Despite their original films finding modest success with critics and audiences, Pixar has almost entirely shifted to sequels and franchises, with their upcoming slate including Toy Story 5, Coco 2, and The Incredibles 3. The reason for this is their box office returns: films like Elio fail to turn a profit, leading the studio to play it safe by continuing with their previous stories. One of the only original films left on their current release schedule is Hoppers, which has been one of their biggest return-to-forms in the past couple of years.

The film follows Mabel, a free-spirited college student who is willing to do anything to protect animals and the environment. After a construction site starts to encroach on the forest where she grew up, she uses her school’s secret invention to transport her consciousness into a robot beaver. Doing so, Mabel hopes to communicate with the animals of the area to fight back against the humans and take their land, but this leads her down a rabbit hole of problems that will affect everyone around her.

Reading the logline alone, one could easily draw comparisons to James Cameron’s Avatar films, but Hoppers finds just enough ways to make its derivative concept fresh in execution, mainly through its humor. Like most animated films, the jokes come at a fast rate, which strengthens the pace while providing some much-needed levity to its darker story. Whether it’s a simple pun or one with sinister intent, the type of humor varies in ways that will appeal to both kids and adults. A joke involving a death in the latter half of the film stands as one of the most shocking and hilarious in Pixar history, thanks to how unexpected it comes across.

Piper Curda brings so much energy to her role as Mabel, with her Disney roots meshing beautifully with the whimsical character. Despite making some poor choices throughout the film, Mabel’s drive to save the environment makes for a character that is always easy to root for, and that is conveyed perfectly through Curda’s performance. The entire ensemble is clearly having a blast with their roles, with Dave Franco’s third-act appearance as the Insect King particularly standing out as he blends menacing with a childish nature in such an entertaining manner. Casting celebrities in voice roles can sometimes come across as gimmicky, but there are no weak links in the Hoppers voice cast.

The film takes jabs at those in positions of power, delving into how it is just as important for authority figures to speak out about world issues as it is for the average citizen. This is evident in Mayor Jerry, who oversees clearing the forest to build a highway into the city. The film doesn’t just want to showcase the flaws of authority figures, but also to display the proper methods one should use to run a civilization. This is depicted through King George, the beaver who runs the forest area known as the “Superlodge.” George’s unabashed love of everything makes him such an endearing character, solely focused on the happiness of his people, even at his own expense. The contrast between Mayor Jeff and King George made for the perfect juxtaposition for Mabel, allowing her to understand how she wants to live her life in a nuanced manner. Pixar is known for its dense characters and storylines, and in an era when people are starting to lose faith in it, Hoppers stands out as one of its strongest efforts in years.

As mentioned previously, the film draws many parallels to Avatar, and while it finds enough ways to keep itself fresh, some repeated story beats leave some aspects of the script more predictable than they otherwise would’ve been. That said, the predictability doesn’t take much away from the story’s impact, but there were times when the film would’ve benefited from a couple more creative ways to tell its story, especially in the human-versus-animal conflict.

Hoppers feels like an early-stage Pixar film in the best way possible, taking an intriguing premise and turning it into a heartfelt, emotional experience that all ages can take something away from. The environmental messages may feel like a lay-up for a movie with this kind of plot, but the writing is endearing enough to earn every moment. Constantly hilarious with excellent characters and voice acting, this is a must-see feature from one of the best animation studios. Sequels and franchise films may make the most sense to produce during a time when movie theaters are struggling, but original films like Hoppers are bound to make a more lasting impact.

Hoppers will be released in theaters nationwide on March 6.

Rating: 8/10

Oscar Prospects:

Best Animated Feature