As Disney/Pixar now approaches their 30th film with Hoppers, it has me looking back at previous films revolving around animals (especially when it comes to human interaction).
Except for the two masterpieces Finding Nemo (2003) and Ratatouille (2007), the rest of them have been, at best, passable (I also exempt 2001’s Monster’s, Inc., due to those characters being more fantastical than realistic). Add in the fact that the last truly great classic was 2017’s Coco (though I can see defenders of 2020’s Soul, which I do need to rewatch), and you can see why Hoppers has a lot riding on its shoulders.
In the end, it does not reach the heights of the best of the Disney/Pixar library, but it is by no means the worst (a day may come when I give 2012’s Brave another watch, but that is not this day).
There are still the standard plot points of a majority of kid flicks in the main character of Mabel (Piper Curda). She has always been a lover of animals, despite being looked down on by most of those around her. The one exception was her late Grandma (Karen Huie). Now a college student, Mabel is fighting to keep the one peaceful place she can remember her Grandma, a glade that is threatened to be destroyed for a new highway by the town’s mayor, Jerry (Jon Hamm). If she can find at least one animal (particularly a beaver) to come back to the glade, she can stop its destruction.
She soon manages to come across secret technology run by one of her college professors (Kathy Najimy) that allows humans to enter the minds of robotic animals (along with other tech that allows them to communicate with actual animals).
“Like Avatar!” – Mabel shouts out.
“It is not like Avatar!” – her professor responds.
This leads her to try to solve the problem of saving the glade, even if it means she discovers others have problems of their own.
With animated films, the actors have voices that are obvious or they are hidden in plain sight. Hoppers (as is the case with most Disney/Pixar films) is the latter. Without giving away their characters, the actors here include Dave Franco, Vanessa Bayer, Meryl Streep, and (the late) Isaiah Whitlock Jr.
Parents, this is standard basic content for a Disney/Pixar film.
Okay, I lied. I will give away one character, but he is the scene stealer, and that is of the beaver known as King George, voiced wonderfully by Bobby Moynihan. The chemistry/friendship between George and Mabel is the pounding heart of the film.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 