Hoppers (2026)

Posted on March 6, 2026April 23, 2026 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

© Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Studios

Hoppers – Film Review

Cast: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Meryl Streep, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Director: Daniel Chong

Synopsis: A nature-loving teenager hatches a plan to save a deeply meaningful spot of land by using technology that transfers a human consciousness into robotic animals…

Review: For more than 30 years across their distinguished filmography, Pixar Animation Studios have never failed to find innovative ways to tell stories that tug on our heartstrings. Toys that come to life, an overprotective fish forced to embark on a perilous journey across the ocean to find his son, a final adventure for one man to keep the promise he made to his beloved wife, the emotional struggles of the emotions in our minds, and the importance of family, tradition, and the everlasting power of music. Whatever they turn their hands to, chances are they will find a way to charm us with characters and moving storytelling that audiences won’t forget in a hurry. They do all this and more with their 30th film, which is one of their funniest in years.

Mabel Tanaka (Curda) is a free-spirited animal-loving college student who lives in the town of Beaverton. Thanks to her grandmother, Mabel grew up with a deep appreciation for nature and, in particular, for a forest glade and all the animals that call it home. Thus, she is left furious when the town’s smarmy mayor, Jerry Generazzo (Hamm having a ball), announces plans to build a freeway straight through the glade, since all the other animals have left. With her options limited, Mabel hatches a plan to utilise technology developed by her college professors, known as the Hoppers programme, to transport her consciousness into the body of a robot beaver and convince the other animals in the glade to return before the mayor’s urban expansion project irrevocably destroys it.

“It’s like Avatar!” Mabel exclaims after being told by her college professors how the Hoppers programme works. The inherent similarities between the technology on display here and that of the Avatar programme in James Cameron’s behemoth franchise are undeniable. However, director Daniel Chong and screenwriter Jesse Andrews choose to use these similarities as a funny, self-aware joke rather than emulation. Having also been inspired by nature documentaries where a robotic animal is deployed with a camera to observe animals in their natural habitat, the film gleefully combines elements of science fiction, a coming-of-age story, a spy/heist movie and comedy, and the result is a riotous blast of furry energy that delivers laughs by the dam load throughout its 104-minute run time.

Hoppers wears its animal zaniness firmly on its sleeve, or should that be fur? But like all the greatest films the studio has produced, it packs a deeper meaning. You only need to burrow beneath the surface of the humour and the truly wild set pieces that shall not be spoiled here, as it bears an important message about the value of nature and the environment, and how humanity would be wise to cherish these spaces for the benefits they bring us and the wildlife that calls them home. Furthermore, it underscores how urbanisation at the expense of rural land can be catastrophic for the survival of certain species, and humanity would be wise to heed this warning.

Pixar have given us plenty of likeable protagonists over the years, and Mabel is no exception. An animal lover to her core, having tried to rescue and set free the classroom pets when she was a child (spot the Finding Nemo reference), she becomes determined to take a stand against the mayor’s urbanisation expansion, especially since no one else seems willing to do so. As a species, it would be fair to say humanity is fixated on its own survival needs, and that in doing so, we forget that millions upon millions of others also call this planet home. Allowing Mabel to venture into the animal kingdom offers a witty interpretation of how animal societies might function, and absolute hilarity ensues when the human and animal worlds collide, with one moment in particular a hilarious standout moment. You will know it when you see it.

Through all the humour, spectacular animation, stellar voice work across its entire cast, and animal-related shenanigans, the case could be made that Pixar has somewhat faltered in its ability to consistently hit the audience on an emotional level as it has in the past. However, let their 30th feature film bear witness to the fact that they remain very much at the top of their game and can still beaver away to bring delightfully wacky and heartfelt adventures for the whole family to gnaw on and enjoy.

Delightfully and gloriously absurd in concept, Hoppers holds nothing back with its fuzzy swings and hits it out of the glade to deliver a flurry of furry laughs and heart in equal measure. This is a walk on the wild side you’ll want to take again and again.

2020-2029, Film Review

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Posted on June 14, 2024July 16, 2024 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Inside Out 2 – Film Review

Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, Kensington Tallman, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan

Director: Kelsey Mann

Synopsis: As she celebrates her 13th birthday, the world inside Riley’s mind grows complicated when new emotions enter the fray…

Review: It is fitting for a studio which has a small group of creative leaders that form its Brain Trust, that over the course of its 30+ year history, Pixar has come up with some utterly ingenious and wonderfully creative concepts. Storytelling works masterfully on two levels to entertain younger audiences and massively pull on the heartstrings of older viewers with weighty and emotionally powerful themes. There’s no shortage of films in its collection to choose from which fulfil these criteria, but Inside Out is a strong contender for the studio at its brilliant best. A mixture of fear and apprehension may have risen when it was confirmed a sequel was in development. However, those fears can be put aside for Pixar has made a worthy companion to its predecessor.

One year has passed since the events of the first film, and Riley (now voiced by Kensington Tallman) has celebrated her 13^th birthday and is about to start high school. Her existing emotions, Joy (Poehler), Sadness (Smith), Anger (Black), Fear (Hale) and Disgust (Lapira) have worked collaboratively on a new core component of her mind which establishes memories and feelings which make up Riley’s personality. However, as Riley sets off on an exciting summer venture to win a place on her school’s ice hockey team, she begins to go through puberty. As a result, a range of new emotions arrives at headquarters: Anxiety (Hawke), Envy (Edibiri), Ennui (Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Hauser). The new emotions immediately take over the console upon arrival and run amok, leaving her childhood emotions in a quandary as to how they can prevent the new emotions from causing complete and total chaos inside Riley’s mind.

The word ‘genius’ is thrown around quite a bit in modern discourse, but if ever there was an apt descriptor of the premise of Inside Out, it would be exactly that. An ingenious piece of storytelling to picture what goes on in the endless complexities that make up the human brain, and the emotions we feel as we grow up and experience exciting but also nerve-wracking new life events and experiences. Of all the big new experiences that life throws at us, there is perhaps none bigger than puberty. An exciting but also scary time where our emotions can run amok as our bodies change and returning writer Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein’s screenplay builds on the wonderfully inventive world created by Pete Docter as how emotions develop and become increasingly complex as we get older and the perils of growing up, making this very much the spiritual sister to Turning Red, minus the red pandas, of course.

The screenplay, from a story by LeFauve and director Mann, cleverly utilises its predecessor’s ingenious train of thought and brilliant imagination to depict and visualise not only the mind and how it develops as we progress from childhood into adolescence. Picking up exactly where that train of thought left off, though instead of hilarious jokes about abstract thought, the film cleverly depicts concepts of the mind, only this time as brainstorms and one of the most effective weapons a teenager has at their disposal to navigate everything life has to throw at them, sarcasm. Because, well as anyone who has been a teenager and gone through puberty will know, it’s a tricky time when emotions are running rampant.

Speaking of those emotions, while all the returning emotions are once again delightful, the majority of them are relegated to bit-part roles. Though as she did in the first film, Poehler shines the brightest as Joy. With such endless positivity and happiness, it is impossible to not love her even in the face of trying circumstances, as the new emotions barge in and take control of Headquarters. Exarchopoulos is perfectly blasé and deadpan as Ennui while Edibiri is delightful as the small but very excitable Envy. However, the star of the show is unquestionably Maya Hawke as Anxiety. Those teenage years are a period in which anxiety can often go into overdrive, particularly in social situations. Hawke manifests this perfectly, as despite the best of intentions, she takes control of HQ and things quickly spiral out of control in Riley’s mind all while filling her with thoughts of apprehension that she may not have what it takes to fulfil her dreams of success when it comes to ice hockey. Anyone who has had self-doubt or anxiety about anything thing in their life can probably relate.

It may lack the emotional gut punch of its predecessor, with no moment that will leave audiences sobbing or put them through a mini existential crisis. Yet, it retains that wonderful inventiveness and humour which made the first film one of the studio’s most revered films in its distinguished filmography. Pixar might have had some wobbles in recent years, but its creative spark remains as strong as ever.

Retaining the ingenuity of its predecessor, Pixar has once again crafted another wonderfully imaginative sequel exploring the heightened emotions and perils of those turbulent teenage years.

2020-2029, Film Review

Lightyear (2022)

Posted on July 6, 2022September 19, 2022 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

**© Disney and Pixar Animation Studios**

Lightyear – Film Review

Cast: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, James Brolin, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Director: Angus MacLane

Synopsis: After being marooned on a hostile alien planet, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear leads a mission to work out how to get himself and his crew home…

Review: Cast your minds back to 1995 and a little film called Toy Story was released in cinemas. The first fully CG animated film, and the start of an incredibly successful franchise for Pixar Animation Studios where a group of beloved toys. owned by a young boy named Andy. were introduced to the arrival of a flashy new toy that will soon take his place as Andy’s most beloved possession. That toy is, of course, the one and only Buzz Lightyear. However, what was it about this toy that made him so unique, the must-have toy that all the kids wanted? As a title card at the start of the film explains, this is the film that made the Buzz Lightyear action figure that kids would go to infinity and beyond to get their hands on.

Buzz Lightyear (now voiced by Chris Evans) is a confident and cocky young Space Ranger eager to prove himself to his commanding officer, Commander Alisha Hawthorne (Aduba). Investigating a planet to explore its resource potential, the mission is soon forced to be abandoned they are following an encounter with bug-like creatures. However, in the ensuing escape, the crew’s ship crashes, leaving Buzz and the entire crew marooned on the planet with seemingly no way of getting home. Blaming himself for the mission’s failure, Buzz devises a plan to use hyperspeed travel to get him and his crew back home.

Pixar might have dabbled with science fiction (with perhaps a little dose of science fact) with 2008’s WALL-E. However, given the premise of faster than light travel is not yet a reality in our world, this is the first film of theirs that is 100% science fiction. The screenplay by Jason Headley and Angus MacLane, co-director of Finding Dory, is a fascinating constellation of a series of popular space films that have all been into both the more recent variety, as well as some of the classics. Taking such ambitious and potentially tricky sci-fi tropes and weaving them into an exciting space adventure for audiences of all ages could have very easily represented a massive black hole that the film fell into. However, MacLane’s direction, combined with the to-be-expected top-tier animation ensures that the film is a riveting blast of fun. Furthermore, there are plenty of neat callbacks to the original Toy Story that fans who grew up with those films will love.

Given that this is the tale that inspired the Buzz Lightyear action figure, it makes sense to have a different actor to differentiate between the two. In Chris Evans, you have an actor who played one of the most iconic heroes for well over a decade, so he could probably voice a hero character in his sleep. Evans proves to be a perfect fit for the role. While he has a Han Solo-esque cockiness to him, Evans gives Buzz the heroic qualities that you’d come to expect. He is brave, fearless and resourceful, but crucially he is not infallible and can make mistakes. The real star of the show, however, is Buzz’s robotic feline companion Sox, who functions as Buzz’s computer/guide and easily becomes one of the most iconic side characters in any Pixar film ever. You’ll be hard-pressed to not find yourself saying “meow-meow-meow” or “beep-boop beep-boop-beep-boop” next time you’re trying to work something out.

Given that this is a film primarily about Buzz and his mission, aside from Sox, there is very little room for character development for anyone else in the film, most notably when it comes to Buzz’s makeshift crew that he needs to help complete his mission, namely Izzy (Palmer), Mo (Waititi) and Darby (Soules). They provide some moments of comedy but are all outshone by that little robotic feline. Where the film doesn’t quite stick the landing most of all though is the villain, the original Evil Emperor Zurg, what could have been an extremely interesting backstory is ultimately left to be the perhaps the most underdeveloped aspect of the whole adventure.

Pixar’s filmography often has a tendency to reduce their audiences to emotional wrecks, and while there’s nothing quite level on say a Coco, or a Toy Story 3, there is one extremely touching moment that is guaranteed to pull on those ol’ heartstrings. Furthermore, it is extremely significant for a Pixar film that depicts meaningful LGTB representation depicted on screen that is far more than just a fleeting, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference. Fans might have wondered if this prequel would have been an excuse to cash in on the nostalgia that many have for the Toy Story franchise. However, they needn’t have worried, because this is a film befitting of the world’s greatest superhero and the world’s greatest toy.

While it is nothing you haven’t seen before in terms of a space adventure, excellent voice work, and a compelling story ensure that this is a fun interstellar adventure worth going to infinity and beyond for.

2020-2029, Film Review

Turning Red (2022)

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Turning Red – Film Review

Cast: Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, James Hong

Director: Domee Shi

Synopsis: The life of 13-year-old girl life is turned upside down when she discovers that whenever she experiences increased levels of emotion, she turns into a giant red panda…

Review: No matter who you are, growing up is tough. Making that transition from childhood to those teenage years, there is an awful lot to contend with. There are changes to your body that you’ve got to contend with, but also changes to your life as you take on increased responsibilities and gradually gain more and more independence from your parents as the years go by. Pixar Animation Studios have often enjoyed phenomenal success in exploring some of the many changes that life throws at us, such as moving house, the loss of a loved one or the massive existential question of what we were put on this Earth to do. The studio’s 25th feature film doesn’t quite go that existential, but it explores a beast that we all have to contend with at some point in our lives.

The year is 2002 and Meilin “Mei” Lee (Chang) is a bright and determined 13-year-old living in Toronto. She excels in school, gets top grades and has a great group of friends. As it is the early 2000s, the boyband craze is thriving as Mei and her friends share a deep and passionate adoration for popular boyband 4*Town. Despite being a very confident and outgoing person, Mei is experiencing a substantial internal conflict, in that she wants to be herself, but her mother Ming’s (Sandra Oh) expectations of her to be the perfect daughter give her considerable anxiety, to the extent that she has to hide certain aspects of her personality. On the cusp of those chaotic teenage years, Meilin realises that whenever she experiences a heightened state of emotion, be it positive or negative, she turns into a giant, fluffy red panda.

Coming-of-age stories have often explored the concept of puberty, but it is so often from the perspective of male characters. Therefore, it is extremely refreshing to see this topic approached entirely from the perspective of a female character, particularly because there’s still a bizarre stigma when it comes to the topics of periods and menstruation, which is completely absurd. However, this isn’t to say that the film is exclusively aimed at women and girls, because as they so often do, Pixar give their films a universal appeal. What makes Domee Shi and Julia Chao’s screenplay so effective to appeal to a universal audience, irrespective of gender, is the thorough examination of the changes that go on in your life when puberty strikes, and we make that transition from childhood into your utterly mental teenage years.

These are years which can be completely chaotic and full of awkward interactions, as you begin to potentially form the friendships you hope to make for life. It’s the time in your life when you find yourself wanting to rebel more and more against your parents. Whether you begin to develop feelings for someone or take up a new hobby, above all, these are the years where your life really begins to take shape as you become your own person. Rosalie Chiang’s brilliant voice performance encapsulates this perfectly. She thinks knows herself and her personality (at least until the transformation into the red panda enters the picture) and that puts her on a direct collision course with her mother. Ming struggles to accept that Mei is not the perfect daughter that Ming wants her to be.

Having won an Oscar for the adorable short film Bao, becoming the first woman to direct a short for Pixar in the process, Domee Shi continues her trailblazing legacy by becoming the first woman to solely direct a feature-length film for the studio. The quality of the animation never disappoints when it comes to Pixar, with the scenes involving the red panda transformations being particular standouts. However, the visuals have an unmistakable anime inspiration to them, which in turn helps give them a certain visual uniqueness that’s unlike anything else in the studio’s catalogue. Pixar films can so often reduce the audience to blubbering messes. Their latest doesn’t have that emotional gut-punching moment, but it took a risk by tackling subject matter that’s still weirdly taboo in the hope of eliminating that stigma, which deserves to be celebrated.