Introduction

I remember around 2015 when Brad Bird was on a social media rampage against modern movie trailers. He would comment on every other wide release trailer about bemoan how it had given the plot away. “Why see a movie if you already know the plot?” On a side note, I find myself in this predicament with the marketing for Project Hail Mary: I haven’t seen it nor read the story, but the recent trailers feel like they border on spoiler territory.

And this is why some critics I know will go out of their way to avoid trailers altogether, so as not to even be influenced by the tone of them. Then we come to a film like Hoppers. As you watch the trailer for it below, you will see an almost Dreamworks-esque tone and the shenanigans that those movies tend to entail. However, while this film is very funny and kiddie in parts, it’s almost genuinely moving in a way that Pixar hasn’t done since Onward.

Synopsis

Hoppers is the story of Mabel (Piper Curda), a college student who is passionate about protecting a glade behind her grandmother’s house. Mabel’s nemesis is Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm), who is dead set on putting a highway bypass through the glade. Afyouyter Mabel is given a deadline to save the glade, she attempts to enlist the help of Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy), a wildlife professor at her college. At this point she learns about a secret experiment that Dr. Sam and her colleagues have been doing in creating Avatar-like animal robots (called Hoppers) in order to observe the animal life up close. Mabel hijacks one of these beavers and tries to recruit the other animals to her cause.

Review

Like everyone I know, I was completely underwhelmed by the marketing and trailers for Hoppers. It felt like a rehash of Avatar in what it was doing as well as its themes. And while it’s true that environmentalism plays a role in the film’s plot, it does what Avatar (and 2012’s The Lorax) refused to do, which is actually have a debate about it. At first the plot is very one-sided and paints Mayor Jerry as a one-note villain. However, he is eventually portrayed as a much more nuanced character. I would say the main point of the movie is to show that yelling at each other and extremism in the name of righteousness on either side is destructive to society.

The voice work is really fantastic with Dave Franco kind of stealing the show in an unrecognizable turn as the Insect Prince/King. Bobby Moynihan plays King George, the king of mammals (it makes more sense when you watch the movie, I promise), and his was the performance I was most moved by. Jon Hamm being the quasi-villain here makes me think that he is either being type-cast, or he genuinely enjoys voicing terrible characters (he was the villain in Transformers One).

The film is laugh out loud funny in parts. The dynamics between all the animal royalty is the place ripest for the humor and that’s where the jokes land the most. There is a bit with a shark that had the audience in stitches.

The movie’s score by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh is really subtle.  There aren’t any noticeable themes. However, it always pulls at the heartstrings at the right times. The climax of the film is scored in a way that made me want to immediately look for the track to add it to my soundtrack playlist.

The Bottom Line

Hoppers is Pixar’s best film since Onward and the best animated film since the Wild Robot. It is funny and has a moving message. Don’t believe its terrible marketing; this movie is great.