Written by: Samantha Hass
I’m a big fan of cartoons and animated content; that, by default, must make me some kind of a seasoned expert on cartoon comedy and slapstick humor. There’s a certain type of comfort and joy that this type of entertainment elicits, and every time I put content like this on, it brings a smile to my face. I genuinely think that goofy characters stumbling into crazy, unimaginable situations is absolute comedy gold. That being said, as a college student, and especially as a senior that will be graduating in May, I barely have any time to sit down and watch my favorite type of comedy media. On the off chance that I have time to watch, though, it makes the experience all the more memorable and enjoyable.
On my 22nd birthday, in March, my family asked me how I wanted to spend the rest of the day, after we had gotten lunch. My brother pointed out that Pixar’s new movie, Hoppers, had just been released. We all decided to go see it on a whim; I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to see a new film from one of my favorite studios. I will admit that the trailers and advertising for the film were rather unappealing to me. I wasn’t very intrigued by the premise, and I was worried that the film was going to pander to a younger audience. My impression was also curated by the fact that the last couple of Pixar releases had been rather lackluster. Not terrible, just not up there with a lot of the older releases.
Hoppers, I will say, pleasantly surprised me with how much I enjoyed the viewing experience. Its unabashedly odd tone and premise made for a very engaging, incredibly endearing watch — it reminded me of why I love absurd, feel-good animated content. It’s simply fun, reminiscent of childhood whimsy.
Hoppers follows the spunky 19-year-old Mable Tanaka, who is an adamant environmental advocate. In her effort to preserve a glade that was important to both her and her grandmother, she accidentally gets entangled in her professor’s secret experiment, which is a device that allows humans to transmit their consciousness into animal robots. The device was developed in the hopes of furthering animal research. In a bizarre turn of events, Mable’s mind gets transferred into the body of a beaver, and she uses this opportunity to infiltrate a kingdom of animals to try and save the glade. A series of wild events ensue, and each turn that the film takes becomes even more unpredictable than the last. The film boasts silly animation, a cute art style, body-swapping, surprisingly scary animal monarchs, and my personal favorite: a sequence with a great white shark suspended in the sky with the help of a flock of birds. Stakes are raised by the end of the narrative, and we the viewers witness a revenge plot to kill the town mayor unfold, ending in an unexpected yet fitting manner.
Watching this movie felt like watching a Saturday morning cartoon special, with all its absurd elements and cartoon logistics. The viewing experience was very nostalgic, and I found myself chuckling and turning to see my brother’s reactions multiple times during the movie. I went into the film without any expectations and left the theater dying of laughter at some of the body-swapping sequences. One silly standout moment was the instance where a creature (I’ll refrain from specifying which, to avoid spoiling the film) transferred their consciousness into a robot made to look like a human, which resulted in fitting, uncanny interactions. Now, that is the type of strangeness that can only come from a highly stylized movie like this. This gag genuinely enhanced my viewing experience.
After the film was over, my brother and I both agreed that it was a really enjoyable watch and that the advertising for it did not do the film justice. Would I have enjoyed this animated adventure comedy had I been watching a ton of films of the same genre around the same time? Perhaps not. But in that moment, Hoppers was a breath of fresh air for me as a viewer, and it reminded me of why I love dorky, not-so-serious content in the first place. I highly recommend giving Hoppers a watch, especially if you need a piece of media to take your mind off things and brighten your day.
Featured Image Caption: Mable’s consciousness gets transferred into the body of a robot beaver in Hoppers (2026).
