When a new trailer for an animated movie pops up on my Instagram or TikTok feed, I normally roll my eyes. As adored as they used to be, animated movies, particularly ones eagerly pushed out by mega corporations like Disney and Pixar, have become repetitive and indistinguishable. Whether it’s an unneeded fifth addition to an already tired-out movie franchise or a seeming carbon copy of the movie watched two years prior, plots are predictable, and originality runs flat. Despite this current trend of animated movies, I recently saw the movie Hoppers in theaters, and it blew my dam mind! With its fun animation style, captivating characters and story, this cute beaver movie is not one to miss out on.
Hoppers, which came out in March of 2026, follows the story of Mabel, a passionate environmentalist who uses her short temper to get peace for the community of animals in her neighboring pond. In her journey towards justice against a new highway being built, she finds herself dealing with new “hopping” technology, giving her the ability to connect with her beloved creatures through a beaver body. Not only does this experience teach Mabel about the animal world, but it also teaches her to make connections with people or animals she wouldn’t expect to. Though it is marketed primarily towards kids, Hoppers can truly be enjoyed by anybody. Even with my short attention span, I found myself glued to the screen and couldn’t help experiencing a wide range of emotions, from deliriously laughing to holding back tears.
When the world gets serious, it’s easy to feel down or even hopeless. We live in an environment where people are quick to judge and hold harsh grudges based on their baseless opinions, and it can feel extremely isolating. Hoppers is a movie goofy enough to lighten any rough day, yet it also teaches a valuable lesson: to have empathy for one another and to recognize that, whether human, bug or beaver, we are all inevitably sharing this environment. The success of Hoppers is only one display of the quality of its content, and it wood only be a good idea to see it!
