‘Hoppers’: A lighthearted movie with plenty of pep in its step
Daniel Chong brings his signature charm from ‘We Bare Bears’ to an absurd adventure with relevant themes
Photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar
Photo provided by Kai Beasley
★★★★✩
Hoppers
Directed by Daniel Chong
Screenplay by Jesse Andrews
Starring Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, and Jon Hamm
Rated PG. Now playing in theaters.
On Thursday, Feb. 26, the MIT Lecture Series Committee (LSC), in collaboration with Disney and Pixar, held an advance screening of Pixar’s Hoppers in room 26-100. Directed by Daniel Chong, the creator of popular TV series We Bare Bears, this movie brings his signature charm to an absurdly wacky adventure with themes that feel especially relevant today.
The movie follows Beaverton University student Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda) as she embarks on a mission to save her beloved childhood forest glade from destruction at the hands of mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm), her archnemesis, who plans to build a massive freeway in its place. During her journey, Mabel stumbles across “Hoppers,” the grand (and ethically questionable) research project belonging to her college professor Dr. Samantha “Sam” Fairfax (Kathy Najimy) that utilizes technologically advanced robotic animals that can be consciously inhabited by humans to research the wildlife they mimic. Mabel “hops” into a beaver, finds herself in “the pond” — a refuge for displaced animals led by the beaver King George (Bobby Moynihan) — and inspires the animals to take back the glade and rise up against the humans.
However, things don’t quite go Mabel’s way. Her bitterness towards Jerry ignites the fury of the other animal royalty — the Council — who, against her wishes, make plans to execute the mayor. What follows is a series of twists and turns that finds Mabel and King George exiled from the pond and forced into an uneasy alliance with Jerry to save not only his life, but also the lives of the people of Beaverton too.
Although I was initially fearful that the 3D animation would be another example of Pixar’s infamous “bean mouth” syndrome, I was proved wrong by Mabel’s sharp features. The animation's art style also strikes a nice balance between simplicity and detail. I especially enjoyed the adorable animals (can we get Tim the Beaver merch in this style?!) and the vividly colorful landscapes, which helped reinforce Mabel’s love of nature. I also appreciated the expressive voice acting from the entire cast, but especially Curda and Hamm. As Mabel, Curda conveyed everything from righteous rage to touching sorrow, the latter of which even brought a few tears to my eyes. Meanwhile, Hamm excelled in his role as Mayor Jerry, fully bringing out the character’s smug and pompous nature and elevating his performance with manic energy near the end of the film.
The humor is another highlight. From the very beginning, I was laughing at Mabel’s comedically persistent rivalry with Jerry as well as her failed campaigning efforts for the glade. The comedy rarely lets up, even as tension continues to build through action-packed chaos and ever-increasing stakes. Just when I thought I knew what was coming, Hoppers would throw a curveball and catch me completely off guard, causing me to double over with laughter again — including a very relevant joke about getting a job at the very end of the movie. (Aside: everything was funnier in a unified audience of 400–450 people. Not sure if it would’ve been the same watching it alone.)
In terms of plot, I spent the first half of the movie enjoying everything with a simple sense of pleasure. Mabel’s motive is simple: to save the glade. However, things take a darker turn once she accidentally convinces the Council to execute Jerry, as a violent rage from the other animals becomes vividly palpable. (Seriously, how did they dox the poor guy’s car so easily?) About two thirds of the way through, I realized that the simple premise had escalated into a matter of life and death, with all-out war from the animals and threats of world-domination from a certain insane caterpillar. The absurdity of it all briefly left me bewildered, wondering what exactly I was watching. It had been a long time since I’d engaged with material this strange. All I could think about was that this felt like a premise straight from my fourth-grade creative writing summer camp.
Another slight critique I had was the dynamic between Mabel and her late grandmother. Although we initially see how she inspires Mabel’s love of nature, the rest of their relationship exists only through Mabel’s somewhat rose-tinted memories. I didn’t find these wispy recollections particularly moving, to be honest. When Mabel loses the last physical reminder of her grandmother, I felt vaguely sad, but then quickly grew frustrated at her dramatic hesitation in the face of obvious danger. Maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy.
The central theme — finding common ground with unlikely candidates — is quite beat-you-over-the-head obvious. Even though Jerry is presented as an antagonist, the film foreshadows his eventual cooperation with Mabel: he only constructs the freeway after all the wildlife have left the glade, and he greets her protests with a casual indifference that lacks any real animosity. King George’s pond rules further push this idea: “We’re all in this together!” Yes. We know. Still, regardless of how heavy-handed it may be, this messaging feels particularly relevant to our divided world today.
While I initially had to take time to process the movie itself, I couldn’t deny that the energy of LSC’s screening was something special. The room was packed, and even though I didn’t come with any friends, I felt truly united with the MIT community during those two hours. As Andy Xu ’28 put it, it was “one of the greatest things MIT’s done.” Audience reactions were overwhelmingly positive, and everyone left the lecture hall chatting about the experience.
LSC members were also thrilled about the event. “It seemed like everyone was really excited to be there, which is a great energy to see from an audience,” LSC Lecture Director Kai Beasley ’28 said. “Overall, it was really nice to see 26-100 so full for an LSC screening.”
Overall, Hoppers is a movie everyone can enjoy, regardless of age. Whether you’re searching for entertainment, trying to find a little hope in the world, or just looking for a reason to meet up with a friend, it’s hard not to leave the theater feeling just a little lighter than when you arrived.
If you missed this showing, LSC will host an early screening of Project Hail Mary on March 14 at 7 p.m. in 26-100.