By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"HOPPERS" BLENDS HEART AND HUMOR INTO A HIGH-TECH ADVENTURE
Leave it to the storytelling wizards at Disney/Pixar to turn a quirky premise into a heartfelt animated adventure. With that unmistakable polish,
"Hoppers" bounces onto the screen with charm, laughs, and a thoughtful environmental message.
The story begins in the town of Beaverton, where young Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda, TV's "The Morning Show") grows up exploring a peaceful forest glade with her beloved and ailing grandmother (Karen Hule, TV's "My Happy Marriage"), a place teeming with wildlife, especially a lively colony of beavers.
Those early lessons about respecting nature shape Mabel's worldview. Years later, after her grandmother's passing, the glade is threatened when the city's arrogant mayor, Jerry Generazzo (an excellent Jon Hamm, TV's "American Hostage"), unveils plans to replace the land with a freeway.
Now 19, Mabel becomes a passionate activist, trying, and largely failing to rally the community to save the habitat. For a moment it appears there is an elderly "Beavertonian" (Joe Spano, TV's "NCIS"), who Mabel visits and believes may come through. However, he thinks she's there for errands and to get his groceries. It's a funny scene.
Mabel's dedication to the cause even starts to derail her college studies, drawing the frustration of her biology professor, Dr. Samantha "Sam" Fairfax (Kathy Najimy, "Hocus Pocus 3").
But director/screenwriter
Daniel Chong (TV's "We Baby Bears") and screenwriter
Jesse Andrews ("Elio," "Luca") add a clever sci-fi twist to the film's eco-story. Sam and her research assistants, Nisha (Aparna Nancherla, TV's "Kevin"), and Conner (Sam Richardson, "The Angry Birds Movie 3") have secretly developed experimental technology that could revolutionize wildlife study. Their "Hoppers" program allows human consciousness to literally hop into a robotic animal body, experiencing the world through the eyes and instincts of another species.
Naturally, Mabel sees an opportunity. Ignoring Sam's warnings, she uploads herself into a robotic beaver and escapes the lab, only to be scooped up by an owl and dropped straight into the very glade she's been trying to save. From there, the film shifts perspective, letting audiences experience the fragile animal life from ground level, muddy riverbanks, busy dams, and all.
Once Mabel finds herself living among the animals, the story opens up with rich characters. She's eventually escorted to meet King George, (Bobby Moynihan, TV's "The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins"), the dignified head beaver of the massive communal "Superlodge," while the forest's delicate balance is overseen by the imposing Insect Queen--a butterfly monarch (Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada 2"), the most respected and feared member of the all-seeing Animal Council.
It's a pretty fun movie that also shows off Pixar's technical artistry, particularly in the detailed natural environments and animal movement. The film also helps younger viewers understand the importance of habitat preservation without ever sounding like a lecture.
The voice cast is stacked with talent beyond Hamm and Curda. Dave Franco brings breezy charm to the ensemble as the Insect Queen's son, Insect King Titus, while supporting turns from the late, Isaiah Whitlock Jr. ("Da 5 Bloods") as the Bird King, and Ego Nwodim ("Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie") as Fish Queen, help give the world of "Hoppers" plenty of personality.
If there's a minor snag, it's that the film feels longer than its 104-minutes runtime. Still, "Hoppers" will surely keep kids fully engaged with its humor, action, and richly imagined world. This is one adventure worth hopping along with.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"HOPPERS"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
