her passion isn’t necessarily tamped down. Another example is how the science team – and other humans – learn it’s not exactly smart to try and out-maneuver Mother Nature, even if the intentions could technically be considered noble. A final good example is how Mayor Jerry learns progress in the general sense can be good, but what’s not good is steamrolling over everything in order to make it happen – I came away thinking Mayor Jerry isn’t exactly a full-on mustache-twirling malevolent villain in the stereotypical sense, it was probably more a matter of he just didn’t think of what effects could happen from his project until he witnessed them for himself. Overall, it’s great how the movie shows the realities of humanity and how everyone has some grey areas to them. I also thought the movie’s story did a great job of showing how the rate at which we’re draining the planet’s resources and pushing nature to near-extinction levels is unsustainable – it’s somewhat subtle, but it didn’t escape my notice. It’s also a lesson humanity should have already learned by 2026, but that’s another conversation for another time. Overall, I felt the movie’s writing and characterization were very well done.

With all of that said, I did come away feeling the story was maybe a little overstuffed and could have used a bit of trimming in some spots. The movie is only 105 minutes, but there were a few points where it felt like the writers were trying to include too much in a rather compact space of time. It didn’t necessarily make me enjoy the movie less, but it was something I noticed and was thinking about after I left the movie theater.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my outing to see “Hoppers” and would give it a B-plus grade. The voice cast was perfectly chosen, and I particularly enjoyed Piper Curda’s feistiness as leading lady Mabel, Jon Hamm’s smarminess as Mayor Jerry, and Bobby Moynihan’s sweetness as beaver King George. The animation throughout the movie is also stunning, and Pixar once again shows how much it cares about the quality of its projects in terms of aesthetic and overall vibe. I also felt the writing was done very well and did a great job showing how there are times when life isn’t fully black and white and how humans are imperfect even if their overall intentions are noble. My only minor complaint is how there are moments that make the movie feel slightly overstuffed, and there could have been some minor trims made. If you’re a fan of Pixar’s other movies, or if you’re looking for a good movie to take the younger ones to over spring break, “Hoppers” is definitely a good one.