It’s certainly not unusual for a Disney/Pixar animated work to get emotional; hell, the two Inside Out movies are literally about emotions. But it’s difficult to recall a Pixar release that deals with them quite like their latest film, Hoppers, which tells the story of a college-age young woman named Mabel (voiced by former Disney kid Piper Curda) trying to save a stretch of nature where she and her late grandmother spent a great deal of time during her formative years as a kid. But this being Pixar, it takes a bizarre and quite unique path to get to the point where Mabel can stop crooked politician Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm) from tearing down trees and destroying a beaver dam where animals are actively living.
At Mabel’s college, scientists have secretly come up with a way to “hop” human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals. Being the consummate animal lover, Mabel hijacks the technology, enters the body of a life-like robot beaver, and sets out looking for the animals that she knows occupy this area, even though they appear to have abandoned the location. She befriends the beaver leader, King George (SNL’s Bobby Moynihan), who in turn introduces her to the other animals in the region who attempt to stop this imminent threat.
What’s intriguing about the Mabel character is that, despite having the best of intentions, she’s prone to losing her temper, breaking rules, and sometimes making things worse in the process, all because she’s terrified of losing this place that she holds dearest in her heart. We see glimpses of her and her grandmother (Karen Huie) at critical times in Mabel’s life when she felt the most alone. Grandma showed her the value and calming abilities of going silent in nature and letting the sounds around her soothe her. It’s surprisingly moving stuff, and the idea of losing this place drives Mabel to fits of rage that actually hinder her in her mission.
The voice cast features a ridiculously talented lineup, including Dave Franco (perfect as the villainous Insect King), Meryl Streep (as his much nicer mother), Kathy Najimy (as Mabel's biology professor who created the hopping technology), Sam Richardson, Demetri Martin, Aparna Nancherla, and the recently deceased Isiah Whitlock Jr., as well as a host of SNL alum (in addition to Moynihan), including Vanessa Bayer, Ego Nwodim, and Melissa Villaseñor. Directed and co-written by first-time feature helmer Daniel Chong, Hoppers might seem like just another talking-animal animated adventure aimed at a younger crowd, but like most Pixar movies, this one features an emotional depth that is clearly aimed at older audience members and might even result in small amounts of crying from all ages. And despite this all-star cast, it’s Curda’s measured, occasionally explosive performance as Mabel that wins the day and sold me on this one being another memorable installment in the Pixar story.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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