The trailer called out the fact that the premise of this film is basically Avatar (2009). It's not simply in the idea of someone transferring their consciousness into a non-human body. It's also in the idea of environmentalism and protecting the natural world, pitting indigenous creatures against human technology and advancement. This is a Pixar film, so it doesn't do the James Cameron-level violence. It's a comedy with some really great gags. One of them comes in the animal chosen as the protagonist. Director Daniel Chong isn't as crass in his humor. A lot of the jokes come from the brutality of the animal kingdom and the food chain.
Speaking of which, the film does a nod or yet another take on The Lion King (1994) or even something like The Wild Robot (2024). There's this concept of animals coming together, living in close quarters and working with one another. Yet, many criticized those aforementioned films with the argument that those animals would eat each other. This film finally answers that criticism. Yes, Zootopia (2016) touched upon that same issue, but this one really addresses it straight on.
Piper Curda (The Morning Show and Matlock) voices Mabel Tanaka, a Japanese-American college student who is on a crusade to save a specific glade next to a forest. The glade is in danger of being destroyed due to a highway that's being built. Mabel tries to get a petition to stop the mayor, voiced by Jon Hamm (The Morning Show and Mad Men), from bulldozing the area, but her efforts don't go well.
She learns from her college professor, Dr. Sam, voiced by Kathy Najimy (King of the Hill and Hocus Pocus), that if she can get animals to live at the glade again, she can make a better case against the city destroying it. The glade looked like it used to be a pond, filled with water. It's revealed that beavers who perhaps used to live there have moved deeper into the forest and have created a dam, further up the river, which has dried up this area. Mabel figures that she has to lure or encourage beavers back to this glade in order to fill it with water and animal life again. To do that, her plan is to pretend to be a beaver herself and infiltrate the animal kingdom, convincing them to return to the glade.
Pixar has done films about people transforming into animals. From Brave (2012) to Turning Red (2022), the transformation is normally about understanding humanity or appreciating some aspect of the human experience. There was a Pixar film called Ratatouille (2007) that was about an animal and human working together, but again, that 2007 animated feature was about indulging something uniquely human, that of cooking. This film is the reverse. It's about appreciating what it is to be an animal. The Wild Robot was about the same appreciation. This one perhaps goes further.
The Wild Robot was also about the relationship between a surrogate mother and child. It was about chosen family to one degree or another. This film is centered around a friendship, that of Mabel and George, the leader of the beavers, voiced by Bobby Moynihan (We Bare Bears and Saturday Night Live). He's the least cynical of the two. Despite not being human, George has the most faith in humanity and Mabel being the actual human has the least faith in humanity. George is a king, but he doesn't behave in a snooty way. He has a very Kumbaya attitude that Mabel lacks.
Even if he didn't have that attitude, there could be valid feelings of anger or resentment that the animals could or even should have. However, like with anything, it's about how you react and what you do with those feelings or emotions. One of the reactions of one of the characters here is basically to wage war and start killing people, or in their terminology, "squish" them. Instead of talking out the issue, this character wants to use violence, death and destruction. Given recent wars in the Middle East and elsewhere, this is a very good message to be put into the world.
Rated PG for action, peril, some scary images, and mild language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 44 mins.
In theaters.