Hoppers (Christian Movie Review)
Hoppers contains enough humor to satisfy young viewers, but its lack of emotional depth and surprisingly dark tone prevent it from reaching the lofty heights of other Pixar stories.
About the Film
In Hoppers, characters transport their human consciousness into robotic animal bodies to blend in and be accepted in the animal kingdom. In a way, the movie does the same thing. Hoppers feels like an animated film that’s trying to be a Pixar movie. The act is believable at times, but it never feels fully at home in its own skin. It has all the outward trappings of a classic Pixar film but no soul. It contains enough humor to satisfy young viewers, but its lack of emotional depth and surprisingly dark tone prevent it from soaring to the lofty heights of other Pixar stories.
Fair or not, Pixar studios is a victim of its own success. The studio’s early stories were so groundbreaking that any film that doesn’t measure up to those rewatchable classics feels like a letdown. Hoppers isn’t bad, but it’s subpar by Pixar standards. It doesn’t possess the studio’s usual imaginative spark. The story’s central concept is so reminiscent of films like Avatar that an exacerbated character jokingly comments, “It’s nothing like Avatar!”
While Hoppers may not boast a wholly original concept, it’s at its best when it pushes its familiar idea to amusing extremes. Standout scenes feature animals kidnapping a human mayor and a wild moment in which a flock of seagulls lifts a giant shark out of the water and chases after the heroes. The wackier things get, the more momentum Hoppers gains. And for all its shortcomings, Hoppers is rarely dull, which is arguably the primary objective of an animated film.
Hoppers has energetic action and emotional drama but lacks the storytelling sophistication to thread them together in the cohesive manner earlier Pixar films like UP (2009) did so masterfully, despite exploring similar themes of loss and grief. It includes a wholesome subplot between the main character and her grandma, but the film doesn’t give these slower moments enough breathing room to leave an impression. They seem to be included simply to check the “emotional Pixar material” box rather than being fully integrated into the protagonist’s journey.
The film’s dry and understated humor may not work for all viewers, but it did for me. Yet I found both the humor and the tone to be surprisingly dark. Perhaps fitting for a story about beavers, this film has more bite to it than some parents may expect (or want). A lot of the humor stems from violence (the animal kingdom is a violent place, after all), such as when an insect queen is “smushed” mid-speech and the accidental murderer rubs her gut-covered hands on the wall behind her. It’s funny, but also grim.
Likewise, the film gives off some sci-fi/horror vibes. In a third-act role reversal, an insect transports its consciousness into a human robot. The moment is a bit spooky and intense, as is a later scene in which the artificial flesh is pulled away to reveal the robotic face underneath, like a cartoonish terminator. My 11-year-old sons were unbothered, but even they remarked afterwards, “That was actually pretty creepy.” Hoppers is very much a PG-rated film, but it’s not all cuddly beavers. There’s also some potential nightmare fuel for sensitive viewers.
In the end, there is certainly fun to be had with Hoppers, and my kids and I enjoyed watching it. But up until the end credits, it felt like it was trying to win me over, and it never fully succeeded. Hoppers is a mixed bag. It’s imaginative, but it also leaves a lot of creative potential on the bone. It contains some heartfelt moments, but it never feels like an emotional journey. It’s a relatively wholesome film, but it has a darker tone and sharper edge than might be expected. It doesn’t contain any problematic content (other than perhaps the slightly darker tone), but it does little to earn a hearty recommendation either.
For Consideration
On the Surface—(Profanity, Sexual content, violence, etc.).
Language: There are a few crude words (“sucks”), and a bird character says the slogan, “flap around and find out,” which is a clear play on the more profane phrase, “f— around and find out.”
Violence: There is some violence inflicted on insects, such as a butterfly being squished and another being eaten by a frog. There are allusions to natural violence within the animal kingdom, although none is depicted.
Sexuality: None.
Other: As in many animated films, the main character (who is a young adult, not a child) acts in ways parents wouldn’t want their own children to emulate, such as jumping into the middle of dynamite in an act of nature preservation activism.
Engage The Film
Let’s All Just Get Along, Okay?
Several thematic threads are woven throughout the story. The deepest and most mature involves Mabel’s relationship with her grandma and the grief she experiences after her passing. Mabel, the main character, struggles with a sense of powerlessness to stop the world from changing. It’s a poignant, if slightly underdeveloped, storyline.
A more universally relatable message for young viewers is the standard animated movie theme about learning to get along with others. It’s certainly not a bad message for kids (or their parents) to remember.
Where Hoppers demonstrates surprising maturity is in how it elevates human dignity without diminishing our sinful nature. To paraphrase one scene, a character remarks that everyone is “good inside.” A more cynical character quips, “You know that’s not true.” The first responds, “But don’t you wish that it was?”
The perspective of human nature as flawed is consistent with a biblical worldview. People aren’t good deep down; we are sinful, self-destructive beings (Romans 3:23). Yet we are still called to love each other (Mark 12:31). Many animated films preach that people should be kind and get along, but Hoppers is honest that doing so isn’t always easy.
The animal characters have “pond rules” to govern their uneasy coexistence. They may live together, but their needs sometimes conflict (e.g. predators need to eat prey). The world is messy, painful, and out of our control. There’s no perfect solution. Thus, the film encourages viewers to resist selfishness and to embrace a “we’re all in this together” attitude, even when doing so requires personal sacrifice.
