A Pixar Comeback: Pixar is back with a hilarious and unique new movie “Hoppers”

Pixar used to produce quality films every year. A movie ticket to the “Incredibles” meant hearty laughs after punchlines and streaming “Up” almost guaranteed heavy sobs with its well-written characters. 

Recently, Pixar’s movies have been nothing short of a disappointment like “Elemental,” with its cliche Romeo and Juliet love story, and the predictable googly eye, squash-head characters in “Luca”, “Soul” and “Turning Red”.

I expected Pixar’s new movie “Hoppers” to be another flop, but instead I left the theater with a well-spent $10, wide grin and feeling optimistic for the rest of my day. 

The movie follows Mabel, a raven-haired, spunky 19-year-old girl who’s passionate about the environment. Voiced by Piper Curda, Mabel’s love of nature was cultivated by her late grandmother, and throughout the film, Mabel struggles with her death. She tries to fill this void by attempting to save a forest glade near her home, her grandmother’s most cherished spot, from being bulldozed and turned into a highway. 

All of this information is made clear in the beginning of the movie, which I appreciate as most films lag to get to the point. 

During Mabel’s attempt to save the glade, she stumbles across a science experiment involving a beaver — a human’s mind is transported into a robotic animal’s body so the researchers can learn more about animal ecosystems. 

When Mabel discovers this, she takes this technology as an opportunity to save the glade. Her mind zaps into the beaver so she can communicate with the animals about the threat to their home.

Throughout this seemingly odd plot, I admired the movie’s unhinged humor the most. Adults could watch this film and not fail to burst out laughing. I was so exhausted from consuming toddler humor in recent Pixar movies that’d make me want to poke my eyes out with irritation. I would watch “Hoppers” again and again, just to catch jokes I missed the first time around. 

One of my favorite aspects of this movie was the characters. Their well-written personalities  caused them to bounce off the screens with realness. King George, beaver and mammal king, is an easily loved character. In the movie, he works with Mabel to protect the land, but his personality is everything to me. He lands jokes with his fitness instructor vibes and contagious positivity, while also bringing the audience to tears when his vulnerability. Even the award-winning Meryl Streep winds up in this film voicing the royal and uppity Insect Queen, blessing my ears. 

But my favorite character above all, was easily unlikeable, cookie-cutter mayor Jerry, perfectly encapsulated by Jon Hamm. A jerk — and Mabel’s environmental enemy — Jerry is in charge of bulldozing the glade to build his highway and win a re-election. I tried to hate this man, but Hamm lured me in with his unseriousness, egocentric appearance and constant bickering with Mabel.

Overall, these characters truly made the movie what is, which is quirky. 

So if you’re debating purchasing a ticket to “Hoppers,” then ask yourself this: Were you obsessed with the reimagined animal society in the “Zootopia” movies? Did “Up” leave you with puffy eyes and a warm heart? Lastly, was your inner-child rediscovered while watching any of the “Toy Story” franchise movies? 

If the answer is yes to any of those questions, then purchase your ticket immediately. 

Pixar is so back.