Hoppers sounds a lot like the plot of Avatar. A teenage girl transfers her mind into the body of a robot beaver and learns the ways of nature. They even make a joke about it during the movie. But where Hoppers really makes its way is with the slightly more adult and darker themes on display, in addition to the cute, fuzzy animals. PIxar has been doing this for over thirty years now, they know exactly what heartstrings to tug on, what buttons to press, and when to let up on some of the darker themes. Hoppers comes from Co-writer/Director Daniel Chong and co-writer Jesse Andrews.
It has an all-star cast including Piper Curda (Mabel), Bobby Moynihan (King George), Jon Hamm (Mayor Jerry), Kathy Najimy (Dr. Sam), Dave Franco (Insect King), Eduardo Franco (Loaf), Sam Richardson (Conner), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Bird King), Melissa Villasenor (Ellen), Vanessa Bayer (Diane), and Meryl Streep (Insect Queen).
The story follows Mabel, a teen, who in her younger years, learned that nature is the most important thing from her Grandmother. She grew up and yearned to save the glade near her grandmother’s house from a development that wants to put in a turnpike, led by Mayor Jerry (doing his best Gavin Newsom impersonation). Mabel learns at her college, that Dr. Sam and her team are working on tech that can transfer a human mind into the body of a robot beaver. So, naturally, Mabel does this against Sam’s instructions and goes off to save the glade.
Mabel learns the ways of animals from King George, who is a beaver that was named King of the mammals. He treats all animals equally and they live in an ever-crowded area because the glade was emptied out. There are other Kings and Queens of their various domains, including Insect Queen/King, Bird King, Reptile Queen, and Fish Queen. Mabel convinces George to bring them together to try to save the glade, but the Insect Queen/King have different plans, they end up wanting to “squish” the King of the humans, Mayor Jerry.
That’s all I’ll say about the plot of the film, but there’s a lot of moving parts here, and plenty of energy. If there’s one thing you can come out of Hoppers thinking, its that it was an energetic movie. There’s also a lot of humor here that’ll make anyone laugh. A bunch of seagulls carrying a great white shark as its trying to smash a convertible driven by Mayor Jerry will always be funny.
There’s also those moments that Pixar is known for with particular feelings of emotion and Hoppers is bookended with them. Mabel’s relationship with her grandmother will hit anyone in the heartstrings and the third act of the film features a couple of moments that really hit hard on the emotional front.
The look of Hoppers is among the best parts of the film. All the different animals are adorable and funny in the right ways. There are even some more fearsome looking animals, including the aforementioned Great White Shark. Everything is in the name of the themes of the film though. Through the whole thing, it knows exactly what it wants to do and say and that’s best for the audience. The only thing I can really complain about is that it definitely feels like there’s two “moments of no return” in the film, where the third act would normally begin after all is lost for the protagonist. So that’s a bit jarring, but other than that, this is easily one of Pixar’s best movies they’ve made in recent memory.
Whether you’re taking the kids out or you just want to go see a cute movie with animals that’ll melt your heart and then make you think about how we treat nature, Hoppers is good for both.
Hoppers is out in theaters on March 6th, 2026.
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