What if you could talk to animals and understand what they’re saying? In Disney and Pixar’s all-new feature film “Hoppers,” scientists have discovered how to “hop” human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals!
While you prepare to watch this film full of heart on 6th March in Hindi and English, we take a look at characters and the voices you will meet in the film:
MABEL TANAKA (Piper Curda)
As a passionate animal-lover who ferociously follows her heart, Mabel cares for creatures both big and small but can sometimes lose patience with humankind. Spending time with her gentle and beloved Grandma Tanaka, Mabel finds peace in the beautiful tranquility that nature has to offer, until the very glade she grew up caring for is threatened. Though fighting for those without a voice is completely second nature to Mabel, her plan to bring animals back to the glade proves to be more of a challenge than she expected. Scrappy and fearless in her pursuit, Mabel will use every tool at her disposal-skateboard included-to stop the destruction of animal homes at the hands of Mayor Jerry.
MABEL BEAVER (Piper Curda)
Mabel Beaver has the same passion for animals, but this time-she is one herself! One glance in a reflective pond confirms that Mabel’s consciousness is inside an adorable, small, furry robot beaver. Appropriately disguised, she infiltrates all aspects of the animal world and is PUMPED at the thought of solving the glade’s problem with help from within. Forced to think on her tiny webbed feet, Mabel Beaver quickly learns the ropes of her new world by gaining the trust of a strange animal leader, King George.
KING GEORGE (Bobby Moynihan)
King George, a larger-than-life beaver with a jovial personality to match, is the leader of the pond and king of the mammals. Although he didn’t set out to be King, he embraces the role with enthusiasm every day and created some rules to help everyone in the pond get along: Pond Rules! Undeniably optimistic and kind, George is a beaver who loves: leading group aerobics, learning everyone’s names, working together in harmony and, of course, wood. A lifelong bachelor, he’s married to his job-and while anxiety and imposter syndrome have taken a toll on his hairline, there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing. When conflicts arise in his community, George just points to his Pond Rules: “We’re all in this together!”
MAYOR JERRY GENERAZZO (Jon Hamm)
Running for reelection in Beaverton, Mayor Jerry Generazzo thinks he’s all that. He’s self-obsessed; and yet unbothered when it comes to the moral dealings of his job. Is he painfully self-restrained by red tape and what his constituents think of him? Yes. Will he stop attempting to build a highway through the glade, displacing animals from their homes? No. But under his shiny, perfectly coiffed hair and matching public persona, Jerry is losing his cool over the one thing he can’t control: Mabel.
DR. SAM (Kathy Najimy)
Dr. Sam is Mabel’s biology professor at Beaverton University. Full of nervous energy, she also happens to be the brilliant inventor and scientist leading the top-secret research project: Hoppers. Though she runs her lab full of janky yet powerful technology with precision, when chaos strikes, she becomes easily flustered. Dr. Sam is determined to use her invention only for good because she knows that if it falls into the wrong hands, the result could be total ecological collapse. So, you could say her anxiety runs pretty high…
TITUS (Dave Franco)
Titus is the demanding, spoiled spawn of the Insect Queen. Squish-thirsty and hungry for power, it’s best to stay out of his way while he transforms into an even more entitled version of himself-the Insect King.
LOAF (Eduardo Franco)
Loaf is not the smartest beaver in the pond, nor the sharpest stick in the dam. A slow yet staunch protector of “Pond Rules,” even to his own detriment, Loaf is…just trying his best to keep up.
NISHA (Aparna Nancherla)
Nisha is Dr. Sam’s astute and loyal colleague. She’s second in command at the top-secret lab, and will let you know it. Though Nisha may be on the quieter side, when she does speak, be prepared for her to be brutally and uncomfortably honest with an unamused, deadpan delivery.
TOM LIZARD (Tom Law)
Though Tom Lizard prefers to avoid drama at all costs and rise above the fray, his insatiable curiosity typically puts him in the middle of it. Tom may be a little green reptile, but he’s got some big animal friends who have his back.
CONNER (Sam Richardson)
Conner is a grad student in biology working at Dr. Sam’s top-secret lab. He’s cheerful, gregarious and pretty awkward. He doesn’t really know how he got himself mixed up in this mess, but he would like out-please.
ELLEN (Melissa Villaseñor)
Ellen is a big, menacing, mostly grumpy bear always on the lookout for her next meal. While she lives by the motto “When you gotta eat, eat,” behind that forbidding exterior Ellen is surprisingly community-minded and very loyal to her friends.
BIRD KING (Isiah Whitlock Jr.)
Bird King, with his horrible temper and flighty, flippant attitude, is not afraid to loudly HONK and interject his opinions where he sees fit. Like most geese, he’s jumpy, paranoid and loud. Bird King likes to look down upon his fellow Council members, figuratively and literally-as he flies away.
AMPHIBIAN KING (Steve Purcell)
Amphibian King is as cold and slimy as his skin. A frog of few words, he’ll slowly croak out bad ideas that are routinely ignored by fellow Council members. He’s heartless, but too dense to be malicious.
FISH QUEEN (Ego Nwodim)
Fish Queen is a boisterous, stern and formidable member of the Council. As leader of the fish kingdom, she always has a long-winded speech prepared-but will make everyone wait with a dramatic pause while she goes down for water.
REPTILE QUEENS (Nichole Sakura)
Reptile Queens are a terrifying trio of almost identical snake sisters, ready and willing to bite your head off. Their interests include gossiping, mockery, trying to end Council meetings early because they’re boring and stupid, and making fun of other animals for having legs.
INSECT QUEEN (Meryl Streep)
Insect Queen is the most respected and feared member of the all-seeing and all-powerful Council. She rules over her subjects and her spoiled, bloodthirsty son with a tiny iron fist, and the grandeur of a human royal. Her subjects are the most numerous on Earth, and the fact that they are constantly getting eaten by literally everyone else has shaped her bitter, hard-won wisdom and given her no illusions about the nature of power.
GRANDMA TANAKA (Karen Huie)
Grandma Tanaka has always been a calm, empathetic, consistent presence in Mabel’s life, and understands her granddaughter when others don’t. From a young age, she teaches Mabel about the importance of protecting the beauty and innocence of nature. As a member of the Beaverton Wildlife Society, Grandma Tanaka believes that as long as you take care of those around you, you’ll be making a difference.
DIANE (Vanessa Bayer)
Diane the shark is the apex predator summoned to help the Council carry out their mission to stop Mayor Jerry. Though Diane is one of the animal world’s most feared assassins, she’s actually super sweet, with a flawless bedside manner and a commitment to absolute professionalism. Nothing fazes her-even when she feels like a fish out of water.