Hoppers - Movie Review

The Movie: Hoppers

The Director: Daniel Chong

The Cast: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Meryl Streep, Dave Franco, Kathy Najimy, Eduardo Franco, Melissa Villaseñor, Ego Nwodim, Vanessa Bayer, Sam Richardson, Aparna Nancherla, Nichole Sakura, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Steve Purcell, Karen Huie, Tom Law

The Story: A 19-year-old animal lover uses technology that places her consciousness into a robotic beaver to uncover mysteries within the animal world beyond her imagination.

The Rating: 7 / 10

The Review:

As you are probably aware, Pixar Studios, which is owned by Disney, has spent the last couple decades establishing themselves as the premier animation studio in the world with iconic franchises like Toy Story and Inside Out along with memorable characters from other films like A Bug's Life and Wall-E. Over that time, the studio has set the bar when it comes to what's possible in both animation and storytelling and, while not every one of their films has been an unqualified success, you can usually depend on a story filled with heartfelt emotions and relatable themes.

For my part, Hoppers falls somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to the heirarchy of Pixar products as I generally enjoyed it although I'm not sure if the story will stick with me for any length of time. The premise is solid, there are a lot of fun characters, and the story has several moments that will catch you off guard with some genuine, funny moments, a few of which really caught the audience off guard, and I mean that in a good way.

A lot of the themes in the movie like corporate greed, rallying against those in power, and protecting the environment all felt a little overly familiar which is what makes me think the movie might not hold up as one of Pixar's more memorable features. The whole thing feels more like boxes were being ticked off to maximize box office success rather than purely focusing on great storytelling which is what put the studio on the map in the first place.

It's these types of movies that are always a challenge when it comes to writing reviews because I genuinely enjoyed the movie and there's nothing glaringly wrong with it, it just doesn't stand out. That being said, Hoppers will definitely make for a fun, family time at the movies. It plays well to kids of all ages and the fast paced action and comedy will keep everyone entertained from beginning to end.

Thank you for reading this review, I hope you find it useful, informative, and entertaining. Watch for more reviews and other content coming soon!