‘Hoppers’ review: Pixar’s beaver-centric take on ‘Avatar’ is its best film yet

Image by Pixar Hoppers you know how it is A photo.

Its protagonist, 19-year-old animal lover Mabel Tanaka (voiced by Piper Curda), draws the comparison as soon as she hears about the film’s “jump” technology, which transfers human consciousness into the bodies of realistic robotic animals. That way, people can enter the animal world and study it closely.

Basically, change A photoNa’vi for beavers, and you have a good idea of ​​what Hoppers it looks like.

But do these similarities rob Pixar’s latest film of any originality? Not at all. Hoppers takes its out-of-water (or human-out-human-body) story in delightfully unexpected directions, resulting in Pixar’s most bonkers film yet.

Hoppers begins in classic Pixar fashion.

Before that adventure begins, Hoppers checks off something big on Pixar’s to-do list: make me cry within the first ten minutes.

In these first minutes, we meet young Mabel, furious after a failed attempt to break into her classroom’s pets at school. To calm him down, his grandmother (voiced by Karen Huie) takes him to the amusement park in her backyard. They sit together quietly and watch nature: Leaves are blowing in the wind, tadpoles are flying in the water, beavers and ducks are swimming with their children. Pure serenity, the kind, says Grandma Tanaka, that can only come from admitting you are part of a larger group.

That sense of peace continues in Mabel and her grandmother’s care of the glade over the years. And yes, when you hear the words “Pixar” and “montage” you immediately think At the topThe sequel to the iconic “Married Life”, so you already have an idea of ​​what’s to come. My eyes? Just waking up thinking about it.

Hoppers it’s an emotional rollercoaster.

Credit: Disney / Pixar

It’s hard to believe that just an hour after this quiet, tear-jerking show, you’ll be watching a bunch of animals try to sing to a human mayor (voiced by Jon Hamm).

Of course, a lot has to happen between these two points. Beaverton Mayor Jerry Generazzo should plan to walk over the Tanakas’ glade to hold the belt. Mabel must learn to jump, jump into the body of a robot beaver, and, in an effort to save the glade, befriend the local wildlife. That includes the beaver George (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), king of the mammals and leader of a large community of lakes where the runaway animals have fled.

Each step on this journey is better than the last. Beaver Jazzercise? Of course! Meryl Streep voicing the Queen of the Scary Insects? Absolutely! But through it all, director Daniel Chong and writer Jesse Andrews saved Hoppers focusing on Mabel’s grief at losing the space that meant so much to her and her grandmother. When we first see the glade, it is pure: all clear water and green forest. By the time Mayor Jerry fenced off the land and drained the lake, it was a muddy, dead desert. The difference is a gut punch.

No wonder Mabel is so frustrated and on fire in her environmental battle. Thank you, Hoppers He does not let his anger subside at all. It allows him to be sharp and push as much as possible, to admit his mistakes without letting them down.

Mabel gets a great foil from George, who is as warm and trusting to everyone as Mabel is naive. Their friendship forms Hoppers‘ sweet, furry heart, and once again anchored the film as it pounded its strange rhythms.

Hoppers‘ the third act is the stuff fever dreams are made of.

Credit: Disney / Pixar

Behold, the robot beaver A photo it’s already a strange concept. But Chong and Andrews take it wildly in the film’s third act, which is a physical riot. No spoilers, but a sweet-talking shark named Diane (voiced by Vanessa Bayer) and the Queen of Insects’ ferocious offspring Titus (voiced by Dave Franco) are involved, each in equal parts funny and unpleasant ways. I couldn’t stop thinking, “I’m worried I’m seeing this in a Pixar movie.”

Much of the joy of this final sequence comes down to it Hoppers‘ animation, bringing each character to stunning life, hair by hair, scale by scale, and feather by feather. A particularly funny touch? The appearance of animals changes depending on the perspective. From a human perspective, they look like a toy, with beady black eyes and well-kept fur. From the animal’s point of view, their eyes are clear, and their other physical features are detailed and confused. When Mabel is in the body of a beaver, its fur takes the same swoops of her hair. The switches between these points of view are flipping Hoppers‘ the third act was even more chaotic than it already was. Really, I wish I could have it the first time again.

It’s cleverly funny, and boasts a sweet message about trust and community building, Hoppers you are crazy in all the right ways.

Hoppers starts happening on March 6.