Hoppers

Last night I broke a three-week streak of not seeing any movies because nothing was playing that interested me. I went to see this new Disney-Pixar animated feature, and despite coming away feeling as if clubbed over the head by environmentalist propaganda, I really enjoyed the movie. Everyone I've mentioned it to assumes, from the title, that it's about bunnies. Actually, it's called "Hoppers" because of a hand-wavy gadget that allows a group of scientists to "hop" their minds into a robot designed to fool wildlife into carrying on with their business, the better to study said business. They've got one that looks like a bird, a bunny one to be sure, but the one that main character Mabel hijacks resembles a beaver.

Mabel, an undergrad at Beaverton University, has grown up taking solace from the diverse wildlife that inhabits the glade near her late grandma's house. Now the town's greedy Mayor Jerry wants to route a ring road right through the glade, and nobody seems to care enough to help Mabel stop him. Apparently the only option left is to get the animals, that have mysteriously moved away from the glade, to move back before the bulldozers arrive. So, Mabel takes drastic measures, running off in robot beaver form to infiltrate the animal community and try to sway the mammal king, also a beaver, to help her save the glade. Her meddling in animal politics leads to one disaster after another, and despite her lofty ends, her means are pretty questionable. Pretty soon, Mabel, King George and a handful of his most faithful followers are on the run, with other classes of animals out to get them and, particularly, to "squish" Jerry in order to stop the bypass being built. Ironically, Mabel finds herself having to protect humans from rampaging wildlife, all to restore the balance that she (and Jerry, don't forget) have knocked akilter.

It's a fun thrill ride, with lots of laughs, some emotional beats that hit hard, and flawed characters who make mistakes and grow from them, get knocked down and pick themselves up again, lose battles and keep fighting, hurt each other and forgive each other, and engage in meaningful discussion about such beliefs as whether or not everyone is basically good. It's got lots of action and outrageous imagery, including a gigantic shark that goes aerial – if you have to ask, just see the movie – as well as an evil insect that "hops" its mind into a robotic human body as part of a dastardly plan to turn the tables on mankind. There are triumphs and defeats and an ascending sequence of gosh-wow spectacle. Friendships overcoming communication barriers and differences of worldview. Chases. Rescues. And never a dull moment.

The voice cast includes Saturday Night Live alums Bobby Moynihan as George the beaver, Melissa Villaseñor as Ellen the bear, Vanessa Bayer as Diane the shark and Ego Nwodim as the fish queen, Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as Mayor Jerry, Kathy Najimy (Sister Act) as Professor "Sam," the brains behind hopping; Dave Franco (Now You See Me) as Titus the insect king, the unrelated Eduardo Franco (Stranger Things) as a stoner beaver named Loaf, Meryl Streep as the insect queen (Titus's mother), and Joe Spano (Hill Street Blues) as the old man Mabel spends a day with while trying to get signatures on a petition.

Three Scenes That Made It For Me: (1) Mabel (in beaver form) and friends ride along with a terrified Mayor Jerry during a car chase with Dr. Sam and her grad students, who are trying to get their robot back, while Diane the shark attacks from overhead. "You will feel a biting sensation, followed by death..." (2) The council of the animal monarchs meets, and Mabel does not do as George instructs and let him do the talking. The disaster is terrifying and hilarious! (3) Mabel befriends Ellen and Loaf – actually by offending them when she prevents the bear from eating the beaver. Naturally, this violates the pond rules, particularly "If you have to eat, eat." Mabel: "Sorry. Go ahead and eat him, then." Ellen: "I can't now. You've made it weird."