Hoppers - Review: Lizards and Beavers and Bears, Oh My!

 

If there’s any studio who’s name alone is reason to go to the theatre, it’s Pixar. While they need no introduction, their focus seems to have drifted over the past decade or so. They’ve never stopped making original films, but their focus on sequels and their massive box office draws has grown in their post-“Toy Story 3” life. So it’s always a good thing to see one of their originals come out and do well, critically and commercially. “Hoppers” is one of those films, proving to be one of their biggest breakout hits in recent years, and a dam funny film to boot.

The film follows Mabel Tanaka, played by Piper Curda (“A.N.T. Farm,” “May December”), a college student determined to protect a local pond from being demolished to make way for a new overpass spearheaded by charming mayor Jerry, played by Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” “Baby Driver”). She finds the perfect way to do so after discovering that her college professor Dr. Sam, played by Kathy Najimy (“King of the Hill,” “Veronica’s Closet”), has developed a way to place a human consciousness into a robotic animal body, effectively “hopping” into the animal. Mabel takes this technology and sets out to find animals to populate the pond to prevent its destruction, eventually finding her way to the apathetic beaver king George, played by Bobby Moynihan (“We Bare Bears,” “Saturday Night Live”).

The studio is no stranger to inviting outside voices into their work, and writer/director Daniel Chong (“We Bare Bears”) feels right at home in the Pixar formula. He and co-writer Jesse Andrews (“Luca,” “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”) keep things moving briskly, with one of the quickest paces yet in a Pixar film. Their humor also leans heavily towards the absurdist and it results in some truly bizarre moments of animal inventiveness. So often a concept like this just doesn’t feel like it’s taken to its logical conclusion. Chong and Andrews not only take it as far as you’d expect, but take it even further, resulting in some really wonderfully bizarre story beats and gags.

Even at their most absurd, they never forget the effectiveness of the payoff, setting up some genius moments in the film’s third act. However, given the whirlwind of humor and pacing, things are a bit less creative when it comes to the film’s emotional arcs. While certainly not downplayed or bad by any stretch, they don’t feel as inventive as the rest of the film. You’ll still feel your heartstrings tugged by the end of it, but not in any way you couldn’t have seen coming.

But even if you aren’t knocked back by the emotion, the film’s vocal performances will make you adore every character. Curda is an excellently energetic “Joan of Arc” type leader, and her delightful delivery makes for a really loveable teenaged rebel. Hamm almost completely runs away with the film meanwhile, turning what could’ve been a stereotypical politician villain into a comedic wunderkind. Moynihan almost does the inverse; taking what could’ve been a purely silly beaver king into a deeply felt co-protagonist alongside Mabel. The film’s supporting cast is massive, with tons of minor comedic characters that make big impacts. There’s Melissa Villaseñor (“Saturday Night Live,” “Win or Lose”) as brown bear Ellen, Vanessa Bayer (“Saturday Night Live,” “I Love That For You”) as Diane the great white shark, and Dave Franco (“21 Jump Street (2012),” “Neighbors”) as Titus the butterfly, who might just be the standout supporting performance of an already stacked film.

Pixar’s exceptional animation finds plenty of room to roam here in Chong’s playground. The environments are lush and gorgeous, and the animals are playful. Smartly, it never transitions into a “world beyond ours” kind of perspective (there are no Beaver inventions or Beaver cars for example) instead letting the animals feel like animals. The sense of the “circle of life” is present here in a remarkably mature way for a family film. Early on, for example, it’s established that some animals will just be eaten because that’s how things work. It sets a smart tone that this kind of ecosystem isn’t being treated with kiddie gloves, but intelligently and in a respectful way. The animation, tone, intelligence, and just overall vibe of the film is wonderfully detailed without forgetting the exceptionally cartoony roots buried deep beneath it all.

“Hoppers” is important for Pixar in that it’s proof people will still show up for their non-numbered films. But even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t change Chong’s feature debut from anything other than a deeply, bizarrely funny tribute to the natural world. Told with swift and deft humor and gorgeous animation, with a voice cast most films would kill for, it’s just another day in the absurdist forest for a studio as illustrious as this. 4.5/5