There’s something to be said for a story that keeps its scope small. Way too many movies have suffered stakes inflation to the point that the protagonists must save the world. And the longer a series goes, the bigger the stakes have to get. Doctor Who, which has been running on and off for 63 years, regularly has to save the entire universe just to feel something.
One of the biggest strengths of Hoppers, Pixar’s latest animated feature, is that director Daniel Chong and screenwriter Jesse Andrews realize that saving your neighborhood can be just as compelling as saving the world. That’s what Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda) is trying to do. The shady glade out back of her grandma’s home holds many memories for the volatile 19-year-old. But now grandma is dead, and Mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm) wants to route the Beaverton Beltway through the glade.
Instead of concentrating on her university studies, Mabel sets out to stop construction of the beltway by knocking on doors to get signatures for a petition. While doing her research, she finds that the state will not allow the construction to go forward if the glade is inhabited by animals. But what happened to the beavers, and the other charming wildlife Mabel watched with her grandmother?
Mabel baits the glade with food and wood in an attempt to lure the beavers back. But while she’s there, she sees something unbelievable. A beaver casually strolls up to the road and gets into a van. She follows the van back to her university, where the beaver walks on two legs into the laboratory of her biology professor, Dr. Fairfax (Kathy Najimy). It seems Dr. Fairfax and her team have developed robot animals which can be implanted with a human consciousness. While Dr. Fairfax is using the Hopper system (which, she assures us, is nothing like what they use in Avatar) to study animal behavior, Mabel hijacks the beaver body. She intends to use it to save the glade by encouraging her “fellow” animals to repopulate it. But Mabel soon discovers that political organizing in the animal world is just as hard, if not harder, than it is in the world of humans. She runs afoul of King George (Bobby Moynihan), a beaver monarch who enforces Pond Rules.
Sure, the stakes of Hoppers does slowly increase to saving the town of Beaverton, but Chong keeps it light while delivering both wacky set pieces and character-building moments with equal aplomb. The animation, which is in what you could call the classic Pixar style, looks fantastic throughout. At 104 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
The Pixar classics like Toy Story, Inside Out, and The Incredibles had layers that could be appreciated by grown-ups as well as children. I’m not sure that’s true of Hoppers. The film’s moral, “Remember, we’re all in this together,” is an admirable sentiment, yet kinda slight. But Hoppers just wants to be a fun, non-toxic watch for kids, and it definitely succeeds on its own terms.
Hoppers
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