Displaying items by tag: Isiah Whitlock Jr

HOPPERS

US, 2026, 104 minutes, Colour.

Voices of: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Eduardo Franco, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Meryl Streep.

Directed by Daniel Chong.

Hoppers is a Pixar entertainment. Audience expectations are usually high with the announcement from Pixar, memories of such films as Toy Story, Brave, Inside Out… And Hoppers open to strong box office, audience enjoyment and critical praise.

As with many Pixar films, there are serious themes. The tone is set with the introduction of Mabel at school, upset at student pranks leaving a turtle on its back, her stealing all the animals to free them but caught, sent home, her mother leaving her with her kindly grandmother who sits with her on a rock by a lake, contemplating, smiling, gradually hearing the myriad sounds of animals, birds, insects. So, we begin with a conservation frame of mind.

Then, Mabel is 18, supposed to be studying at college, but stridently campaigning for animals and, especially, against the Mayor, Jerry, who is planning to destroy the animal habitat that she loves and build a Beltway. So, we are invited to have an anti-business-development frame of mind.

But, Hoppers is much more complex than this confrontation. The nice Dr Sam at college is developing all kinds of technology – and, Mabel is able to transfer her mind and voice to a mechanical recreation of a Beaver. (Well, we are in an age of AI development!).

We spend a lot of time with this mechanical Mabel with the animals, especially beaver King George, a leader, and gradually meeting a whole range of animals, who have been banished, driven away by Jerry’s sound waves in the trees, but with Mabel, eliminating the repellent sound, they are able to come back. We are on side.

And, of course, we are against Jerry, absolutely smug, blowing up the habitat, clashing with Mabel. But, the animals fight back against Jerry. Even a large shark leaps out of the water onto his car to get rid of him!

The voice talent in the film is quite extensive. Piper Curda voices Mabel, Bobby Moynihan King George. But, in the supporting voices, we have Jon Hamm as Jerry, Kathy Najimi as Dr Sam, Dave Franco as the Insect King and, of all voices, Meryl Streep as the Insect Queen.

And, will it be a happy ending! Of course, but not before having to sort out Mabel’s deception of the animals, reconciliation, the hounding of Jerry and his conversion, and the message, important for audiences but, especially, younger audiences with social concern, progress is made not by confrontation but by dialogue and collaboration. Progress can win – but nature must also win.

1. The tradition of Pixar entertainment? Comic themes, serious themes?
2. The title, expectations, animals in nature, beavers, technological experiments?
3. The style of animation, the characters, delineation, backgrounds? Special effects? Editing and pace? The musical score, the final song?
4. The introduction to Mabel, at school, sympathy for the turtle, the reaction of the children, against her, her stealing the animals, caught, her mother, sending her to her grandmother, the kindly grandmother, sitting on the rock, the silence and contemplating, hearing all the animal sounds?
5. The initial issue of nature, attention to nature, preservation?
6. Mabel grown-up, campaigner, Jerry, Mayor, the building of the Beltway, destroying the animal habitat? Mabel and protests, strident, eager, going door to door, no help, the kindly old man, but his finally giving her the grocery list?
7. Dr Sam, her role at college, Mabel’s studies, suffering from campaigning? The discussions with Dr Sam? Her experiments?
8. Mabel, her intervening, using the experiments, her brain, creating the Beaver, her chatter, encountering George, king, the bonding, their working together, the saving of the animals, the countering of the Beltway?
9. The range of animals, their personalities, the voice talent, Insect Queen, Titus, the members of the council? And Diane, the shark?
10. The strategies, Jerry, the confrontations, his having the sounds in the trees to scatter the animals? Mabel taking them down, Reconstruction? The attempts against Jerry, the shark? Jerry and his personality, determination, his workers? The initial blowing up of the barrier? The later attack, the fire, the destruction, moving towards the city?
11. The animal politics, the death of the Insect Queen, the butterfly, Titus, his taking over?
12. Mabel, the truth, the disillusionment, working with Dr Sam, the experiments with Jerry, confrontation, the animals, communication, the face? The blend of the serious and the comic episodes?
13. The buildup confrontations, Titus, Jerry and his change of heart, Dr Sam and her work, the strategies, using the technology, communication with the animals?
14. The final resolution, the fire, extinguishing, Jerry and his change of heart, moving the Beltway, the restoration of the habitat? And Mabel and her final communication with George, the phone and facial recognition and voice?
15. The blend of the serious concern for nature, progress and the need for dialogue rather than confrontation?