Hoppers

I don’t know about you, but ever since I was a kid, I’ve wondered what animals were thinking. If we wanna get mega specific. I always wished we could hear what dogs are thinking cause they are so expressive. But Hoppers isn’t about talking pets. No, no, no, they took it a step further; their goal was to become part of an actual ecosystem. Or should I say pond? Moral of the story: the Hopper Project was more than your average childhood fantasy.

They were exploring in the name of Science. Or at least that was the plan. Until your not-so-friendly neighborhood conservationist, Mabel Tanaka. Found out about the new highway that the mayor was building. That’s when things got turned up a notch from a run-of-the-mill talking animals movie. To the next Pixar film.

Initially, after watching the trailer. I came to the conclusion that Mabel must be some sort of child prodigy or genius. To come up with the technology to not only speak to animals, but also put your consciousness into one. To essentially become one with the pond, so to speak. Some might call it spying, but I like to think of it as Market research.

Now I may have jumped the gun on the whole child prodigy thing. And sure, Mable may lack in expertise, but she makes up for it with passion. So she might not be a genius just yet, but at least she was in the room where it was all going down. Well, to be more specific, she was enrolled in the class taught by the professor behind the Hopper Project. But regardless of the semantics behind how Mabel found her way into the mind of a beaver. It turns out Hoppers was gonna be more of a conservationist animal-lover type of movie.

Now I don’t wanna give the whole movie away, so let’s just say that they kept most of the “how this works” segments to a minimum. The story focused more on the characters and their motivations. Which is something they spent a good amount of time on early in the movie. To help establish Mabel’s character. So her rebel antics feel congruent with the character we were introduced to as a child.

Which leads me to one of my first real critiques of Hoppers. Honestly, I think Hoppers is one of those movies where the backstory ends up being better than the actual movie. Similar to another one of Pixar's movies, Up. Walk with me here. Before you go crazy in the comments, I'm not saying that Up or even Hoppers are bad movies. It's just when you think of the movie Up, generally, the first thing you think of is the opening. Because it takes place over the course of one's life, sure, the story might not be over. But the backstory has a finite nature to it. If you wanted to start the end credits right then and there, the audience would have been satisfied. They would have fosho been sad, but nobody would bat an eye. Cause the core message got across. And I believe Hoppers is another example of that, regardless of how you feel about the rest of the movie. You can't tell me that Mabel's backstory did not hit you in the feels. And before I get cooked, I'm not saying that Up and Hoppers are the same caliber of movie. I am simply making an observation, and I'm sticking to it. The opening to Hoppers is the best part of the movie.

Hoppers has a beautiful opening that really sets the tone for who the main character is. Versus who they end up becoming, based on where we pick back up to start the main storyline in the present day. The opening did a good job of expressing Mabel’s immense love for animals. And her connection with her Grandma. Who was also the first person to really see Mabel for who she is at her core. Seeing Mabel’s fascination with animals and nature really blossom was a treat. From rescuing class pets to now, where she is taking on the local government. It was a very strong opening act, some might even argue too strong. So the rest of the movie had a lot to live up to.

Like with most Pixar films in Hoppers, there is a healthy mix of sentimental values baked into the comedy. Which Hoppers still has in droves. See, the way I see it is that this movie could have gone one of two ways. Option 1: They could have really focused on the scientific and technical side of things. When it comes to the Hoppers themselves and made the movie more about discovery. Which would have muddied the waters, so to speak, as far as Mabel’s backstory. So there was no need for her to be a super genius to save the pond. What they needed was passion, and Mabel had more than enough for everybody.

Option 2: relies heavily on emotional intelligence. Using the Hoppers more as a means to an end. To save the pond, yes, but also save Mabel from herself. With the help of the mighty King George, of course. I don’t want to go into too many details in case you still haven’t seen the movie yet. Buuut... Mabel has spent most of her life up until this point being misunderstood. Being put down by others who didn’t care as much as she did about animals and the planet in general.

It's hard enough to navigate school already, but now you’re this known rebel, if you will. Can't be easy trying to save the planet and pass your algebra test all before lunch. So from the outside world, all she ever really got was pushback. So that built up a lot of resentment and anger, and to be honest, trust issues. Even her own parents didn’t really get it, and at a certain point in life. No matter how old you are, you want to be seen and understood. We all need that one person to see us and believe in what we are trying to accomplish. Regardless of what the circumstances are.

There was one person who did get it. For Mabel, it was her Grandma. She's the one who actually nurtured Mabel's love for animals and nature. By way of this pond that she used to take Mabel to as a kid. And before she transitioned, she tasked Mabel with protecting it. This is where the heart of our story begins. Which is why option 2 was a way more fulfilling story cause you can really cover so much ground. And pull on so many more heartstrings, taking that route. When it comes to how you handle anger and frustration, or learn to trust people, or in this case, the King of the Mammals. It makes for potentially a way more insightful movie, and I think Hoppers did a good job at it.

Now, at the end of the day, Hoppers is still a kids’ movie, so there are some goofy parts that you have to turn your brain off for. But I believe the depth shows up when you need it the most. Speaking of depth, there was one part of the movie where I completely lost immersion. And that was when a certain sea dweller showed up to not so much save the day in a sense. But it went from being more of a shock factor. To probably help with engagement in a really intense moment. To be the plot device that brought us home, so to speak. I won’t got to in depth because once you see it, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. But long story short, it’s wild that one small addition could take me out of the zone like that. Granted, it’s not like it wasn’t a necessary piece of the puzzle to finish telling the story they wanted to tell.

It just made me question everything I just watched in a way that I personally don’t think was conducive to the story. I just wonder what the other options were at this point. But as I said earlier, this was not a deal breaker or anything. But it is something that I could not ignore. Where Hoppers really shined was with the actual animals. All the different personalities per critter were so funny. The way they were able to cover so many different intricacies of the natural order of things in the wild. It was such a succinct way to simultaneously create tension. And lean into emotional intelligence gems Mabel could grow from in real time. It was a lot of fun to watch the council, especially.

I also love the choices that were made along the way. Remember, at the end of the day, they are still just animals, fish, and bugs, and anybody can get squished. Oh, and don't even get me started on the emoji battle that joint was hilarious. All in all, I enjoyed Hoppers, and I think it is another Pixar success story. It might not break any record in the box office, but it will definitely get its spins on streaming. I liked the lessons learned along the way. I love the awareness they brought in subtle and not-so-subtle ways about how animals are getting pushed out of their natural habitat. And I got some good laughs, so that's why I would give Hoppers an 8/10 G-Files Score.