Mabel Tanaka is a college student with a very personal connection with nature. Not only is it her passion, but it is also her connection with her grandmother. When a construction project threatens to destroy a beautiful pond in favor of a freeway, Mabel finds herself trying to save the pond. Unfortunately, she isn’t very successful at this… until she accidentally discovers the Hoppers technology. This finds her inside a robotic beaver (but no, not like Avatar… but really, yes, it is). Unsurprisingly, things don’t go as planned. What does end up happening is Mabel learns the importance of character and coming together. Hoppers is Pixar’s newest animated feature and continues its trend of creative storytelling.

Quality

Hoppers is a visually appealing film that has some lovely colors, design, and characters. I don’t know if this is the most innovative Pixar movie of all time, but there also isn’t anything wrong with it. The accompanying audio tracks are of the quality one would expect to come from a Pixar film as well. This makes for an enjoyable movie experience that enhances the story being told, not detracts.

Extras

There are a few bonus features included with the home release of Hoppers. They are enjoyable to watch. The best two were The Critter Diaries and Hopping In: The Making of Hoppers. In both cases, I found myself wanting more (which is probably a good thing). The other bonus features were mostly worth watching as well. I feel like something else could have been done with the bloopers, though. They were happy but not necessarily true bloopers.

Bonus Features*

• The Critter Diaries: Wander behind the scenes with director Daniel Chong and the Pixar team as they explore Yellowstone, study wildlife, and find real-life inspiration for our favorite new animated characters from Hoppers.
• Hopping In: The Making of Hoppers: Hop into the making of the movie as filmmakers, cast, and crew share how their ideas, collaboration, and creative process brought the story, animation, and lovable characters to life in Pixar’s Hoppers.
• “Meet King George” Scene Breakdown: Dive deep with director Daniel Chong and his filmmaking team as they reveal the craft of making King George’s Superlodge. Get insight into the directing process, editing, VFX, animation, and production design.
• Beaverton Revealed: Explore Hoppers to find surprising Pixar film cameos, hidden references, and plenty of fun, behind-the-scenes facts.
• Dam Good Bloopers: Laugh along with your favorite voice actors from Hoppers as they have fun bringing their characters to life in the recording booth.
• Deleted Scenes: Check out these scenes that didn’t make the final cut, as introduced by director Daniel Chong and editor Axel Geddes.
  • Cold Open
  • The Glade
  • The Mission
  • Kings Arrive
  • George’s Bachelor Pad
  • Helicopter Ride

*Bonus features may vary by product and retailer

Final Thoughts

Hoppers is an enjoyable film in the Pixar Animation Studios library. It may not be the greatest film that Pixar has released. It definitely is not the worst, either, though. I found myself drawn to the story, the characters, and the humor. I don’t know if it was the most innovative Pixar film in terms of animation. However, the story was a good one that had some really good messages. This is one that I enjoyed and would want in my personal library. I give it a hat tip. I will probably be watching it again in the near future.

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Mr. DAPs Hat Rating Scale

• No Hat – Didn’t meet expectations
• Hat Nod – It was ok
• Hat Tip – It was good
• Hat’s Off – Loved it!