Hoppers: Review — Is It Worth Watching? | 7.6/10

Articolo aggiornato il 16/08/2026

Hoppers is genuinely surprising—a family film that refuses to condescend to its audience while still landing laugh-out-loud moments that hit like a sugar rush. This is the rare animated adventure where the high-concept sci-fi premise never overshadows the deeply felt character work at its core.

The plot (no spoilers)

Hoppers centers on Mabel, a girl so obsessed with animals that she’s willing to jack her consciousness into a robotic squirrel to actually experience their reality. The premise alone is bonkers—but what makes the film sing is how it uses this technology not as a gimmick but as a genuine gateway into themes about empathy, environmental responsibility, and what it means to belong somewhere. The world-building is meticulous without ever feeling exposition-heavy.

The film moves between Mabel’s suburban life and a sprawling animal kingdom hidden in plain sight, complete with its own politics, mysteries, and betrayals that would feel right at home in a serious animated drama. Director Chong balances whimsy and genuine stakes with remarkable confidence, never letting the comedy undercut the genuine peril that Mabel stumbles into. It’s a tonal juggling act that could have gone sideways, but instead lands with precision almost every time.

Acting & direction

Piper Curda delivers the performance that holds this entire film together—Mabel’s voice carries vulnerability, humor, and a kind of feral joy that feels earned rather than performed. Bobby Moynihan as her sidekick brings chaos and heart in equal measure, while Jon Hamm steals every scene as a silver fox (literally) with comedic timing that suggests he’s been waiting his whole life to play a sarcastic rabbit. Kathy Najimy and Dave Franco round out a vocal ensemble that treats the material with respect.

Daniel Chong’s direction is confident and playful without sacrificing visual clarity—the action sequences are genuinely exciting, shot with a clarity that lets you track every whisker and tail twitch. The animation itself leans into photorealism for the robot animals while maintaining an expressive, slightly exaggerated quality for their faces, which creates this brilliant cognitive dissonance that sells the whole concept. The score supports rather than dominates, letting quiet character moments breathe before ramping up the adventure.

The strengths

• The film’s commitment to ecological and social themes feels organic rather than preachy, woven into the narrative DNA rather than bolted on like an afterthought.
• Each robot animal character has a distinct personality that emerges through voice performance and animation choices, making the ensemble cast memorable and genuinely likeable.
• The third act pivot manages to be both emotionally devastating and thematically coherent, asking hard questions about sacrifice and complicity in a way that respects its younger audience.
• The humor actually works across demographics—kids will laugh at slapstick and absurdist animal logic, while adults catch layered character jokes and satirical jabs at technology culture.

The weaknesses

• The middle section occasionally drags when the film tries to cram too much world-building into what should be intimate character moments, resulting in a few scenes that feel like exposition dressed up in comedy.
• One major villain reveal hinges on motivations that aren’t quite earned by the screenplay, leaving a climactic confrontation feeling slightly undercooked despite solid execution.

Who should watch it

Anyone who loved Zootopia‘s thematic ambition mixed with the character work of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse needs to prioritize Hoppers immediately. It’s made for kids who aren’t bored by actual storytelling and parents who don’t resent sitting through family films. If you appreciate voice-acting craft, world-building that respects your intelligence, and animation that pushes technical boundaries while maintaining emotional authenticity, this is your jam without question.

Final verdict

Hoppers is that increasingly rare thing: a big-budget animated film that trusts its audience’s capacity for complexity while maintaining pure entertainment value from start to finish. Daniel Chong has made something that works as both a thrilling adventure and a thoughtful meditation on empathy and environmental stewardship. The voice cast elevates every frame, and the animation is genuinely stunning. It’s not flawless—the pacing stumbles once or twice, and a character motivation could use another draft—but the bones of this film are strong enough to overlook its minor wobbles. This deserves to be seen theatrically, where the scale of the animation and sound design can fully breathe. Rating: 8.2/10, and honestly, I could argue for higher.

Find Hoppers on IMDB —
Keywords: Hoppers review, animated adventure, family sci-fi, voice acting, animal film