In Hoppers—the latest Pixar flick, directed by We Bare Bears creator Daniel Chong—under-enrolled college student and over-enthusiastic environmental activist Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda) stumbles upon her professor’s (Kathy Najimi) secret invention, which can transfer human brains into the CPU of a lifelike robot animal.
“Like Avatar,” Mabel remarks, immediately jumping into the machine.
Disguised as a beaver, Mabel infiltrates the animal kingdom, and finds herself now able to communicate with all kinds of fauna (voiced by a cadre of comedians and, yes, Meryl Streep).
Mabel must convince local wildlife to return to the glade behind her beloved grandma’s house before it’s bulldozed to make way for Mayor Jerry’s (Jon Hamm) new highway.
Considering the almighty ecosystem of Disney animated films, Hoppers is lower on the Pixar food chain than this year’s alpha Toy Story 5—an upcoming entry in the franchise contractually obligating Tim Allen and Tom Hanks to “spend time together” once every half-decade until they die. And even after they die?
Hoppers confronts the idea of legacy more than any Toy Story ever could—even as those movies guarantee Allen and Hanks a kind of immortality via Disney functionally owning their likenesses in perpetuity. This feature asks: How do you want to leave the world when you go?
Grim thoughts for eight-year-olds to manage, I know, but Hoppers is far from morbid. It’s undeniably delightful, adventurous, and arguably the funniest Pixar title in forever. It’s a lovely kids’ movie about what it means to respect the planet—to feel empathy for all living things—even when adults won’t.
Hoppers opens Fri March 6 in wide release, 104 minutes, PG
