{"id":2309384,"date":"2026-03-03T00:44:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2309384"},"modified":"2026-03-03T00:44:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:44:06","slug":"who-can-argue-with-hilarious-talking-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/who-can-argue-with-hilarious-talking-animals\/","title":{"rendered":"Who can argue with hilarious talking animals?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F03%2Fnewspress-collage-d1nj76c6c-1772491432183.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261772473496\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Just when you think Pixar\u2019s petting-zoo cute new movie \u201cHoppers\u201d is flagrantly ripping off James Cameron, the characters come clean.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tmovie review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tHOPPERS\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" 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stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Running time: 105 minutes. Rated PG (action\/peril, some scary images and mild language). In theaters March 6.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cYou guys, this is like \u2018Avatar\u2019!,\u201d squeals 19-year-old Mabel (Piper Curda), the studio\u2019s rare college-age heroine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Shoots back her nutty professor, Dr. Fairfax (Kathy Kajimy): \u201cThis is <em>nothing<\/em> like \u2018Avatar!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, Doc, it definitely is. And that\u2019s fine. Placing the smart sci-fi story atop an animated family film feels right for Pixar, which has long fused the technological, the fantastical and the natural into a warm signature blend. Also, come on, \u201cAvatar\u201d is \u201cDances With Wolves\u201d via E.T. <\/p>\n<p>What separates \u201cHoppers\u201d from the pack of recent Pix flix, which have been wholesome as a church bake sale, is its comic irreverence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Director Daniel Chong\u2019s original movie is terribly funny, and often in an unfamiliar, warped way for the cerebral and mushy studio. For example, I\u2019ve never witnessed so many speaking characters be killed off in a Pixar movie \u2014 and laughed heartily at their offings to boot.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the parallel to Pandora? Mabel, a budding environmental activist, has stumbled on a secret laboratory where her kooky teachers can beam their minds into realistic robot animals in order to study them. They call the devices \u201choppers.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>In Pixar\u2019s \u201cHoppers,\u201d a teen girl discovers a secret device that can turn her into a talking beaver. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bold and fiery Mabel \u2014 PETA, but palatable \u2014 sees an opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The mayor of Beaverton, Jerry (Jon Hamm), plans to destroy her beloved local pond that\u2019s teeming with wildlife to build an expressway. And the only thing stopping the egomaniacal pol \u2014 a more upbeat version of President Business from \u201cThe Lego Movie\u201d \u2014 is the water\u2019s critters, who have all mysteriously disappeared.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So, Mabel avatars into beaver-bot, and sets off in search of the lost creatures to discover why they\u2019ve left.<\/p>\n<p>From there, the movie written by Jesse Andrews (\u201cLuca\u201d) toys with \u201cToy Story.\u201d Here\u2019s what mischief fuzzy mammals, birds, reptiles and insects get up to when humans aren\u2019t snooping around. Dance aerobics, it turns out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Mabel (Piper Curda) meets King George (Bobby Moynihan).  <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Per the usual, \u201cHoppers\u201d goes deep inside their intricate society. The beasts have a formal political system of antagonistic \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d-like royal houses. The most menacing are the Insect Queen (Meryl Streep \u2014 I\u2019d call her a chameleon, but she\u2019s playing a bug), a staunch monarch butterfly, and her conniving caterpillar kid (Dave Franco). They\u2019re scheming for power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perfectly content with his station is Mabel\u2019s new best furry friend King George (Bobby Moynihan), a gullible beaver who ascended to the throne unexpectedly. He happily enforces \u201cpond rules,\u201d such as, \u201cWhen you gotta eat, eat.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That means predators have free rein to nosh on prey, and everybody\u2019s cool with it. Because of bone-dry deliveries, like exhausted office drones, the four-legged cast members are hilarious as they go about their Animal Planet activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm( plans to destroy a local pond to build an expressway. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>No surprise \u2014 talking lizards, sharks, bears, geese and frogs are the real stars here. They far outshine Mabel, even when she dons beaver attire. Much like a 19-year-old in a job interview, she doesn\u2019t leave much of an impression.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yes, the teen has a heartfelt motivation: The embattled pond was her late grandma\u2019s favorite place. Mabel promised her that she\u2019d protect it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in personality she doesn\u2019t rank as one of Pixar\u2019s most engaging leads, perhaps because she\u2019s past voting age. Mabel is nestled in a nebulous phase between teenage rebellion and adulthood that\u2019s pretty blase, even if a touch of tension comes from her hiding her homosapien identity from her new diminutive pals. When animated, kids make better adventurers, plain and simple.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHoppers\u201d continues Pixar\u2019s run of humble, charming originals (\u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/06\/17\/luca-review-pixar-makes-a-movie-for-kids-instead-of-sadsack-adults\/\">Luca<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/06\/17\/entertainment\/elio-review-pixar-goes-sweet-simple-for-its-outer-space-adventure\/\">Elio<\/a>\u201d) in between billion-dollar-grossing, idea-starved sequels (\u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/06\/12\/entertainment\/inside-out-2-review-pixar-sequel-is-nice-but-not-as-good-as-original\/\">Inside Out 2<\/a>,\u201d probably \u201cToy Story 5\u201d). The Disney-owned studio\u2019s days of irrepressible innovation and unmatched imagination are well behind it. No one\u2019s awed by anything anymore. \u201cCoco,\u201d almost 10 years ago, was their last new property to wow on the scale of peak Pixar.<\/p>\n<p>Look, the new movie is likable and has a brain, heart and ample laughs. That\u2019s more than I can say for most family fare. \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d made me wanna hop right out of the theater.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just when you think Pixar\u2019s petting-zoo cute new movie \u201cHoppers\u201d is flagrantly ripping off James Cameron, the characters come clean. movie review HOPPERS Running time: 105 minutes. Rated PG (action\/peril, some scary images and mild language). In theaters March 6. \u201cYou guys, this is like \u2018Avatar\u2019!,\u201d squeals 19-year-old Mabel (Piper Curda), the studio\u2019s rare college-age [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2309385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[23301,21741,82384,304995,21912,329489],"class_list":["post-2309384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-disney","tag-entertainment","tag-jon-hamm","tag-movie-reviews","tag-movies","tag-pixar"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Who-can-argue-with-hilarious-talking-animals.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2309384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2309384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2309384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2309386,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2309384\/revisions\/2309386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2309385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2309384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2309384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2309384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}