Hoppers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Hoppers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 28, 2026

Remember when Oregon native Matt Groening refused to answer whether the Springfield of The Simpsons fame was in fact supposed to be the eponymous town in the so-called Beaver State? Groening famously used to answer anyone whose state had a Springfield (evidently 30 or more) that, yes, it was that Springfield that was being referenced, leaving things deliberately ambiguous (see my closing comments below for perhaps a bit more Groening ambiguity). Groening finally relented in 2002 in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, finally coming clean that, yes, of course Homer and Marge's burg's name at least was inspired by the Oregon town, even if the show's Springfield is its own entity. Well, guess what, ladies and germs? If Oregon has a Springfield somewhat south of Portland (really rather far south, right next to Eugene), it actually somewhat hilariously also has a suburb much closer to Portland on the outskirts of the west side of the Willamette River called Beaverton. Oregon's Beaverton enjoys the scenic tree laden forest ambience of a lot of the Portland urban region, even if it's decidedly more developed, but the (fictional?) focal location of Beaverton in Hoppers is decidedly more sylvan (a pun for those Pacific Northwesterners who may know of the Sylvan interchange near where Portland gives way to Beaverton). Japanese American Mabel Tanaka (voiced by Lia Liu as a little girl and Piper Curda as an older teen) is introduced as what might be jokingly referred to as a fledgling PETA member, attempting to free all of the school "pets" in various classrooms, an attempt that fails miserably. She's later shown in a beautiful Beaverton watershed with her wise grandmother (Karen Huie), who teaches Mabel about the wonders of nature. The story segues forward a few years to find Mabel as a young woman in college who spends quite a bit of time in (her) Beaverton's natural environments, until, that is, the same sort of development that long ago hit Oregon's Beaverton threatens the animated glen.

There's no denying the fact that many, maybe even all, Pixar films follow a general template that includes scrappy heroes (and/or heroines), self realization, and, quite frequently, anthropomorphized animals. In that regard, Hoppers is certainly more of the same, and it also relies on the somewhat hoary conceit of a human consciousness being transported into another "being", albeit in this case a robotic beaver (yes, you read that right). That foundational premise and its emphasis on those particular mammals may recall the completely gonzo Hundreds of Beavers, but in this case, there are really only a couple to concentrate on, the robot that (of course) Mabel transports into (more about that in a moment) and King George (Bobby Moynihan), the current ruler of all of the forest animals with whom Mabel (in her beaver disguise) comes into contact.

Probably unsurprisingly, the plot machinations to get Mabel into that aforementioned robotic beaver are both simple but also overly reliant on coincidence, as Mabel's college studies include two biology professors, Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy) and Nisha (Aparna Nancheria), who have developed the so-called "hoppers" technology which allows a human consciousness to inhabit robot animals in order to cohabitate with actual beasts in the wild to find out what they're really like. The robot of course comes equipped with a fully functioning translation app which allows Mabel to understand all of the species in the woods, even if those woods are being deliberately "poisoned" with high frequency emissions designed to disturb the creatures, all part of a plan by "evil" Mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm) to bring "progress" to Beaverton.

There's probably no arguing that this film charts a pretty familiar course, but it's still hugely enjoyable thanks to some pretty goofy writing (the third act arguably gets even more gonzo than Hundreds of Beavers). The environmental subtext (actually text) isn't especially innovative, nor in fact is the whole "consciousness transference" aspect (even if the robot gives it a bit of individuality), but Hoppers manages to transcend its more rote aspects with well timed comedy and some especially luscious Pixar visuals.

Hoppers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hoppers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista and Pixar with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is another gorgeously precise looking 1080 presentation from the good folks at Pixar, who certainly know how to polish every last pixel to keep the frame alive with action and color, though I will unabashedly recommend to fans of this film who have the appropriate equipment to opt for the Hoppers 4K release, as it significantly ups palette highlights and also delivers even better fine detail levels. While the 4K presentation understandably tops it, the 1080 presentation is certainly no slouch when it comes to providing consistently excellent fine detail, perhaps most notably all of the texture on the animals. In that regard it's maybe slightly hilarious that the "real" beavers' fur, especially King George's, tends to look like a toy stuffed animal's, where the robot Beaver actually looks bit more "realistic". The almost Tex Avery Looney Tunes ambience of the film, especially in the third act, lead to some inventively wacky shenanigans (including a flying shark) that really pop and offer excellent detailing.

Hoppers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As tends to be the case with a lot (though curiously not all) of Disney / Buena Vista releases put out simultaneously in 4K and 1080, the 1080 disc has a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, while the 4K disc has an Atmos track. This is another case where I probably wouldn't argue there are huge differences between the two, with the 7.1 track on this disc consistently delivering all of the really fun immersion (almost literal in one sense once water enters the fray), but that said the Atmos track does deliver some extra spaciousness throughout the forested scenes in particular. Still the 7.1 version features everything from animal scurrying to water effects regularly engaging the surround channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.

Hoppers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The 1080 disc also includes a very helpful Maximizer that can help calibrate video and audio.

• The Critter Diaries (HD; 10:17) offers some candid behind the scenes footage from Yellowstone.


• Hopping In: The Making of Hoppers (HD; 11:46) is an overview of the production, with snippets from the film and a bunch of interviews with the creative staff and voice actors.


• Meet King George Scene Breakdown (HD; 6:34) offers several of the creative staff discussing the evolution of this scene.


• Beaverton Revealed (HD; 4:12) is another engaging tour through easter eggs hidden throughout the film's visuals.


• Dam Good Bloopers (HD; 2:04)


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 19:37) include some background information from Daniel Chong and editor Axel Geddes.

Disney / Buena Vista sent their 4K release (which includes a 1080 disc) for purposes of this review, but it looks like this standalone 1080 release offers DVD and digital copies as well as a slipcover.

Hoppers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Longtime readers of my reviews may recall I'm based in Portland and make part of my living as a musician, and at one of my gigs many years ago none other than Mr. Groening walked in. Like the obvious idiot I am, I greeted him with the unbelievably witty opening, "Are you Matt Groening?", to which he replied, "It depends — is he incredibly wealthy?" with a twinkle in his eye, leaving things more or less only slightly less ambiguous than his discussions of where Springfield is. Who knows where this film's Beaverton is supposed to be, but I'll just throw this out to any interested Pixar parties: if Portland has a Beaverton on its west side, it has a Troutdale on its east side, so you already have a name for the locale of the next Finding Dory outing. Hoppers may not reinvent the wheel, and/or the beaver paw, but it's wackily entertaining. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements on the 1080 disc very enjoyable. Recommended.