[Rating: Rock Fist Way Up]
I reflect on the fact I am older than Pixar feature films. I also reflect on the fact I have seen the rise and downward spiral of Pixar as a box office juggernaut. Today, they’d have to push out more sequels to their classic features to make even a dent with audiences. However, I believe that their latest feature Hoppers is so damn good, it’ll drive audiences to clamor (finally) for original content that rivals the golden age of those classic early 2000s.
Directed by animator Daniel Chong, this delightful and whimsical film is just what I needed in an animated feature and makes me a proud supporter of new and fresh content!
Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda) is an ambitious young girl, with her heart and mind set on helping animals. We meet her trying to break out of school with every single class pet, and soon being thwarted in her plans. Her grandmother teaches her about the beauty of nature that’s all around her, leading to Mabel, now a biology major in college as a protector of animals. Her rival, Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm) has cleared out a forest glade that Mabel and her grandmother frequented in order to build his superhighway. Mabel believes something is fishy, as Mayor Jerry claims the only reason he was allowed to build in the glade was because of lack of animals. But how is this possible when Mabel knows there were animals there.
Soon, Mabel insists that her biology professor, Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy) help her, much to the professor’s chagrin. It doesn’t take long for Mabel however, to notice something even more mysterious happening after a chance encounter with a beaver. As it turns out, Dr. Sam, wanting to know how animals’ minds tick, has created “hopping technology” in order to put the mind of a human into a robot animal, which for her research, have been beavers. Mabel realizes if she can be a beaver, maybe she can convince them to come back to the glade, saving it. So, Mabel hops.
Escaping the lab, Mabel (now a beaver avatar) escapes to the glade and meets King George (Bobby Moynihan), a beaver who leads the forest animals into his very optimistic view of the world. Together, him and Mabel help bring the animals back to the glade, that is, until Mayor Jerry once more takes it back. Soon, Mabel and George enlist the help of the council of animals, from snakes, birds, fish, amphibians and bugs to work together to thwart Jerry’s plans. However, things don’t go as planned as Mabel upsets the council when they believe Jerry should be squished (killed) and Mabel very much disagrees. Here, the most shocking revelation in an animated film commences and leaves viewers stunned! Now, Mabel and George not only have to thwart the squishing of the Mayor, but the Mayor’s plans to destroy the glade!
Hoppers is honestly one of Pixar’s best in a while. It feels very comforting to know that I left my view of this film with a smile and a sense that maybe the old Pixar will rise again, and be less dependent on familiar properties. It made me really appreciate beavers too, an animal I know little about, but found so dang cute! Even the spirit of Mabel’s quest to keep her grandmother’s memory and spirit alive to save the glade was touching. Yes, Hoppers is a wonderful masterpiece of modern Pixar, moving the studio in the right direction!
Christian Ramos is a classic film fan, having had the dream to host Turner Classic Movies for years now. He also has a large amount of Oscar trivia in his head, remembers dressing as Groucho Marx one Halloween, and cherishes the moment Julianne Moore liked his tweet.
Comments on this entry are closed.