Hoppers Review: Dark, Irreverent, and Funny
- M.N. Miller
- 45 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Hoppers is an improvement over recent Disney-Pixar offerings from the past few years. Films like Elio, Elemental, and even the wildly overrated Inside Out 2 displayed plenty of promise but ultimately felt emotionally vacant. A stunning shift for a studio that once consistently found the sweet spot between artistry, adventure, and emotionally resonant storytelling. It’s a troubling trend that arguably began with Lightyear, which had very little emotional depth.
However, Hoppers may not possess the psychological gravitas and complexity of early entries in the Pixar filmography, but it is undeniably different. Sure, the hook about being raised by an adorable grandmother and honoring her legacy hits that greedy little mouse’s manipulative sweet spot. Yet, the new film is darker than any Pixar movie in recent memory — a final product that happens to be happily irreverent and, at times, very, very funny.
Disney Pixar's Hoppers Plot
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The story follows Mabel (May December’s Piper Curda), the nine-year-old granddaughter of Grandma Tanaka (Karen Huie), who comes to live with her while her mother is away for work. An adolescent acting out over her absentee parent, Miss Tanaka teaches young Mabel about the wonders of nature and how it can guide her toward inner peace. They often sit together on their favorite rock, overlooking the Tanaka family plot of land and its pond in Beaverton.
Fast forward ten years later, and Mabel is now a college freshman. She often skips class to protest Mayor Jerry Generazzo’s (Mad Men's Jon Hamm) efforts to build a highway around Beaverton that would save residents a staggering forty seconds or so of drive time. That plan involves blowing up a dam built by the local beaver wildlife, which would destroy the pond and sanctuary forest glade Mabel grew up with.
Mabel attempts to start a petition, but her efforts fail before they ever truly begin. Her constant tardiness and class-skipping irritate her biology professor, (Sister Act’s Kathy Najimy). However, the fearless, even brazen, teenager stumbles upon the good professor’s secret program. Fairfax has developed the “Hoppers” initiative, which allows human consciousness to transfer into robotic animals in order to study the local wildlife species.
Disney Pixar's Hoppers Review
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Mabel, seeing her opportunity, realizes that if she can get a beaver to return to the construction site, the mayor will be forced to call off the completion of his project. So Mabel, ugh, for lack of a better term, hops into the seat and transfers her consciousness into the robotic beaver’s body, fleeing the lab to save her beloved home. Soon, the events that transpire will change her life and the community’s forever.
Hoppers comes from Daniel Chong (We Bare Bears), working from a script by Jesse Andrews (Luca, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), and the film is a strange, wild trip that addresses themes such as empathy, identity, transformation, community, and a holistic approach to the human and environmental connection. The themes are heartfelt but buried underneath a wicked sense of irreverent humor and scary tropes that I am not sure children will grasp.
Hoppers has much more in common with Looney Tunes than with previous Pixar films. Andrews’ script, at first, embraces a bit of anarchy over sentimentality, favoring rapid-fire absurdity. The comedy operates as controlled chaos, choosing irreverence over earnestness and escalating quickly. For instance, in the film’s funniest scene, Mabel’s unintentional meddling leads to an unexpected death.
Is Disney Pixar's Hoppers Worth Watching?
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Likewise, the bureaucratic acceptance of “pond rules” delivers a strain of absurdist humor that drives the picture. It is a testament to Pixar allowing filmmakers to push the envelope, which finally pays off. Chong brings elements of surreal visual gags, social satire, and scenes of anxiety and loneliness that hit home in more ways than one. The result is an film that is genuinely strange, a tonal risk, and the most interesting work the studio has done in years.
Not everything Chong attempts works, but the ambition and effort are to be admired and respected. That is ultimately what makes Hoppers worth watching. This is Pixar embracing anarchy, irreverence, and rapid-fire absurdity over sentimentality. The final product is a strange piece of absurdist animation that feels bold, risky, and refreshingly different.
Summary: Hoppers feels closer to Looney Tunes than classic Pixar, embracing anarchy, irreverence, and rapid-fire absurdity over sentimentality. Daniel Chong layers surreal visual gags, social satire, and moments of anxiety beneath its chaos. The result is a genuinely strange, tonally risky animated film and Pixar’s most interesting effort in years. Grade: 8/10 |
You can see Disney Pixar's Hoppers exclusively in theaters starting March 6th!
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