Hi, everyone, welcome to another session of movie reviewing, as well as this month’s episode of Flight Into The World Of Walt Disney Animation Studios & Disney/Pixar! This month, we are going into the library of Disney/Pixar. Oh, but we’re not just reviewing any Disney/Pixar film. No, no! This time around, we will be reviewing the newest addition to the Disney/Pixar studio. But that’s not all. This newest addition is said to play a significant role for the studio for a couple reasons. One being that it is considered to be one of Disney/Pixar’s best works since 2017’s Coco. The other one being that it is also Disney/Pixar’s first successful original film, critically, as well as financially, since that particular Disney/Pixar film. Think that’s all? Well, no! In fact, it gets better. This newest addition to the Disney/Pixar world ends up being a landmark in this case, thanks to the fact that this is Disney/Pixar’s 30th animated feature. Ladies, and gentlemen, with all of that said, I present to you all my review of Disney/Pixar’s 30th animated feature, the one, and only, Hoppers, starring Piper Curda, and John Moynihan, and others to go along with the cast of this film.
Plot: In Beaverton, Oregon, a female named Mabel Tanka (Lila Liu as young Mabel, and Piper Curda as 19-year-old Mabel) grows up with her grandmother (Karen Huie), who teaches her to listen to the sounds of the forest, and respect nature overall. Years later, when Mabel reaches 19, Beaverton’s mayor, Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm) decides to replace a glade that Mabel grew up loving with a freeway. This infuriates Mabel, and, thus, decides to do whatever it takes to save it, despite the animals deserting it as of recently. Though unsuccessful, she discovers from her biology professor, Dr. Sam Fairfax (Kathy Najimy), and Dr. Fairfax’s colleague, Nisha (Aparna Nancherla), that a technology, known as Hoppers, can transport a human, and it’s personality into a robotic animal of any kind, whether it be a robotic beaver, or any robotic animal of any kind. After discovering that, along with the fact that the robotic animals can also communicate with other actual animals, Mabel ends up using the technology to transport herself, and her personality, into a robotic beaver. Now, with the help of new animal friends that she meets in her new robotic body, including beaver King George (Bobby Moynihan), can Mabel somehow find a way to stop Mayor Jerry from getting rid of the glen, and building a highway over it?
Now, from the premise described above, it probably sounds like Hoppers may not exactly be one of the most original ideas to come out of the Disney/Pixar library. In fact, it may yet sound like the story seems a little similar to films of the past such as Avatar. I mean for those of you who saw some of the earliest trailers for this film, you may recall that the main character, Mabel, made a reference to that particular movie. Don’t believe me!?! Watch, or rewatch, the teaser trailer in particular, and it will all make sense. Anyway, yes, Disney/Pixar’s Hoppers is one film that does seem to bear resemblance to some other movies. Those especially being Avatar, Brother Bear, and The Wild Robot.
Let’s start with the obvious one, Avatar. In both movies, the main character gets himself/herself transported into another animal, or creature, and then begins to slowly, but surely, learn the ways of the culture.
Next, there’s the 2003 Walt Disney Animation Studios film, Brother Bear. Now, this one is more minor, but still likely worth mentioning anyway. That being in the case of these films, the main character is human. Then, when they’re each turned into an animal, a bear, and beaver, respectively, they can then start talking to other animals that they come across. Granted, there are major differences with the two cases, as well as the fact that the circumstances are much more different, but still. Oh, and did I forget to mention that before each of the two human characters are turned human, the animals around them have black beady eyes, and then, once the main characters are each turned into an animal, the animals around them are animated with having eyes like those of a human being with the black eye in the middle, the iris, and then all the white surrounding the rest of the eye? Yeah, pretty interesting, if you ask me.
Finally, with DreamWorks’ The Wild Robot (which was just released two years ago, in 2024), without really, really giving anything away, let’s just say that you can spot some scenes that could potentially come off as similar between The Wild Robot, and Hoppers.
With all of that said, does Hoppers still have some originality? Well, again, though not as original as many of Disney/Pixar’s other works of the past, it still does have a great deal of creativity, charm, and depth to its story. First of all, Hoppers hardly, if ever, has any political agenda of any kind. Truly, it just does its best to focus on having depth in it’s story, having depth for its characters, and more. Even in spite of there being quite a few characters being in a film like this one, each of them ends up being very well developed to one degree, or another. Surprisingly, yes, that includes the more minor ones that have as little as around ten to fifteen minutes of screen time. Yes, the story can be somewhat of a simple one. However, much like many of Disney/Pixar’s other entries, there are quite a few mature themes to gain from Hoppers. What’s even more is that even when Mabel goes from human to beaver, the story hardly, if ever, feels lackluster. Yes, in quite a few family films, when a human gets turned into an animal, audiences may have found themselves enjoying the first, and third acts the best, and thought the middle act to be just okay. In Hoppers, however, that is not the case. The whole movie, from beginning to end, will end up being strong, fun, and engaging. Plus, there are plenty of jokes for all age groups contained in this film. I’ve heard a lot of reviewers that Hoppers may yet be one of Disney/Pixar’s funniest films yet. You know what, yeah, though I probably go back, and watch some of Disney/Pixar’s other films prior to this one to for sure make that call, that may yet be the case here. Sometimes, people may yet find themselves thinking that Hoppers could have easily been a DreamWorks film, since many of DreamWorks’ animated films had oftentimes been well known for the comedy in their films. What’s more is that even though Hoppers may come off as being another film about taking care of the environment like Fern Gully, Avatar, and films like those, this animated movie is much more than that. Hoppers ends up having so much creativity, and heart to it that you may find yourself forgetting about the fact that this film may beat any similarities to any other films at all. Yeah, definitely a good sign, wouldn’t you say?
Next, this film does end up incorporating some realism in it. I know it would be a little hard to explain as I’m writing this review. However, let’s just say that unless you’ve seen this film, or even watched some trailers for this film here, and there, it would be a somewhat hard to explain how this can have some realism in it when it is an animated films that involves talking animas in it. Well, let’s just say that you’d be surprised how these elements work very well together in this film.
Next, there are the characters themselves. I mentioned that both the major, and minor ones, are developed very well, yes? Well, again, these characters will probably some of Disney/Pixar’s more memorable characters yet. Starting with the beaver King George, who is also known as the Mammal King, and thus, king of mostly mammals, plus some fish, and reptiles as well. He is probably one the most hilarious , and likely more sympathetic of these characters, aside from likely Mabel herself. Then, there’s Tom the Lizard. King George may be one of the more funny characters in this film. However, Tom the Lizard is probably the one comic relief character that really does steal the show. His lines are quotable, and he almost feels like he’s basically the Genie, Mushu, you name it, of Hoppers. Then, there’s the main character herself, Mabel. First of all, she undoubtedly does have a character arc as this movie progresses. Mabel may come off as rude at times, and as a rebel overall, especially when she has to deal with people like Mayor Jerry, whom she goes against a lot, especially when it comes to trying to stop him from building the highway over the glen where the animals live. Still, deep down, you know that she means well, and only tries to do what’s right. What’s more is that even though she may act feisty at times, Mabel deep down also has a good spirit consisting of kindness, humility, and more. Plus, how could you not like love the relationship not only between her, and the animals that she encounters along the way, but also the relationship between her, and her grandmother Tanaka? Truth be told, their relationship will likely serve as a reminder of why it’s only great when kids have a good, and close, relationship with their parents, but also a close one with their grandparents as well due to the love, kindness, and wisdom that they tend to pass down to their kids, and grandkids. Anyway, there’s also Mayor Jerry. Now, he could come off as the villain for his actions. However, he doesn’t so much being a straight up villain, as he does just end up being misguided on his beliefs on what he thinks is best for others. I won’t give away who the actual villain is. However, when you see this film, you’d probably be surprised by who the actual villain ends up being. What’s even better is that it’s not your typical cliche twist villain that’s been going on in animated films for the past decade, or so. The way that the villain is written this time ends up working way better compared to Disney villains in more recent films released by that company in particular. Lastly, the rest of the characters, be it Ellen the brown bear, Diane the great white shark, and any fish, and reptile characters, and any of the human characters, as mentioned before, they’re all likable as well.
Additionally, there’s the animation. Wow, this animation serves as proof of how far companies like Disney/Pixar, and maybe even Walt Disney Animation Studios, have come over the past few decades. Let’s look back to when Disney/Pixar first started. Basically, any of the characters, be it humans, toys, bugs, maybe even fish, or monsters, many of them seemed to have the texture of a plastic toy, or something like that. Compare that to movies like Hoppers, or even more recent films like 2023’s Elemental, or 2025’s Elio, where the animators have improved in their animation techniques since then. It just shows how far the animators have come over the past three decades since the studio first came out with Toy Story, and after. The animation on the human characters is really good. However, it’s really the texture of the animals that truly stands out. Because of the fur of say any deer, or the bears, beavers, you name it, it doesn’t end up being quite as noticeable that the animation done on these characters was done by Disney/Pixar, the same company responsible for films like Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Cars, and more. Additionally, the animation is also a highlight when it comes to scenes that help make this one of Disney/Pixar’s more creative films.
In addition to all of this, there’s the score by Mark Mothersbaugh. The score can, at times, have a bit of a 1980s vibe to it. Even when the score has a more modern vibe to it, it helps incorporate the emotion, and heart to this film. Plus, how can you not like the original song, “Save The Day”, when that song plays?
Finally, Hoppers have some really great messages to take away. Whether it be about learning to care about others, seeing things from the points of view of others, or listening really carefully to things around you, the potential messages of this film can be really great takeaways as well. Truly, the message especially about learning to be still, and listen to what goes on around you is one that can serve as a great reminder. Especially since there’s a the Scripture in Psalm 46:10 about learning to “be still, and know that God is God”, the similar message in Hoppers about that subject can be a good allegory to such a message, and others similar to it in real life.
If there were any potential criticisms for Hoppers, it would be that there were points where the film seemed to go from super funny to dramatically serious in some cases. Thankfully, it wasn’t exactly quite a bad habit on this film’s part. Still, it seemed as somewhat close to a recurring one. And hey, at least this aspect was overshadowed by pretty much everything else that made this film more memorable.
And that’s my review for the latest Disney/Pixar film, Hoppers. It is truly a remarkable films with lovable characters, a story with excellent storytelling, and heart, great animation to go along with making this one of Disney/Pixar’s more remarkable films. Could this film win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature come next year? Well, we’ll have to wait to see if DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island, or Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Hexed end up being just as good, or even better, as well. However, Hoppers most definitely is worthy of being nominated in that category, especially for its uniqueness, and creativity. We shall see. So, the question remains at this point, is it safe to say that Disney/Pixar at least is back on their game at this point? Well, seeing as Hoppers has been considered one of the studio’s better films since say 2017’s Coco, it is probably hard to tell. However, if there’s anything to take away from Hoppers, it would be that Disney/Pixar is starting to take some steps in the right direction compared to a few years ago. Honestly, if Disney/Pixar learns from making Hoppers, and takes things a step further with future films like next year’s Gatto, or other films afterwards, not only could it start a potential Disney/Pixar Renaissance sort of deal for the studio, but it could also serve as proof that Disney/Pixar doesn’t need to rely on sequels, and franchises to be a successful studio. Hopefully, the same can be said about other studios like Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks, and other companies as well in future years as well. Anyway, if you still have yet to see Hoppers, and it’s still playing at a theater near you, definitely go see it before it leaves theaters. Even in the midst of films like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael, Project Hail Mary, and films like those playing currently, Hoppers is most definitely one of those films that you want to make a point to see. Trust me when I say that you’ll be glad that you made it to the theater for this particular animated film, or particular film period. So, again, go see Hoppers, and see what you think!
Final Rating: 9.5/10
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 