Hoppers (2026)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Engaging, heartfelt, and imaginative, Hoppers feels like a journey back to classic Pixar movie storytelling.
Highly entertaining, a bit frenetic, and well-paced, Hoppers keeps a smile on your face pretty much the entire time.
Inventive ideas, impressive animation, and thoughtful messages and takeaways, Hoppers is smarter than it appears and more clever than you may initially realize.
NO
As thoughtful as the messages are, some are subtle and others are obvious and a bit on-the-nose.
The film’s plot might feel a bit chaotic and too free-wheeling in its combining of science fiction, adventure, comedy, drama, and thematic issues.
You suffer from an allergy to fun movies that seek to entertain and make you laugh.
OUR REVIEW
Only in the universe of Pixar Animation could a story about a 19-year-old girl transferring her consciousness into a robotic beaver to rally woodland animals against a new freeway become one of the most thoughtful films of the year. A lot of people are commenting that “Pixar is back!” and Pixar’s Hoppers does feel like a return to form for a studio that can still deliver a thoroughly engaging movie experience, no matter how outlandish the storyline might be.
Hoppers begins as a sweet-tempered story about a young girl who visits and later lives with her grandmother. Together, they discover a place of solitude - a large rock in a quiet glade where animals roam free and the tranquil ripple of the water and wind and ambient sounds of nature bring peace and calm.
From those milder moments, the story accelerates when that young girl, Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda), now 19, lives in her grandmother’s home. Having learned how to adjust to loss and a post-teenage life, her spirited, animal rights activism runs afoul of the beloved Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm). The big-toothed, perfectly coiffed politician is determined (and likely was elected) to build a massive freeway, which just so happens to slice through Mabel’s beloved pond. We are told that animal habitats are off limits to builders in the world of Hoppers, but Mabel soon questions why all the animals have suddenly vacated the glade.
This premise sets in motion a film directed by Daniel Chong, with a screenplay by Jesse Andrews (Luca), from a story by Chong and Andrews. Chong, perhaps best known for the animated series “We Bare Bears,” steadily amplifies the film’s science-fiction elements, humor, and emotional beats as the story unfolds. Luckily, Chong has a firm grasp on the narrative, which blends in those sci-fi, dramatic, comedic moments with a thoughtful message to ponder and consider. In those ways, it truly does have all the elements of a classic Pixar film. And, for what it’s worth, I had a smile on my face nearly the entire time.
Perhaps the best part of all of this is just how effortlessly entertaining Hoppers proves to be. Curda is terrific in bringing Mabel to life. She balances a manic energy with a heart-on-its-sleeve personality, becoming the perfect complement to the kind-hearted and trusting beaver King George (Bobby Moynihan). They meet when Mabel discovers a secret university lab at her college, which allows her to leap into that robotic beaver device and walk and talk among the animals in the glade.
Chong opens up the universe wonderfully. Every notable animal character has purpose and a personality that makes the film richer and more engaging. The movie sneaks in a few winks to a certain James Cameron film built around the idea of using technology to inhabit another form. And while Mabel is an avatar of sorts, she blends in peacefully with the animals she has co-existed with as a human being. Until one character, an insect named Titus (Dave Franco), becomes rambunctious and seizes an opportunity to dispatch King George as the leader of the animals, Mabel and George become like a brother/sister tandem who just get each other.
If Hoppers struggles in any way, it struggles to maintain a consistent volume in how it is communicating to its audience. Subtle at times, Chong’s message of co-existing, mending differences, and finding common ground with people different than yourself is something we could generally agree is a mindset we need in this world. Not so subtle are the environmental messages and the political differences hinted at as Mabel becomes a massive thorn in the side of the over-the-top personality of Mayor Jerry.
Even if those messages and statements swirl around like competing winds in the Hoppers ecosystem, the film is so well-paced, cleverly designed, and impressively animated that you cannot help but become caught up in how much you are enjoying what you are seeing.
The story is, admittedly, a bit wild and free-wheeling. The ensemble of actors and the animals they inhabit - insects, bears, snakes, geese, frogs, fish, and even a flying shark - are as unpredictable as they are charismatic. But where Chong and Andrews find success is in their ability to tap into those memorable moments and authentic exchanges, where Pixar movies become their best selves.
Hoppers may not have the powerful, moving moments found in previous films like Up, WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., the original Inside Out, or the Toy Story series. Chong has designed an original, spunky, and, at times, rambunctious animated film. The messages are prominent, but the kindness and the heart it embodies beats loudly and proudly. There’s a lot to like here and Hoppers is a wonderful film.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Eduardo Franco, Aparna Nancherla, Tom Law, Sam Richardson, Melissa Villasenor, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Ego Nwodim, Steve Purcell, Nichole Sakura, Meryl Streep, Karen Huie, Vanessa Bayer, Demetri Martin, Eric Edelstein, Lila Liu, Eman Abdul-Razzek
Director: Daniel Chong
Written by: Jesse Andrews (screenplay), Daniel Chong, Jesse Andrews (story)
Release Date: March 6, 2026
Walt Disney Studios