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James Mottram

4/5 stars
Bounding into cinemas just in time for spring, the latest Pixar animation is a pleasingly charming tale of man vs nature, with a bit of crazy robot tech thrown in.
The star of Hoppers is Mabel Tanaka (voiced by Piper Curda), a young animal-lover leading a one-girl protest over a freeway being built through the tranquil countryside near her hometown of Beaverton.
Because the freeway is the pet project of the town’s popular mayor, Jerry (Jon Hamm), who is vying for re-election, Mabel’s protests fall on deaf ears.


Everything changes when she stumbles upon top-secret research by her biology professor, Dr Sam Fairfax (Kathy Najimy), that allows for the human consciousness to be linked to robotic animals. This lets users get up close and personal with other species.
“This is like Avatar,” Mabel coos, and, in truth, it is. Plugged into a headset, Mabel is reborn inside a robotic beaver. She plans to recruit a real beaver to help populate the glade, which is set to be destroyed by Jerry’s proposed road.
Suddenly, like some sort of demented Dr Dolittle, Mabel can talk to the animals. She meets the garrulous George (Bobby Moynihan), the king of the beavers, who has found shelter for all animals whose homes have been threatened by encroaching humans.
As she plots to destabilise Jerry’s urban sprawl, Mabel is suddenly thrust into a complex world – where mammals make up only part of the ecosystem.

Scripted by Jesse Andrews and directed by Daniel Chong (We Bare Bears), Hoppers manages a perfect high-wire act, working both as a thoroughly entertaining family film and something rich with adult themes.
Obviously, man’s relentless destruction of nature looms large – “one animal is taking more than is rightfully his,” we’re told – but the film’s light touch never makes it feel preachy or heavy-handed.
It comes packed with gags, none better than when George and the others accost Jerry, talking to him in emojis via a mobile phone voice translator.
If this really is the animal Avatar, then Hoppers makes the most of its bonkers premise. This is a film, after all, that features a giant shark being hoisted in the air by a flock of seagulls.

Dave Franco is fun as the voice of Titus, the megalomaniac Insect King who acts as a sort of third-act villain, and Jon Hamm is terrific as Jerry, offering up a charming turn as a try-hard politician.
Best of all, the film earns its emotional payoff, with an ending that does not hit a duff note. As original Pixar films go, this is one of the best in recent memory.
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Pixar’s Hoppers sees a young animal-lover use secret technology to pilot a robot beaver to recruit real ones and stop a construction project


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Pixar’s Hoppers sees a young animal-lover use secret technology to pilot a robot beaver to recruit real ones and stop a construction project

Pixar’s Hoppers sees a young animal-lover use secret technology to pilot a robot beaver to recruit real ones and stop a construction project