Pixar Animation Hoppers Review — A Family Movie That’s Great to Watch with Kids (Post-Credits Info)
Pixar’s 30th feature-length animated film,
Hoppers, has finally been released
For a long time, Pixar has carried the reputation of being
“an animation studio you can trust without hesitation”
However, around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic,
a number of their films began falling short of expectations at the box office
As a result,
a small question mark gradually started to appear
in the audience’s long-standing trust in Pixar
In 2024, Inside Out 2 managed to put out the immediate fire
But Elio, which was released last year,
once again left a somewhat disappointing result at the box office
So the doubts surrounding Pixar
haven’t completely disappeared yet
Because of this,
the success of their newest film Hoppers
could carry quite an important meaning for the studio
Will Pixar be able to capture the audience’s hearts
once again with this film?
Here are my thoughts after watching it myself
[ Post-Credits Scene ]
🍪 There is one post-credits scene, so make sure you don’t miss it 🙆♂️
Content
Plot
Message
Review
What Could Have Been Better
What I Liked
Plot
What if I could become an animal?
Mabel, a girl who loves animals,
comes across the “Hopping” project,
a technology that allows humans to enter an animal’s body
Through this system,
a human consciousness is connected to a robotic body
allowing them to enter nature in the form of an animal
and communicate with them directly
In order to protect the lake in her hometown,
a place filled with memories of her grandmother,
Mabel decides to take part in the experiment herself
After jumping into the natural world as an animal,
Mabel moves between the animal world and the human world
and finds herself caught up in unexpected events and adventures
Message
A story about learning to see through another being’s perspective
The film is not simply about turning into an animal and going on an adventure
After entering nature through an animal’s body,
Mabel initially tries to solve problems using human perspectives and values
However, through her interactions with animals like George,
she begins to realize that the choices she believed were right
are not always the correct answers
and that each living being exists and survives in its own way
In particular, as Mabel experiences failures and conflicts,
she learns that
simply wanting to protect nature does not solve every problem,
and that
understanding the perspectives of different beings is incredibly important
Because of this,
the film goes beyond a simple animal adventure story
and feels like a work that encourages us to think about
how we understand other perspectives
and how different beings can coexist together
Review
My personal impression is that the film was overall quite decent
As mentioned in the trailer,
the core idea naturally reminds you of Avatar
Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to say the film completely imitates Avatar,
but the concept alone inevitably raises expectations
I also found myself unconsciously comparing the two in terms of
world-building, themes, and overall storytelling
Structurally, if we divide the film into three acts,
the early portion before the main conflict fully begins
felt slightly slow-paced to me
It’s also something I’m curious about —
whether I would feel the same way if I watched the film again later
The overall story also follows a fairly predictable path
Personally, there weren’t any characters that stood out as particularly compelling
There were also a few elements that didn’t quite match my personal taste
such as the style of humor
and the somewhat realistic visual concept
That said,
as expected from a Pixar film,
the storytelling, direction, animation, and lighting
are all executed at a very high level
None of these elements feel overly flashy or forced
Instead, they blend naturally into the film
which once again made me feel that
“Pixar is still Pixar”
It clearly shows that Pixar still maintains
a strong baseline level of quality
Above all,
the film’s greatest charm is that it works wonderfully as a family movie
There were many families in the theater watching it together
and while I was watching,
I kept thinking
“This is a really great movie to watch with kids”
Overall,
it feels like a film that families can comfortably enjoy together
What Could Have Been Better
As I mentioned in the review,
most of the things that felt disappointing in this film
were largely a matter of personal taste
I personally like clearly recognizing what I enjoy and what I don’t
because I believe that doing so helps define my tastes more specifically
Sometimes I come across works that combine or reinterpret elements
I thought I liked — or disliked — in completely new ways
and I really enjoy those moments when my previous perspective changes
However, this film didn’t quite offer that kind of experience for me
Even though many animal characters appear throughout the story,
there wasn’t a single character that became a personal favorite
The chase sequence toward the end also felt a bit forced to me
And overall,
the narrative stayed within a fairly predictable range
which made the emotional impact feel somewhat limited
What I Liked
The things I liked about the film are quite clear
First, the protagonist Mabel was very memorable
Even while saying that
“everything feels broken and things only seem to get worse no matter how hard we try,”
she continues to fight and take action
in order to achieve her goal
Another scene I would love to revisit
is the moment when the leaders of different species appear
to attend the council meeting
The spectacle and the creative ideas in that scene
were particularly impressive
I also liked the way the council’s final message was delivered 🦋
And the dazzling visual of the reptile leader butterfly
filling the entire screen
was another moment that really stayed with me
With that, I’ll wrap up my thoughts on Hoppers,
the story of a brave girl — and a beaver — who leap boldly into the world
I’d recommend this film to anyone who enjoys Pixar movies,
animal-centered stories,
or those looking for a movie they can enjoy together with their kids
