Entering the theater without context to Disney’s new movie, Hoppers, might cause viewers to enter a slumber. Hoppers opens with a seemingly stereotypical and slow plot, following a teenage girl Mabel as she tries to save a local glade behind her grandmother’s house from destruction due to connected childhood memories. Mayor Jerry, the apparent villain of the story, is trying to remove the glade to complete a highway—and the nature-loving, animal-sypathiser Mabel cannot have that.

I was prepared to write the story off at first—that was, until it took a twist—with Mabel’s mission of tracking a beaver causing her to discover technology that allows her to transfer her consciousness into animals. By quickly taking the identity of said beaver, Mabel discovers a new world. Now fully able to communicate with animals, she sets out on her quest to find a beaver to restore her glade.

With charming and cute characters like King George, it is hard to not be fully enveloped in the story, cheering on the heroes while simultaneously struggling to select just one villain. While many characters followed a given stereotype, the main ones deviated just enough to give them their own unique characteristics, ensuring a non-redundant cast.

In recent children’s movies, it is common for humor to be overdone and typical jokes to be reused, but that was not the case in Hoppers. I found myself laughing multiple times along with the rest of the theater, and the use of physical as well as verbal comedy worked pleasantly for all ages. While it was clear at times the movie was meant to appeal to a younger audience, I never felt out of place when watching.

In contrast, while the cinematography and animation style was enchanting, it sometimes felt slightly overdone. Certain scenes seemed almost unreal, and the textures of the fur or details of the trees stole my eyes away from the story. With such simple overall shapes being used for character and set design—as is common in animated films—it felt out of place to have the details so hyperrealistic.

Overall, still, Hoppers was a solid reflection of the balance between humans and nature, and brought up important ideals about current day society and moral ambiguity. The film is very likely to shine with younger audiences, and shows a level of deep understanding for children that is absent in simple, dumbed-down shows that are so common nowadays. And of course, if all else fails, cute animated animals are sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face.