By Caleb Hook
Elm Staff Writer
In March 2026, Pixar released its newest movie, “Hoppers,” directed by Daniel Chong. As a whole, “Hoppers” is a hilarious and action-packed adventure, but the film’s seemingly pro-environmentalist message falls apart under a microscope.
Through a chaotic journey into the animal kingdom, the movie tries and fails to deliver a pro-environmental message that will stick with younger audiences. Instead, “Hoppers” presents a caricature of the environmentalist movement, delivering a fundamentally misaligned argument that begs the audience to consider the good in everything, even when there is destruction at the door.
Desperate to restore the glade she once found solace in, 19-year-old Japanese-American Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda) raises issue with the town’s Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm) over his plan to transform the glade into a connecting highway that would save specifically four minutes on a commute—a clever remark on how humanity disrupts ecosystems for personal benefit.
Mabel finds no sympathy among traditional channels of protest such as door-to-door canvassing, so she hijacks a scientific operation to transfer her consciousness into a hyper-realistic beaver body. Now, fighting on behalf of the animals, she acts as an agent of change from within.
Mayor Jerry is the typical caricature of a Disney movie politician: self-serving, sharply dressed, confident to a fault, and white. In this regard, Mabel and Jerry’s dynamic is symbolic of a greater battle between the defenseless and the oppressor.
The movie aims to imprint the idea on younger viewers that “good” is not universal. According to Medium, the film poses the question: “Is there still good even in those who oppress others?”
Mabel’s story as a beaver is a prime example of the nuance of “good.” One of her first actions as a beaver is to save another beaver from the clutches of a bear, breaking the ‘pond rules’ that the creatures live by to ensure ecological fairness. In addition, Mabel accidentally turns the animal kingdom against humanity. So, while Mabel is guided by good intentions, her actions frequently have negative consequences that she must undo, an important lesson for young viewers.
Although this lesson is valuable, the film’s messaging is contradictory and confusing. “Hoppers” frames Mabel’s environmentalist campaign as irrational, as Mabel’s impulsivity, high energy, and willingness to dive into dangerous situations make her a wild card. Repeatedly, Mabel is shot down by Mayor Jerry, told that she needs a plan for the future by her university professors, and is told that she is obsessed and ruining her life.
The message of environmentalism told through Mabel’s actions is distorted and stigmatized, as Mabel is just a little too crazy for audiences to really empathize with. The film is never really sure of what, specifically, it is trying to say.
In a movie that is supposed to be pro-environmentalism, one would not expect these contradictions; typically, the main character has a defined goal and is someone the audience can root for the entire way through. For some reason, “Hoppers” subverts these expectations, presenting Mabel as well-intentioned but ultimately impulsive and destructive, weakening her environmentalist cause.
“Hoppers” also chooses to humanize Mayor Jerry, an idea directly at odds with the idea that the audience is supposed to root for Mabel. His campaign to bulldoze the beaver glade is explained through the messaging that deep down everyone is “good” and Jerry actually cares about his mother, therefore, he cannot be all evil. The film still attempts to redeem him under the guise of understanding opposing people’s perspectives, an odd choice given his completely selfish, heartless mission, and a cowardly plot point on Pixar’s behalf to not double down and make Mayor Jerry an evil character. In addition, the trope of the redeemed villain is easily understandable, but has become typical.
According to The Independent, “the film remains fairly naive when it comes to the changeability of a hardcore capitalist’s heart.”
Throughout the movie, Mabel grapples with being consumed by gloom. Mabel feels isolated and desperate in her quest to “save the glade,” among the crushing reality that most people just do not care.
“Hoppers breaches what, at this point, feels too prescient to ignore: the question of how not to be consumed by despair, even in our formative years,” according to The Independent.
Mabel’s struggles are an incredibly affirming plot point to see in a Pixar movie, but the movie’s creation of moral ambiguity within the central characters waters down any audience familiarity with the idea.
“Hoppers” turns what could be an inspiring message for real change into a primarily humor-driven piece about the inner workings of animal populations, one capitalist’s change of heart, and an absurd narrative about seeing the world through an animal’s eyes. It is weird, it is funny, and probably one of the best films entertainment-wise Pixar has made in a long time, but the film’s message is not as impactful as intended in the name of keeping audiences glued to the screen.
The film is yet another half-hearted attempt at a pro-environmentalist movie for children that confuses itself in its own contradictory messaging, asking audiences to see the good in everything so we can achieve common ground, but in the process, unwittingly decrying environmental activism as a valid torch to take up.
Photo Caption: Pixar’s newest animated film “Hoppers” features a wild body-swapping adventure.
Photo by Ella Humphreys