![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
“Hoppers“ is a movie about beavers. More specifically, it’s a movie about a nature-loving college student who discovers the technology to transplant her mind into a robotic beaver, pretending to be a beaver to save a pond from human interference. Is it wacky? 100%. Filled with funny antics? Also 100%. But… that’s not all.
“Hoppers,” released on Mar. 6 this year, completely subverted my initial impression of it as a tame film advocating environmental consciousness. I first assumed that the movie’s premise of robot beavers existed simply to place the human protagonist into the shoes of animals. However, by its third act, “Hoppers” goes off the rails with this concept, morphing into a film that’s galaxies apart from the one I’d first expected to see.
I went in anticipating a lighthearted comedy with a low-stakes conflict, and at first, that’s what I got. The first half stays subdued, hitting the beats of a typical animated family movie with themes of nature, honoring loved ones and not fitting in. The college-aged protagonist Mabel’s motive of saving her local pond from the city’s construction project is introduced within minutes, making me feel as if the plot was overly simple and could be wrapped up within half an hour.
But then, at one moment around halfway into the movie, the theater falls silent. With this one scene, there’s a palpable shift in the atmosphere of the film, and everything snowballs from there. Without getting into spoilers, I will just say this: for the second and third acts of the movie, I was at the edge of my seat.
The more intense and even eerie elements found within the second half of “Hoppers” made it such a great watch for me. The level of intensity reminded me of movies from the Disney Renaissance (a period of great success for the studio from 1989 to 1999) and older Pixar films that weren’t afraid to stray into darker territories. The villain in this movie is so refreshingly evil, and a lot of fun to watch.
But that’s not to say I don’t appreciate the humor as well—despite the tone shift, the movie retains clever quips and quirky jokes throughout. The balance between the darker mood and the occasional gag keeps the film fresh and engaging.
The main character, Mabel, is also refreshingly unique. I liked that the movie explored more intense emotions and stubbornness with her personality, while also delving into her feelings of inadequacy and self doubt. I also love how her human character design reflects her personality, with her wild, spiky hair and freckles, and appreciate that we got to see equal parts of her beaver and human counterparts, since many body-swap movies (for example, Pixar’s Soul) usually don’t highlight the human design as much.
The movie contains a primary body swap element, with the other characters being unaware of Mabel’s true identity as a human. The use of this trope paints a picture for a cliche betrayal story beat in the second or third act of the movie, which I internally dreaded as the first act went on.
However, the movie doesn’t tread through the stereotypical “secret reveal” drama that splits the main characters apart in the third act, instead offering a more nuanced character conflict that resolves more quickly. The relationships are written with care, especially Mabel and the beaver King George’s friendship, which I thought was sweet despite its unconventionality. The quality in the characters’ relationships got me invested in their eventual conflict, while making the lack of cliche misunderstandings even better.
In between the humor and action found throughout “Hoppers”, there are numerous heartfelt emotional moments in the film, not only between Mabel and her animal friends, but also Mabel and her grandma, that allow the story time to breathe. One criticism I do have about these emotional beats is that Mabel’s recurring flashback of her grandma was shown one too many times throughout the movie, and lost some of its emotional impact along the way.
Overall, “Hoppers” presents a new direction for Pixar. Many recent Pixar movies have been hit or miss (especially with the recent box office failures of Elio and Lightyear) and have drawn criticism for being too tame or generic. But “Hoppers” tells a very original and personal story as well as offering fresh elements and humor to the table.
Overall rating: 4.3/5
