Hoppers
When the animal loving Mabel (voice of Lila Liu) is foiled once more from liberating her school's sad classroom pets, her Grandma Tanaka (voice of Karen Huie) soothes her by sharing the peaceful glade where she communes with nature, years later making Mabel (voice of Piper Curda, "May December") promise to take care of it. Mabel becomes a thorn in Mayor Jerry Generazzo's (voice of Jon Hamm) side when he begins to build a highway loop that will go right through the peaceful place, but she needs to solve the mystery of why its wildlife has left. Enter her college professor Dr. Sam (voice of Kathy Najimy), who has developed technology that allows humans to inhabit lifelike robotic animals to commune with others as "Hoppers."
Laura's Review: C+
Debuting feature director Daniel Chong came up with a story (screenplay by "Elio's" Jesse Andrews) that boasts a strong ecological message but which may be overly complicated for its target audience. Not only do we have human minds occupying animal bodies to communicate with them, but after Mabel inadvertently incites an inter species war, we have animals entering humans to control them. It's like "Dr. Dolittle" crossed with "Face/Off" squared.
Mabel is surprised to learn that wildlife has left the glade and so leaves food and building materials to attract beavers while hiding out overnight to observe. A beaver appears much to her excitement, but it merely sniffs at what she's left and moves on. Mabel follows the creature, right into Dr. Sam's lab at her university, and once she learns what her professor has devised, she 'hops' into the beaver herself and takes off, hoping to convince other animals to move back to the glade as Mayor Jerry only got his highway building permit from the state based on their absence.
At first, Mabel is enchanted by her newfound ability to understand her beloved animals, but when she attempts to converse with another beaver, Loaf (voice of Eduardo Franco, TV's 'Stranger Things'), it's scooped up by a bear, Ellen (voice of SNL's Melissa Villaseñor), for dinner. Mabel intercedes to save the little guy, leading to a meeting with King George (voice of SNLer Bobby Moynihan), the beaver who leads the area's mammals and who explains the 'rules of the pond,' which include the contradictory claims that those ready to eat should and that those within their group should be protected. King George also reigns over a new, increasingly overcrowded, pond because Mabel's beloved glade had become too loud to bear. She investigates and learns Mayor Gerry installed speakers in the trees broadcasting extreme noise only animals can hear (but, which, oddly, she can not even though she can understand animals). Exposing the human treachery results in King George calling in the council, members of which include a Bird King (voice of Isiah Whitlock Jr.), Fish Queen (voice of SNL's Ego Nwodim), trio of Reptile Queens (voice of Nichole Sakura, TV's 'Superstore') and an Insect Queen (voice of Meryl Streep) who declares Jerry should be 'squished' by calling in an apex predator, an extreme result Mabel hadn't bargained for. Things descend into further chaos when Mabel claps her hands just as the Insect Queen flies by, inadvertently 'squishing' her and earning the outrage of the council and the Queen's descendant, a caterpillar who will metamorphose into the Insect King (voice of Dave Franco).
We can see Pixar inclusivity in the human characters, Grandma Japanese while Mabel appears of mixed heritage. Dr. Sam has an Indian coworker, Nisha (voice of Aparna Nancherla), and a black lab assistant Connor (voice of Sam Richardson, TV's 'Veep'). The natural world is almost photorealistic, the animators capturing the beauty of running water and wind blowing through trees. But the animals themselves are overly simplistic looking and depicted two ways - with big, cartoonish eyes when Mabel is interacting with them in her beaver persona (in English, which is heard as animal noises by non 'hopping' humans) and small black beads when viewed strictly as wildlife. The designation of various animal 'kingdoms' by having individual leaders wearing crowns looks a bit silly and is given no natural foundation until George's needs replacing and is mocked up from a soup can. Better is Mabel's designation as his advisor by being anointed with his muddy paw print. Credit must be given to the amusing contrivance the filmmakers have cooked up to introduce their apex predator, Diane (voice of SNL's Vanessa Bayer), a great white shark.
In addition to the film's championing of biodiversity, "Hoppers" main theme is one frequently used in romcoms - that of building relationship atop false pretenses. The film has a lot to offer, but it is overly busy and uneven in its characterizations, a mild disappointment from Pixar.
Disney Pixar releases "Hoppers" in theaters on 3/6/26.
