There’s a line in Hoppers that is quite the eye roller. You might’ve already seen it in the trailers but it’s when the two doctors, Sam and Nisha, explain to Mabel, the main protagonist, what the actual concept of Hoppers is suppose to be. And it’s during that moment where Mabel says how the concept of a human using sci-fi tech to transferring themselves into a nocturnal animal in the hopes of forming a relationship within the inhabits of a forest and preventing a demise of that said forest from the government is just like the movie, Avatar! It’s in that moment where you think you know which movie you are getting with Hoppers because the film directly tells you it! And for the first half of Pixar’s latest original, that is basically the movie you get.
Yes, we get to see the main protagonist’s hivemind be transported into that of a realistic beaver robot. Yes, we get to see to see the main protagonist interacted with other beavers and animals among an enchanted forest, which she realizes they are all just as human as her. And yes, we get to see a town’s government try to destroy that forest in favor of their own personal wants and needs for that forest. While that is all competently done in an entertaining enough way, it’s when the second half comes around and pulls the rug from underneath you (everyone will know EXACTLY the moment that I am talking about) that Hoppers fully forms into it’s own unique identity. And that identity makes it the best Avatar movie since well…...Avatar. And even then, it might just be better than that!
Hoppers is a showcase of what happens with Pixar allows themselves to let loose and forge their own path to creativity. The film has it’s own distinct animation style that compliments the storytelling without it being too overbearing or “in your face”, the characters are all likeable with their own relatable goals that anyone can get behind, it’s easily among the funniest Pixar movie in years, and despite prior reports of Disney’s efforts to downplay the themes of environmentalism, it’s able to get that exact message across in as much of a profound way as Pixar was able to in 2008 with Wall-E. It may take it’s time in getting to that exact point in the ways that it was intend but the pay-off by the latter half makes it all the more worth it.
Premise: When scientists discover a way to transform human consciousness into robotic animals, Mabel (Piper Curda) uses the new technology to uncover mysteries of the animal world that are beyond anything she could have ever imagined.
Hoppers is an animated feature with a lot on it’s mind, not so much interested in pushing itself in one certain directions but multiple, imaginative directions. Director Daniel Chong is able to explore the wonders of it’s premise, trying to create a world with logical problems that ben solved with the most logical answers imaginable. We see that perfectly through the main protagonist Mabel, a college girl who is fighting for animal and environmental rights, who wants to make a positive change in her hometown. However, as the film constantly states over and over again, it’s not as easy as it seems because the world itself isn’t one for solving logical problems with logical answers.
As much as Hoppers makes it’s case of being a story about optimism and unity, it’s not naive. It’s able to have that right brain in it’s head throughout the actions made by the characters without needing to contradicts itself to get it’s point across (Alyas, Raya and the Last Dragon!) A good example of this is with the character of King George (Bobby Moynihan), the leader of the beaver monarch. King George is someone that believes that everyone is a good person deep down, something which Mabel clearly disagrees with because of her past experiences with people. As much as she wants to be on King George’s side, she can’t because she know deep down that the ideal world that King George has in his head doesn’t exist. There’s a difference between an idealist and being a realist (something which a certain silver hedgehog from another certain franchise led by furry animal can attest to).
However, just because everyone can’t be a good person doesn’t mean you can at least change who they are if you work hard to do just that. Mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm) may seem like a one-sided greedy mayor on the service but allow him to see a different perspective on the way things function and how it affects others and it might just lead him down a much better path than he expected. It’s further proof on how Hoppers isn’t just a story about how everyone should be kind and good-hearted when they are not but some might just be able to when they are given the perspective of someone from the “other side”, or in this case….a beaver.
This is basically what makes Hoppers a distinct animated parallel to that of Avatar, and in many ways is a better film than any of the three hugely successfully but ridiculously expensive sci-fi opera adventures. While James Cameron was able to use the premise of a human being leaping into the body of another species to tell a story of a man going against the grain of his own kind in favor of helping out an indigenous tribe, Hoppers uses that exact same premise to tell a more complicated and layer story about an interloper who wants to make a positive impact on a community and have it lead to the best of both worlds for both her kind and the endangered animals she is trying to save.
When it comes to the other aspects as well, Hoppers is still quite rock solid. While the animation style won’t be to everyone’s taste (especially if the “civil” reaction to the animation style of Turning Red had anything to go by), it has enough novelty in it’s own cartoony style that benefits the way it tells it story in ways that are both funny and effective. The voice cast is quite strong, with Piper Curda and Jon Hamm being the main standouts as the main protagonist and antagonist respectively, with other worthy work done by the likes of Bobby Moynihan, Dave Franco, and Merryl Steep respectively. And despite having plenty of moments of levity, emotion, and even some shock value (again you will know EXACTLY the one turning point scene I’m talking about, it’s able to have a perfectly controlled tone that never contradicts one scene or the other. Oh, and it’s ALWAYS nice to hear SZA’s voice when doing music.
I won’t said that Hoppers is an instant Pixar masterpiece on par with the likes of Up, Inside Out, Coco, or Soul. As I said, the film takes a while to get it’s engine going, playing like the standard “human turns into animal” premise the trailers depicted it as along with one or two cringeworthy lines about how aware and “meta” it is of the kind of premise it is taking inspiration off. It’s once things are put into place and the film starts throwing more twists and personal dilemmas into it’s conflicts that the film become more than meets the eyes. It’s a film you have to be patient wait but I assure you, your patience will be awarded by the halfway point.
After last year’s Elio, it seemed like Pixar was no longer able to make original and thought-provoking animated films with a distinct message of it’s own without it getting gutted like a fish by the higher-ups of Mickey Mouse. However, Hoppers, seems to prove otherwise. It’s prove that Pixar is still allowed to make original films that are smart, wacky, funny, complex, and enough relatable and charm that it might just become a hit among mainstream audiences. While it might fall just short of a classic, Hoppers is prove that perhaps we can make a difference! Enough said!
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