– for action/peril, some scary images and mild language.
Director: Daniel Chong
Starring: voices of Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Meryl Streep
Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
Theatrical Release Date: March 6, 2026
Hoppers
Plot Summary
A 19-year-old animal lover uses technology that places her consciousness into a robotic beaver to uncover mysteries within the animal world beyond her imagination.
(from IMDb)
Film Review
2026 is one of those rare occurrences where moviegoers don’t just get one, but two new animated films from Pixar in one year. Hoppers is the first release (Toy Story 5 is the second, coming this summer), offering an all-new story and characters. Seemingly taking a page out of the book of Avatar – they even make a joke about it in this movie – Hoppers imagines what it would be like to put a human’s consciousness into that of an animal robot, allowing them to interact with real animals out in the wild. The plot involves a teenage girl named Mabel who grew up seeking solace in a little wildlife-enriched pond area called “The Glade,” but when the town’s mayor, Jerry, seizes it to run a major highway through the spot, Mabel does everything in her power to try to save it. And when Mayor Jerry says the wildlife would have to return to The Glade in order to save it, Mabel “hops” into a robot beaver to try to convince the local wildlife to reinhabit The Glade.
Hoppers may not feel super fresh because the idea feels borrowed so heavily from Avatar, but it certainly works for this film. And, what kid hasn’t imagined what it’d be like to interact with, and be able to talk to, animals? Hoppers is full of surprises though, leaving you guessing where the story might go at pretty much every turn. Mabel, voiced by Disney Channel alum Piper Curda, is a delightful main character – even if she borders on obnoxious at times. The whole premise is rather environmental – coloring progress and human expansion as the villain in an age-old tug of war – but you’d be hard-pressed to really find fault in Mabel for wanting to save this precious nature spot. Mayor Jerry, wonderfully voiced by Jon Hamm, is more or less a quasi-villain, too, and he’s given some suprisingly redeemable moments. He’s one of those misguided antagonists that doesn’t fully see the error of his ways until things escalate significantly. But that may also be because there are worse “villains” in the film… but I won’t spoil that here.
The bulk of the film features Mabel inside the body of a beaver living among the animals, and that makes up the most enjoyable aspects of the film. Bobby Moynihan voices a beaver who is the leader of the mammals in the area, and his interactions with Mabel are some of the best moments. The movie’s animation is also fantastic – as you can only expect from Pixar – and while we’re probably all pretty desensitized to how good animation is these days, it’s still worth noting how beautiful these feature films look. The animation style actually kind of reminded me of Sony’s more so than Disney’s, with the human character design kind of reminding me of a mix of Sony’s A Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Pixar’s UP. The animals are positively adorable, too, and I like how the animals had simple pupils for eyes normally, but when we’re seeing them interacting with Mabel, they have full, expressive, cartoony eyes. It’s a nice touch.
Where Hoppers falters a bit is in its last act. Some of the action is so absolutely bonkers that it starts to feel like a different film. I get that audiences are probably hard to surprise these days, but it still seemed like someone on the production team just kept asking, “But can we make it… crazier?” From having a large aquatic creature be carried by birds to attack a moving car to the finale flipping “hopping” on its head in nightmare-fuel fashion… Hoppers is certainly unique in its execution, but it nearly derailed the whole film for me.
With that said, the content is firmly set within the realm of the PG rating. Most of it is pretty harmless, but, as I said, the last act gets intense at times – definitely earning its rating. There’s one emphatic use of “suck” as a profanity, which I know is minor, but it still was surprising given the movie it’s used in. Also, the climactic action scene is absolutely something that would have terrified me as a little kid. It seriously gave me some Superman III flashbacks. Without giving too much away, there’s a humanoid robot with big eyes (with dark circles under them, giving it a more menacing look), and at one point, the human face is torn off to reveal a robot skull with big eyes underneath. It’s all done in a menacing way, too, and I can absolutely see it scaring younger children. Even the way the robot moves is a bit unsettling. (My family and I kept wincing at how creepy it was presented.) Part of it is done to be humorous, but it’s also absolutely done in a way meant to shock. Other than that, there’s a brief moment where a bug character is very suddenly squished between the hands of another animal and we see that animal sheepishly – and slowly – wiping the bug guts against the wall behind them. Other action includes some of the hopper animals exploding in little fireballs, and a big forest fire threatening the town and animals.
Hoppers may not be peak Pixar, but it’s probably one of the better Pixar efforts in recent years. It’s cute, fun, unique, funny, and even heartwarming. I definitely recommend it for those looking for a good animated film to take the family to — just be warned that the climactic action is likely to disturb some of the younger, more sensitive viewers.
As a side note – there is a post-credits scene that isn’t crucial to see, but it’s silly and fun (if not a little creepy as it involves animals having fun with a “mask”).
– John DiBiase (reviewed: 3/11/26)
Parental Guide: Content Summary
Sex/Nudity: None.
Vulgarity/Language: 1 emphatic use of “suck”
Alcohol/Drugs: None.
Blood/Gore: None. But a humanoid robot pulling off a rubber face to reveal a robot face underneath is likely to disturb some little viewers; Also, Mabel rubs clear bug guts against a wall; A caterpillar pupates and sheds its skin in a blob off screen – shown as a shadow to us.
Violence: Mabel, as a little girl, bites a man’s hand; Dynamite blows up a beaver dam; Some men forcefully remove Mabel from guarding The Glade; A bear tries to eat a beaver, but Mabel saves it by retrieving it from the bear’s mouth; An animal accidentally squishes an insect between its hands and then wipes it on the rock wall behind it; An animal causes a large metal pole to crash to the ground; A group of animals react in pain to a sound only they can hear; Birds carry a water animal through the air to attack a car driving on the road. It then bites the top of the car off. The driver reacts as if he’s in a dream and stops trying to drive, allowing the car to wander the road as an animal frantically tries to take control of the car; A car flies off the road and crashes on the ground below; Some people are wrapped up in cables, tied to chairs; We see a couple scientists with poisonous snakes and toads on their backs, threatening them to make them do what they want; A robot attacks some animals. At one point, it rips a humanoid face off, revealing its robot skull; We see several of the hopper robot animals explode at different times; A stage catches on fire which ignites the forest around it, causing a large forest fire; Debris falls on a beaver and someone carries it to safety (it seems fine); And other animated action violence.
Disclaimer: All reviews are based solely on the opinions of the reviewer. Most reviews are rated on how the reviewer enjoyed the film overall, not exclusively on content. However, if the content really affects the reviewer’s opinion and experience of the film, it will definitely affect the reviewer’s overall rating.
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