Hoppers (2026)

Film Details

Director: Daniel Chong

Run Time: 1hr 44m

Cast: Pipa Curda, Dave Franco, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Melissa Villasenor, Meryl Streep

Synopsis

When scientists learn to transport human minds into robot animals, young activist Mabel uses it to save the local glade from destruction.

My Review

I will be the first to admit that Hoppers more than exceeded my expectations, what I viewed as a long shot storyline blossomed into a wholesome exploration of habitat destruction, animal conservation and connections with the most unlikely of creatures. Mabel and the beautiful relationship with her grandma, laid the foundation for the entire film, perfectly driving home the emotional beats and setting up the lead character as someone the audience can really root for. This wasn’t a case of patronising messaging from Pixar, they utilised an important topic that most people can relate with, to form a wonderfully captivating storyline full of humour and heart, garnering reactions from adults and children alike.

The animation on display felt incredibly unique, with some of the designs, especially the forest backdrops, looking like an oil painting come to life. The visual distinction between the animal designs when they could be communicated with and when they were mute, was a really cool visual representation of how Humans can often see animals as simple creatures when in reality they are full of character and personality. All in all, I had a really fun time with Pixar’s latest film and I hope the support is there for an original film from the studio, if we want to keep seeing original stories, we need to turn up for them!

My Rating: 7.3 out of 10

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Film Review Club