Hoppers

When fierce young college student Mabel takes advantage of her professors’ new technology to put her consciousness into a robotic beaver body so that she can communicate with animals and help them save their habitat from human destruction… things get even crazier. There are pond rules, there’s a secret animal council, there’s hijinks galore, it’s fun for kids, but there’s enough there (both message-wise and entertainment-wise) for adults too. I had to pull this review out, because it does a good job of encapsulating the plot… and takes a shot at a global blockbuster: “Hoppers isn’t just James Cameron’s Avatar if it had feelings, it’s also James Cameron’s Avatar if it was good.” -William Bibbiani, TheWrap

Hoppers currently has a 94% Tomatometer and a 93% Popcornmeter (both coincidentally higher than any of the Avatar movies).

“Pixar returns to the head of the animation class with Hoppers, a vibrant, imaginative, and, best of all, exceedingly funny flight of zany madness that is sure to send audiences out of the theater sporting a gigantic smile.” -Sarah Michelle Fetters, MovieFreak.com
“Hoppers is thoughtful, animated with the same genuine, openhearted energy that defines the best of Pixar’s classics.” -Maxwell Rabb, Chicago Reader
“This one makes you laugh and gasp and even question the audacity of what you just saw before. Go see it.” -Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
“Hoppers is Pixar at its best, a story with warmth, humor, exciting action, endearing characters, and a reassuringly expansive notion of community.” -Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com
“Wildly inventive, visually stunning, and laugh-out-loud hilarious, Hoppers is not just a return to form; it’s Pixar at full creative power. I cannot wait to watch it again and again.” -Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
“Smart storytelling and snappy editing elevate the jokes and enrich the emotions… The animation, bursting with autumnal colours, is a delight too. It won’t save the planet but it just might fire up a new generation of Mabels.” -Philip De Semlyen, Time Out
“Hoppers is thoughtful, heartfelt, and profound in a way that warms you in a divisive world.” -Billie Melissa, Newsweek
“Hoppers features moments of dark humor that never fail to impress, unfolds absolutely stunning action scenes, has its heart in the right place, and celebrates the beauty of nature through a frankly dazzling mise-en-scène.” -Sergio Burstein, Los Angeles Times
“There’s lots of fun here, some of the one-liners are exquisite and the helter-skelter finale is delightfully overstuffed.” -Kevin Maher, The Times (UK)
“[T]his animated gem is funny and fierce in all the right places. Pixar is back, baby. Haters deserve a good squishing.” -Peter Travers, The Travers Take
“Hoppers manages to thread the needle between a charming story for a young audience and a considered take on the climate crisis that will also resonate for their adult caregivers.” -Aparita Bhandari, Globe and Mail
“Don’t call it a comeback — but this is really strong stuff from Pixar: funny, thoughtful, sweet, making for a heartfelt paean to nature, and beavers in particular. Dam good.” -John Nugent, Empire Magazine
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn what a keystone species is.” -Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle

Hoppers opens at The Clyde on Friday, April 24, and plays Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday at 7:30.