While we’ve seen a lot of homegrown talent within Pixar stay around to develop bigger and brighter new worlds and characters, their latest film, Hoppers, comes from a creative who’s most notable work wasn’t actually at Pixar. Director Daniel Chong, a story artist on Cars 2 and Inside Out found mainstream success as the creator of Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears. He rejoined Pixar in 2022, and now takes viewers on an effortlessly fun adventure with woodland critters that embodies Pixar’s best.
Chong immediately gives the film a deep sense of heart and energy as it introduces Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda), a young woman determined to save her beloved forest glades from the opportunistic Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm). At face value, it is easy to view Mabel as just a stereotypical environmentalist – throwing herself in front of bulldozers or going door to door in search of petition signatures. But Chong not only shows more to her early on but also plays with that perception well for funny scenes. The shouting matches between Mabel and Jerry are absolutely hilarious and full of great hidden jabs.
Mabel’s persistence is captured in a perfectly comical light without losing the importance of what she’s trying to achieve. The scenes from Mabel’s childhood of liberating class pets and having lakeside chats with her grandmother (Karen Huie) give her cause real personal weight. The combination of Chong’s direction and Curda’s voice work builds her into a likeable underdog that audiences will easily vibe with. Right from the start, Mabel is probably one of the most fun, enjoyable, and interesting Pixar leads in a long time, and it only gets better once her ambitions take her to unexpected places…and bodies.
Let’s face it, it wouldn’t be a true Pixar adventure without some weird twist thrown in and Hoppers puts its own delightful spin on Avatar’s body-swapping formula. Mabel discovers that her college professor is experimenting with sending human consciousness into a robotic beaver shell which sparks an idea for her to bring wildlife back to the glade. Naturally, Mabel “hopps” herself into this android beaver to talk to animals and ends up discovering a world within her own.
It’s such a fun concept that Chong and Pixar nail both visually and narratively. While Hoppers might not be as aesthetically ambitious as films like Elio or Elemental, Pixar delivers some adorable characters who are sure to be instant crowd-favorites. Every animal, whether big or small, is full of personality and comes with a likeable warmth. The film’s central forest setting is cozy yet vast, constantly expanding as the film goes on. And, there are light tastes of sci-fi flair to make the body-swapping shine. More importantly though, this concept really lets Pixar’s distinct storytelling and world-crafting hit huge highs.
The second Mabel enters this glade full of various animals, Hoppers becomes an absolute blast that continually draws you deeper into the story. It’s kind of crazy how far Chong and co-writer Jesse Andrews go with building this world, but it pays off immensely. The introduction of the optimistic King George (Bobby Moynihan, who worked with Chong on WBB), a beaver wearing a delightfully tiny crown, and his “pond rules” living is perfect. The various animals Mabel meets deliver snarky humor right at home with Chong’s work on We Bare Bears that stays consistently sharp. And it’s interesting how Mabel slowly becomes more immersed into this animal kingdom – causing her to feel at the center of human and animal worlds colliding. Hoppers has a world that’s incredibly fun to explore and constantly builds itself into something no one expects.
Once the film shifts towards an animal hierarchy entering the fray, things get pretty wild. It’s reminiscent of when Pixar tried to do some insane sci-fi twists in Lightyear, but it actually feels fitting this time. There’s some well-timed dark humor injected into the mix, like panic-driven actions against insect royalty and a mercenary-like predator sent to hunt down Jerry, that’ll leave audiences howling. The narrative takes such a welcomed turn down a legitimately crazy path that’s super exciting to watch unfold. It basically puts a surprise villain in the driver’s seat for some mad scientist-inspired insanity that no one will see coming.
Like Elio, it’s also where Pixar throws in some wildly fun horror visuals and moments that leave you begging to see what full-tilt horror looks like for the studio. Like seriously, stop teasing us Pixar and just make a horror movie because based on what we see here, it would be amazing. The pacing even kicks into a much-needed overdrive that matches the chaos happening on-screen with more action-driven sequences and fiery conflicts creating cinema-caliber moments.
Best of all, the emotional and thematic aspects of Hoppers’ narrative tap into relevant conversations we need to be having about ongoing philosophical/political bouts. Sure, Hoppers clearly ties itself directly to the environment and animal rights, making viewers see how we need to treat them with better care. But there’s something deeper here about activism and coming together that hits so much harder. It’s incredible how Mabel’s arc evokes that inner frustration found within a young generation who feels their voice is being silenced and needs to be heard. There are great scenes that flesh out a vulnerability in Mabel that are deeply touching and elevated by the voice performances from Curda and Moynihan. It’s some of the best story work we’ve seen from Pixar recently, and the way bonds are formed, inner peace is found, and walls are torn down in the final stretch will truly make your heart swell and make you think deeper about how we need to tackle issues together.
Hoppers is a shining example of what Pixar is known for – innovate stories from creators who’ve thrived both in and out of Pixar’s bubble that are fun, heartfelt, and of the moment. Chong and company easily craft the funniest film of 2026 thus far, possibly of Pixar’s history, and take viewers by the hand through a woodland romp that’s as warmly comical as it is thematically resonant. Hoppers is the first true great film of 2026 and will be quickly seen as an undeniable crowd-pleaser by all.
