Hoppers Movie Review: Wildly Inventive

Hoppers is a wildly inventive animated adventure about a teen who transfers her mind into a robotic beaver to save her local habitat.

That could have easily collapsed into noise or gimmick. Instead, under the direction of Daniel Chong and with a screenplay by Jesse Andrews, Hoppers turns that wild idea into something funny, emotionally grounded, and surprisingly layered.

The film opens years before the sci-fi hook kicks in. A nine-year-old Mabel (Lila Liu) attempts to “rescue” her classroom pets in a well-intentioned but wildly misguided act of rebellion. It ends with sprinklers going off, animals scattering, and Mabel being hauled away in disgrace. It’s funny, but it also establishes her defining trait: she loves animals deeply, sometimes to the point of self-sabotage. That love is later shaped by her grandmother (Karen Huie, of Elemental) who takes her to a quiet creek and simply sits with her in nature. Those early scenes are gentle in a way the rest of the movie rarely is, and they anchor everything that follows.

That energy carries into her adult life. Now nineteen, voiced by Piper Curda, Mabel is still stubborn, still impulsive, still deeply attached to the creek her late grandmother once took her to. Those early scenes with her grandmother with them quietly observing nature, just sitting and letting the world exist anchor the entire story. When the mayor pushes to replace that habitat with a highway, Mabel’s resistance doesn’t feel performative but rather very personal and one that a lot of people would love to root for.

Hoppers‘ animation deserves real praise. The fur textures, the sheen of water, the way sunlight filters through the trees: it all feels so tactile, without looking too hyperreal or goofy. And yes, obviously the animals are outrageously adorable. The beavers, in particular, are animated with expressive detail that enhances the humor without tipping into overly cutesy territory. The visual world feels rich and thoughtfully built, which is crucial once the story transitions into animal society politics.

That transition happens when Mabel discovers her biology professor, Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy, of Hocus Pocus 2), has been secretly transferring human consciousness into robotic animal bodies for research. Mabel wastes no time hopping into a beaver model and escaping into the wild. From there, the film expands outward in a way that genuinely surprised me.

The animal world isn’t treated like a simple backdrop; it has structure and rules even if it is a tad silly. There are an Animal Council, territorial disputes, and even differences between species. When Mabel constantly intervenes in their dynamics – like telling them about how evil the humans are, or even stopping predators from eating prey – she disrupts their natural order, which is a further reminder that we can’t intrude in the lives of wild animals.

The clear standout is Bobby Moynihan as King George, the beaver monarch, who will most likely be a fan favorite for both adults and kids alike. Moynihan’s delivery lands every joke so perfectly and he brings a relaxed warmth to George that makes him instantly lovable. He’s funny, but he’s also emotionally perceptive and you just can’t help but want to give him a big hug. His dynamic with Mabel becomes Hoppers‘ emotional spine.

The supporting voice cast adds texture throughout. Meryl Streep, Vanessa Bayer, Sam Richardson, Dave Franco and Kathy Najimy are all perfectly cast here as their animal characters. Jon Hamm gives Mayor Jerry Generazzo just enough self-satisfied charm to make him believable, but the character is the film’s weakest element: Jerry does make for a good villain – his motivations are straightforward and his arc eventually works – but he also feels underexplored, and I found myself wishing the script had dug deeper into his perspective.

What impressed me the most is how confidently Hoppers embraces its absurdity. There are a caterpillar prince, a shark assassin, and a whole council, and yet none of this feels out of place because the writing is just that good. Screenwriters Daniel Chong and Jesse Andrews trust their audience to keep up, and that confidence pays off. There’s also a thematic throughline about unity that feels timely. The movie features different species, different instincts, and different hierarchies here, and still, there’s the possibility of collective action. The film acknowledges how messy cooperation can be, and it doesn’t pretend harmony is automatic.

Hoppers is inventive, genuinely funny, visually rich, and far more emotionally resonant than its premise would suggest. It swings big and commits fully, and this pays off greatly. It’s hard to imagine anyone not coming out of this energized, surprised, and already wanting to revisit its world. For a film built on such an out-there concept, that’s an impressive achievement.

Hoppers will be released in US theaters, in UK & Irish cinemas, and globally in theatres on March 6, 2026.