Pixar, much like other giant Disney-owned entities such as Star Wars and Marvel, has gone through a bit of a hit-and-miss phase over the last few years. For every First Steps there’s a Quantumania, and for every Force Awakens there’s been a Rise of Skywalker. And so it was with careful optimism that I bought my ticket to Pixar’s latest offering: Hoppers.
The film tells the story of Mabel, a wildlife advocate who finds out about hopping technology. This technology allows one to ‘hop’ their consciousness into animal robots in order to better understand animals, but the all-too-gung-ho Mabel hijacks the technology to save a beloved pond from total obliteration. Both the teaser and official trailers for this film thankfully do not give too much away, and so its most exciting element is the film’s unpredictability – you truly do not know where the film is headed until right at the end.
As expected, the animation is superior to most found in this medium. The characters are likeable, relatable, and easy to grow attached to, especially King George the Beaver, who is the poster child for generosity and community. The animation style complements the pace perfectly – it’s fast-paced, often dipping into manic energy that can be a tad unnerving – even for an adult viewer. The humour is also a huge selling point for the film, with many laugh-out-loud moments (again, thankfully NOT included in the trailer).
However, as with many films, its greatest strengths are also its biggest shortcomings: the manic nature can become dark and overstimulating, prompting me to wonder whether it is indeed suitable for children. Likewise, the humour becomes dark in some places, and I began to ask myself if we’re really going there so flippantly? The unexpectedness of the narrative begs the question: did the filmmakers know what kind of movie they wanted to make in the end, or did they get too caught up in the journey?
That being said, I heard more than a few chuckles from both adults and children alike, so the film is by no means bad. The communal thread runs quite effortlessly throughout the film, and ultimately it sticks the landing, but when you’re forking out a small fortune to go to the cinema nowadays, is ‘not bad’ good enough? It’s endearing, but too inconsistent to truly stand out as one of Pixar’s better films.
