By Amelia Morris
“Hoppers,” the latest edition to Pixar’s expansive library, is a typical save the nature storyline with a sci-fi twist. As usual Pixar delivers heart warming stories with a real world theme and application.
“Hoppers” takes place in the town of Beaverton, a city surrounded by nature. The mayor, Jerry, has decided to build a beltway right smack dab in the middle of Beaverton’s glade – to secure his reelection, while also destroying the ecosystem.
Mabel is a determined 19-year-old college student and Beaverton local. Her and her grandma spent years in nature, especially the glade behind their house. They both cherished the escape and time they had together outside. Upon hearing Jerry’s expansion plans, Mabel decided to stand up for nature. After exhausting every effort she can think of to stop him, she turns to her professor, Doctor Sam, for help.
When Doctor Sam refuses to help, Mabel discovers a robot that looks strikingly like a live beaver. At first, she’s fearful for the poor beaver’s life but then Doctor Sam explains she has been experimenting with robots that can communicate and assimilate into animal populations as a way of research. Mabel then uses the robot without permission, “hopping” in to save the glade.
“Hopping” refers to transferring the consciousness of a person into a robot. In Mabel’s case, she hops to a beaver. As a beaver, Mabel fully becomes one with nature, talking with animals and even rescuing them.
To save the glade, Mabel has to communicate with the animals. With beavers being an essential species to the glade, Mabel takes her only chance to win the glade back for the animals, hoping to stop Mayor Jerry’s building project in its tracks.
The premise of “Hoppers” was excellent and I liked the sci-fi spin on the story. Although the movie’s story is not fresh or completely original, the combination of so many different themes made it intriguing.
The beginning was slow but in the end, it paid off. The set up with the close relationship of Mabel and her grandma drove her in the fight against Jerry. Without that, the story would not have the same gravity for the audience. Instead, Mabel’s motives would have seemed entirely her own rather than rooted in family ties.
The animation style was interesting. I did not hate it but I did not love it. I appreciated the nature portions of the movie, which were scenic, colorful and texturized. The people were highly individualized. Everyone had a very unique look, which is not inherently bad, but let’s just say, I am glad Mabel is a beaver for most of the movie.
Mabel’s presentation, along with several other major characters, was overwhelming on screen at times. However, on the nature side of the film, the animation was calm and comforting. This may have been done intentionally by the animators to hint at the foreign human way of life in contrast to nature.
The nature half of the movie stood out from the city center half because of the colors. The cityscape felt gray, drab and uninteresting while the wilderness was bursting with vivid hues of green.
Mabel loved nature and wanted to preserve it. I admire her drive and dedication to what she believed in. I liked that she actually did something about her circumstances and took action. She probably should not have been so abrasive but she had the right idea and a good heart.
“Hoppers” could easily get lost in the shuffle. The movie just seems to be another generic Pixar release.It is unfortunate because ‘Hoppers’ was a great movie. While it is no summer blockbuster, it deserves more attention than it will likely get. It’s cute, smart and funny. While Pixar has missed the mark in the past, this movie is a slam dunk. While the time of year and marketing keep this movie from being a huge blockbuster, this is the perfect spring movie for the whole family.
Images courtesy of Pixar Animation.
“Hoppers” is currently in theaters.
Amelia Morris is a freshman journalism major and writer for Cedars A&E. She loves reading, writing and being in nature with her dogs.
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