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It’s difficult to avoid the reality that Pixar has been in a rut. The house that built “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo” hasn’t had a home run original since 2017’s “Coco,” which is why the Disney-owned studio falls back on tried and true franchise favorites like 2024’s “Inside Out 2” and the forthcoming “Toy Story 5.”
That’s not to say that Pixar should only stick with sequels because they’re safe box office hits. Pixar should be taking creative risks that gave us beloved characters like Woody, WALL-E and The Incredibles.
But Pixar plays it very safe with its latest film “Hoppers.”
Messy-haired 19-year-old animal lover Mabel (Piper Curda) is taking it upon herself to preserve the glade behind her late grandmother’s house outside of Beaverton — it was essentially her dying wish — even though wildlife had already deserted it. Except Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm) plans on building a beltway through that precious plot of land. Like I said, Pixar’s playing it safe with the generic “save nature from greedy politician” storyline.
She learns from her college professor Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy) that only a keystone species like the beaver can restore the glade to its former glory. After failing to lure beavers to the glade, Mabel stumbles upon Dr. Sam’s secret project in which she’s able to transport the human mind into a robotic animal in order to observe wildlife, something she calls “hoppers.” If that too sounds familiar, that’s because it’s essentially the plot to “Avatar,” which Mabel herself cheekily acknowledges.
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Mabel, rebellious in nature, goes rogue and hijacks the beaver robot and escapes into the wilderness to find other beavers. She quickly discovers that she can understand all the animals around her and must adapt to the “pond rules.”
Beaver Mabel eventually meets actual beaver George (Bobby Moynihan), the overly cheery king of the mammals. She hopes to convince George and the rest of the Great Animal Council, made up by the Bird King (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), the Fish Queen (Ego Nwodim), the Reptile Queens (Nichole Sakura), the Amphibian King (Steve Purcell) as well as the Insect Queen and her son (Meryl Streep and Dave Franco), to rally together to stop Mayor Jerry from destroying the glade.
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The cast of critters are predictably fun and adorable like any other Disney film, but the standout character is actually Mayor Jerry. Despite the rather mundane plot, “Hoppers” refrains from the trope of depicting the politician as evil. He’s likable, goofy and truly seems to be acting in what Beaverton residents want without having malicious motivations. And Hamm really hams it up with his performance.
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“Hoppers” marks the feature debut of director Daniel Chong, whose animation credits include “Cars 2,” “Inside Out,” “Bolt” and “The Lorax.” Screenwriter Jesse Andrew was previously credited for co-writing Pixar’s underappreciated COVID-era release “Luca,” as well as writing the brilliant 2015 coming-of-age dramedy “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.”
And a note for the super fans: There are two post-credit scenes for you to check out.
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The Verdict
“Hoppers” will keep the kids happy and has enough for parents to enjoy, but it doesn’t reach the excellence of Pixar’s most iconic films known for their originality, which “Hoppers” certainly lacks. This beaver adventure can easily be saved for a Disney+ watch later on.
★★ ½ — STREAM IT LATER
“Hoppers” is rated PG for action/peril, some scary images and mild language.
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