by: Isabella Langner
Center Editor

Even if you are not familiar with the movie Hoppers, you may recognize the viral lizard meme featuring a green, cross-eyed creature sticking its tongue out and screaming. In fact, this meme is what brought me to the theaters and honestly, I had the best time.

Pixar Studios released Hoppers on Mar. 6. As an animated comedy combined with science fiction, Hoppers is targeted towards PG audiences, but is enjoyable for all ages. The film follows Mabel, a college student and environmental enthusiast who shares a special connection to a forest glade where she had spent a lot of time with her late grandmother. As the town’s mayor plans to destroy the glade for highway construction, Mabel discovers that if a singular beaver returns to the meadow, the town can no longer touch the habitat. Through her investigations, Mabel finds a program secretly run by a university professor that allows humans to place their consciousness into animal robots. She decides to steal a beaver robot to meet a beaver and convince it to return to the clearing.

In her new animal form, Mabel befriends the beaver king of the mammal world and starts integrating herself into the animal kingdom while investigating why all the creatures moved out of the glade. As the animals begin several plots to kick the humans out, but the humans fight back, placing loudspeakers and disgusting smells adjacent to the glade to keep the animals out. However, when a new animal villain is introduced, Mabel, the king beaver, and a few others have to try to save the town’s mayor.

The film serves to bridge the gap between the human and animal world and shows how we should stand up for nature. Hoppers digs deeper, not simply portraying a one-sided villain, but instead depicting the town’s mayor as a man who is pursuing his career and what he believes is best for the town. In doing so, the movie demonstrates that there is nuance to the relationship between human and animal, and there is a way to compromise. In the end, the highway project is halted, the glade is saved, and Mabel and the mayor work together to find a solution that suits them both.

While the film includes complex themes, it keeps a lighthearted tone through dramatic irony, comedic dialogue, and adorably animated characters. Hoppers also communicates the importance of standing up for yourself and being loyal towards friends through the relationship between Mabel and the king beaver.

Whether you are an environmental enthusiast or simply looking for a good movie to watch, Hoppers will not disappoint.