Mind or body swap narratives in film have been around for decades from The Shaggy Dog (1959) and Freaky Friday (1976) to more modern classics such as Avatar (2009) and Nine Lives (2016). While many are centered on the main protagonist solving an internal moral dilemma in the hopes of switching back, the new Disney/PIXAR animated comedy Hoppers, much like Avatar (but “nothing like Avatar!”), our lead Mabel (Piper Curda) attempts to solve an environmental catastrophe, and she must do so intentionally donning the persona of your average, everyday beaver.

Mabel Tanaka, an anger-ridden 19-year old environmentalist, attends college at Beaverton University (though MIA a bit too often) while also defending natural habitats against her arch-nemesis, the up-for-re-election Mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm), who plans to clear out a woodland glade to make room for a freeway that will ease future traffic. Mabel, extremely empathetic to nature as her calming source thanks to her late grandmother (Karen Huie), makes the discovery that if she can manage to lure wildlife back to the glade, the city has no legal right to build in that area. One night, she stumbles upon a lone beaver who might be the first of many to make her plan a success. She surprisingly tracks its back to her college campus where she discovers it’s not a real beaver after all, but a robot decoy, invented by her biology professor Dr. Samantha Fairfax (Kathy Najimy). Fairfax and her team of scientists (Sam Richardson, Aparna Nancherla) have for years been trying to solve the same ecological issue and in doing so, have invented mind swap technology that transfers a subject’s consciousness into that of a life-like undercover animal body (I mean it! “Nothing like Avatar!”)

Mabel, determined to set things right on her own, dons the technology and transfers her mind into the beaver robot, allowing her to see, hear, and experience life as a true beaver. Once she makes her pursuit to the woods, she must convince the animals of Beaverton to return to the glade, now with the ability to communicate vocally to every living thing in her presence. Such beavers including the Mammal King George (Bobby Moynihan) and Loaf (Eduardo Franco), bear Ellen (Melissa Villaseñor), the Bird King (the late Isaiah Whitlock Jr.), the Fish Queen (Ego Nwodim), the Amphibian King (Steve Purcell), the Reptile Queens (Nichole Sakura), and the Insect Queen (Meryl Streep. Yes, Meryl Streep!) and her prince son Titus (Dave Franco). Mabel develops the friendliest bond with the casual and open-hearted George, who has his community bound to fair “Pond Rules” to keep the peace between all of the various species, and becomes his right hand. With Mabel and the animals all on the same page, her plan seems to be on the right path… that is until the animals decide to take their independence one step further and start a revolution against the humans, specifically against Mayor Jerry.

In terms of narrative lunacy, it’s the kind of madness that could only be concocted by the espresso-brained creatives at PIXAR. One that begins as one odd, but distinct premise that branches off into wild and unexpected directions. Lush animated backdrops of forest life and simple, yet adorable character designs to keep children’s eyes locked and focused, Hoppers works as just riotously fun, sometimes off-the-rails family entertainment. A few solid belly laughs and a frenetic pace keep most of its absurdity afloat, though it’s hard not to imagine the more layered and potent film we would have gotten from the PIXAR of old. Yes, we are in that era where PIXAR is not pumping out the masterpieces of the medium they used to, which is not a slight on Hoppers at all, a perfectly enjoyable animated film, but in terms of environmental cinema, this is not WALL-E. In fact, its messages of co-existence and preservation can even get lost in the madness, as can its emotional center.

But after a few projects that felt too safe and uninspired (Onward, Elemental, Elio) and some unremarkable sequels and spinoffs (Lightyear, Inside Out 2), it is refreshing to see PIXAR not feel like it’s holding back. For those who have felt robbed of a good antagonist in the modern Disney era, Hoppers‘ eventual third-act villain is quite the eyebrow-raiser, specifically due to their freakish character design and movements, in the ballpark of Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit or King Candy from Wreck-It Ralph. A few narrative beats and images in Hoppers may be a bit intense for extremely young viewers (large bears and sharks included) but for regular cinemagoers hoping for a bit more bite in their animated films, this is quite the refreshing change of pace from Disney’s more recent “the villain is just an internal or thematic conflict”.

Hoppers is good enough to squeeze a handful of laughs out of its gonzo premise and accessible and acceptable enough to be the new, big, animated hit on the block for the next few weeks. A fun, little fever dream from PIXAR that attempts to instill a little bit of hope in its audience that we can all get along on this planet together if we just stick to our “pond rules”. Perhaps a film like 2024’s The Wild Robot is the more effective and memorable version of this same idea, with interestingly the more mature, old-school PIXAR approach. Consider this The Wild Robot‘s wacky, sugar-rush cousin (that once again, we must reiterate is “definitely NOT Avatar!”)