“Hoppers” was released on March 6 and is Disney Pixar’s newest movie after “Elio” back in June of 2025. “Hoppers” is centered around (19 year old) Mable Tanaka, who has a deep love for nature and the grove where her and her grandma would spend much of her life. When she grew up and her Grandma sadly passed away, she would spend her time skipping classes and arguing with Mayor Jerry. Jerry wants to finish his super highway, but the highway happens to have to be built directly over the grove, so Mable is told that she needs a beaver to move in and build a dam in the grove so it can be saved. After finding her teacher’s secret lab, she realizes that her conscience can be put into a robotic beaver. She enters the animal world in hopes of saving the grove.
The movie was a great relief from some of Pixar’s other projects. The animation and character models felt new and unique compared to the “bean mouth” characters from movies such as “Elio,” “Luca” and “Turning Red”. The problem with the characters from these movies was the “bean mouth syndrome,” which is the repetitive use of mouths that look very similar to beans. I feel that characters with this look lack personality and look bland and unoriginal. From the opening scene I sighed a huge breath of relief when I saw the differences in characters’ mouths and eyes. The only big exception was when characters were showing more emotion or mouth.
I felt like the humor was very obnoxious. At some points it just felt like they were being loud just to be loud and over stimulating. But more often than that, there were moments where my face muscles wouldn’t relax. The movie felt like they were shooting for a certain cringe and made it somehow not too much. However, jokes felt well timed and not over the top, making the movie more bearable to watch.
Director Daniel Chong is a well-known director, animator and writer. He made a very popular kids TV show, “We Bare Bears”. This show was very successful, being a large show in many childhoods including my own. I am happy that Disney allowed him to write and direct this movie, because if anyone else did it, the heart and love would be gone. I can see the inspiration and animation from “We Bare Bears” in this movie, with animal models and faces, along with the humor and soul.
It feels like Pixar was trying to be very realistic, for a kids movie. It feels very self-aware, bringing up how the plot feels like the movie “Avatar.” They also bring up little details, showing the confusion from the humans, that animals are capable of such actions. However, sometimes it feels too confusing, not fully explaining some plot holes or actions.
The soundtrack was what you could expect from a Pixar movie: no musical pieces or princess songs, but the usual soundtracks and songs from artists, which I will always love. The most memorable songs were “Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra and “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy. I always loved the addition of these songs, because when used well and in the right part, it can add to a moment and its attitude. I think this movie did an amazing job with their soundtrack, and you know it was good when the theater was all nodding or stomping to the beat.
I think the plot was very basic. It felt like a normal movie plot with trying to save a place that the main character loves or lives in. I already brought it up and so did the movie but it feels very similar to “Avatar.” The reason for this was because her consciousness was transferred into the robotic beaver. The villain also felt very basic, though they were only introduced about half way through the movie, and when they were you wouldn’t suspect them to be. I think the villain matched the plot very well. Using a main device in the movie to their advantage, while still having a great weakness.
Overall, I think this movie was great. I would rate it 7.5/10, maybe even an 8/10. It is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a very long time. Though I think it was sometimes obnoxious, it overall had a lot of heart and soul put into it. I think Daniel Chong did a great job writing a story, although a little basic in plot, that still managed to captivate me and make me forget about the popcorn on my own lap. Recently, I’ve watched movies that I would never imagine myself sitting down and saying, “I should watch that movie,” but this is my one exception.
