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Ron: Hello and welcome to a bonus episode of Stereo Geeks where we’re reviewing Hoppers, Disney and Pixar’s latest animated film. I’m Ron.

Mon: Before we start our episode, we would like to acknowledge that the land we are recording on is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. It is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

Ron: While we are making this land acknowledgement, we understand that this is not enough and that positive action is required by the people of Canada to make substantive change for the Indigenous nations and communities whose lands we now reside on.

[Music]

Ron: Hoppers follows an animal lover, Mabel Tanaka, voiced by Piper Curda, as she tries to save her late grandmother’s beloved glade. When she gets the opportunity to ‘hop’ her consciousness into a robot animal, she finds she’s able to communicate with other animals. Hijinks ensue!

Mabel’s robot beaver befriends a real beaver, King George (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), and together they corral the animal kingdom against a grave threat, animal-hating mayor, Jerry Generazzo, voiced by Jon Hamm. The voice cast also includes Dave Franco and multi Oscar-winner Meryl Streep. That was unexpected. 

Hoppers is directed by Daniel Chong. This appears to be Chong’s feature directorial debut. The film was written by Jesse Andrews, who has worked on other Disney-Pixar properties. Produced by Nicole Paradis Grindle, with Domee Shi as an executive producer on the film. Shi was the director of the Toronto-based coming-of-age animation Turning Red. Hoppers also features an original score by Mark Mothersbaugh and a new song by SZA, titled “Save The Day”. 

Ron: I didn’t quite know what to expect with this film but it was a lot of fun! At the press screening I was invited to, we all laughed together several times. I’m talking proper laugh-out-loud, holding-the-chair-handle kind of laughter.

Some of the visual gags were absolutely delightful, like Mabel being the worst door-to-door activist, whether as a human or a beaver. Mabel’s verbal battles with Jerry were a visual and auditory hoot. I don’t think it really mattered whether we could understand what they were yelling at each other. The point was that these two characters were always butting heads.

Ron: The story is enjoyable but the stakes get pretty high. Things get super hairy in the last half. Mabel, in her infinite youthful and human wisdom, inserts herself in animal matters and ends up taking things too far. Suddenly, she’s saving the animal world by risking humankind. And it keeps getting weirder and scarier from there. 

Ron: When I was watching the film, I wondered if the intended audience, which would be children, would find these moments too scary to enjoy. But when we were children, we watched a lot of creepy stuff and found it fun or even funny. Perhaps children are much more resilient than I give them credit for, at least when it comes to watching scary moments in films. They’ll probably be so taken with the talking animals aspect of this film, they’ll forget to be terrified. 

Ron: What I particularly loved about Hoppers was how it managed to include some seriously emotional moments. I got positively teary near the end. Look, the moment you put a sweet and loving grandmother, you’ve got me. I’m such a sucker for grandma characters, and despite her small role, Mabel’s nature-loving and deeply compassionate grandma, voiced by Karen Huie, had her emotional hooks in me from the get-go. 

Ron: But Grandma Tanaka wasn’t the only emotional core for me. I loved the powerful friendship that Mabel the beaver develops with King George. When he’s explaining to Mabel his method for running his kingdom, which he calls ‘Pond Rules’, he sounds like such an idealistic, sometimes naive, goofball. But he’s got a very strong understanding of the natural laws of the land, and the importance of preserving those rules to keep myriad species happy and together. This, despite their habitable land shrinking rapidly. George displays leadership skills that we desperately need in our very real human world. That’s the state of the world right now. I’m looking to an animated beaver for leadership. 

Ron: And despite Mabel’s mess ups, she and George continue to be fast friends with a common goal—save the glade but protect all animals, humans included, no matter the cost.

Ron: The film’s ending is modern animation at its best–combining the cutesy character animation style with realistic elements to build the stakes. But it is also deeply touching. A trope I love is ordinary people coming together under adverse circumstances to save the day and Hoppers delivers this in such an unexpected way. Delightful stuff. 

Ron: Now, I know Disney and Pixar are the gold standard for Hollywood animation. But it’s still astounding to see the animation in Hoppers. Some of the shots are truly a feast for the eyes. The glade that Mabel is trying to save is stunning. The plethora of animals and habitats, the realistic movement and texture of the water, the individual leaves moving autonomously in the wind. I have to marvel at how animation has changed in just my lifetime. I loved that this film took moments to let us experience the animated nature of the film world. We needed those interludes to appreciate the art on the screen. And it’s always nice to look at the natural world, even when it is animated. 

Ron: The character animation is a mix of goofy and adorable. Some of the tiny animals are so cute, particularly the mice and baby raccoons and baby beavers. But even the adult beavers, they’re so round and fluffy. I loved watching them. I can see a lot of people enjoying the plushies and toys that will be released after this film. I would have loved to cuddle those beavers. They’re undoubtedly my favourite animals in this film.

Ron: The voice cast features a mix of known and, at least to me, not so well-known actors. Turns out, I’ve seen Piper Curda in small roles in The Flash tv series and May December. Curda put a lot into her performance; her Mabel is energetic and passionate, and just a teeny bit more judgemental than she should be. But she’s also desperately lonely and grieving. All that comes through in seamless voice acting that evoked a lot of emotion.

Ron: Bobby Moynihan voices George. He is an SNL regular but I haven’t seen him since I don’t watch SNL. I thought he was solid as George. He was whimsical, funny, and determined. Very believable beavers these two actors.

Ron: The familiar names, Hamm, Franco, and Streep, didn’t really sound like themselves. I couldn’t have told you who they were voicing without seeing the credits at the end of the film. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A voice cast where you spend all your time recognizing the actors? That would be distracting. All the actors disappearing into their characters was exactly what this film needed. It didn’t matter who was voicing them, the characters needed to stand on their own.

Ron: I went to watch Hoppers to see cute, furry animals. I got that in spades. Lots of adorable creatures and moments that made me go “aww”. 

Ron: But I also liked the message of this film–that humanity and the natural world need to work together and be in-sync to thrive. Indigenous nations have long celebrated nature and warned against human over-reach, yet nobody in power is doing anything about it. Could this Disney film with cute animals change people’s minds? I can only wish.

Ron: Hoppers was enjoyable throughout. It’s got so many humorous moments and a central protagonist that brings both laughter and emotion. Mabel is easy to root for, yet flawed. And, of course, all those adorable animals, and the beautiful animation are a wonder to watch.