By Sophia Noya | Staff Writer
Breaking news: the latest Pixar movie is a triumph, which should come as no surprise to anyone.
“Hoppers” jumped into theaters last Friday and found immediate success at the box office. It follows environmental activist Mabel (Piper Curda), who uses “hopping” to inhabit the body of a robot beaver in an attempt to save her local glade from turning into a highway– she accidentally incites an animal riot, instead.
Pixar, leading expert on yanking your heartstrings out of your chest in 105 minutes or less, is recovering from what some critics are calling a dry spell.
Although bringing some financial success, recent pictures such as “Elio”, “Lightyear”, and even “Inside Out 2” have suffered mixed reviews from critics and musings that the studio’s best releases are behind them.
I’m not so critical as all that (Give “Elio” a chance, people!), but it’s not lost on me that Pixar has been struggling with its original releases.
Which is why “Hoppers” is such a breath of fresh air. Energetic and engaging, it didn’t quite feel like a return to classic Pixar, but instead a celebration of what they do best: tell meaningful stories that inspire kindness and compassion.
That being said, I did notice that “Hoppers” works hard to present a more ambiguous and nuanced story than the classic Hero’s Journey, especially for a real-world issue as relevant as deforestation (although I wish that robot beaver bodyswapping were a real-world issue, too).
Protagonist Mabel is imperfect, both in character and in how she pursues her cause. Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm), the secondary antagonist and the man who’s perfectly happy to build a highway over a thriving ecosystem, isn’t the overwhelmingly evil villain we want him to be.
The result of these decisions is a deeper conversation on politics and how to manage disagreements between opposing sides, making for a far more profound movie than what may appear on the surface.
Although, to be honest, the quest for nuance causes the anti-deforestation message to get lost in…well, the nuance. I do believe it should have been a clearer-cut sentiment, because audiences are liable to misunderstand the point.
There’s plenty to be said about the visuals of “Hoppers” as well, which is filled to the brim with beautiful landscapes and cuteness-aggression-inducing animals. What else can be expected from director Daniel Chong, who is also the creator of We Bare Bears? I bet you’re kicking yourself for not seeing the resemblance between the two before.
I also laughed far more than I was expecting to. There was an admirable and intentional effort to include physical comedy in how almost all the characters moved– especially Tom Lizard, who had me in stitches every second of screen time that he had.
The script is hilarious as well, in the clever way that some children’s movies are afraid to be. I’m grateful for the fearless writers at Pixar Studios who insisted on certain gags, jokes, and dialogue that were truly the cherry on top of an already charming movie.
“Hoppers” is the best response Pixar could have given to the nonbelievers who think the studio is past its prime. Sweet, hilarious, and well worth the watch, “Hoppers” is nothing less than a total success.
Now, I need that hopping technology in the real world ASAP. There’s a flock of ducks I need to talk to.
8/10
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