Hoppers - A fun family movie that offers more than laughs with lessons on stewardship and faith

Charles Merritt says that Pixar’s new film out this weekend serves up laughs, furry escapades, and a timely message about loving our neighbours—and the world God made

Film: Hoppers

Age rating: U

Runtime: 105 minutes

See this if you liked: Elio, Turning Red

Synopsis

Mabel Tanaka is determined to save the local glade from being turned into a highway so, when an opportunity presents itself to enter the body of a robotic beaver, she jumps at the chance to convince the animals to move back to their original habitat. However, messing with nature’s laws comes at a price…

Review

PIXAR used to be the standout animation studio, churning out instant classics like Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, the list goes on. But recently, their films have felt a lot smaller in scale, less ambitious. Perhaps it’s the increase in competition from other studios like SONY animation and Illumination but they’ve lost a little of their edge that used to make them feel so unique.

Unfortunately, Hoppers is one of these smaller films. It’s not bad but it doesn’t blow you away either and I’m not sure how memorable it’ll be in comparison to some of those earlier PIXAR movies I mentioned. Although there are some fun easter eggs to look out for that connect it to the legacy of old!

The film centres around Mabel, a feisty teenager who stands up for what she cares about

The film centres around Mabel, a feisty teenager who stands up for what she cares about. When the mayor, Jerry (voiced by John Hamm), decides to build a new highway that cuts through the glade that Mabel’s grandmother used to take her to as a way of relaxing, Mabel is understandably upset. Despite her protests, the mayor isn’t swayed by her love of the natural habitat – pointing out that the animals that once used to live there have all moved away.

Then the movie goes from 0 to 100 with the introduction of a technology that allows users to place their mind into a robotic animal body that allows them to ……