Film Review: Hoppers

Hoppers
Director: Daniel Chong
Pixar Animation Studios
In Theaters 03.06.2026

If there’s one thing that has traditionally set Pixar films apart from other animated family movies, it’s that people without kids are just as likely to want to see them as those who do have kids. My personal choice is always to go with kids if I have the option, and my nephews/collaborators, Timmy (10) and Peter (7), joined me at the movies once again to review the studio’s newest offering. Please be advised, as Peter notes, “it doesn’t have any relation with bunnies, even though it’s called Hoppers.”

In the wooded glade of Beaverton, Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda, A.N.T. Farm, The Wretched) grows up inspired by her grandmother’s reverence for nature — especially a tight-knit colony of beavers. Years later, when opportunistic Mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Top Gun: Maverick) plans to bulldoze the now-vacant forest for a freeway, 19-year-old Mabel’s protests fall on deaf ears. She learns that the reason the forest is vacant is that there’s no longer a beaver in the glade to dam up the river. The solution is clear: find a beaver to dam up the river, bring the animals back and Jerry can’t build his freeway.

In the words of Peter, “the only way to find a beaver is to become a beaver,” an idea that Mabel has when she discovers her biology professor, Dr. Samantha “Sam” Fairfax (Kathy Najimy, Sister Act, Hocus Pocus), has secretly developed an experimental scientific program that makes this possible. “HOPPERS” (which, Timmy wishes to make clear, is “an acronym for something that I do not remember”) allows humans to upload their consciousness into robotic animals.

Recklessly hopping into a mechanical beaver, Mabel infiltrates the glade and bonds with King George (Bobby Moynihan, Saturday Night Live, IF), leader of the mammals in the area. But her attempt at diplomacy spirals into chaos, igniting a cross-species war led by the vengeful Titus (Dave Franco, The Disaster Artist, Together), the Insect King. 

With Hoppers, Pixar delivers perhaps its most gleefully unhinged non-sequel in years — a high-concept eco-comedy that barrels forward on chaotic energy and genuine heart. I use the phrase “non-sequel” rather than “original” because, as Timmy notes, “the story of Hoppers is essentially Avatar, and they actually make a joke about it.” There’s no escaping the premise parallels — but then again, Avatar had its own well-documented kinship with Dances with Wolves.

By drawing attention to the comparison and preemptively poking fun at it, screenwriter Jesse Andrews (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) cleverly turns a potential knock into an amusing gag that makes a plus out of a potential minus. What follows is less a solemn ecological parable and more a sugar-rush adventure about empathy, activism and robotic beavers. The humor stretches wide, the plot sometimes overfills, and the themes stay lighter than Pixar’s most profound efforts — yet unlike many of its characters, the movie fully knows what it wants to be and how to deliver it. Hoppers embraces silliness and self-awareness, delivering endearing characters, solid arcs for Mabel and Jerry and, above all, a great time.

Timmy’s favorite character was King George, and Moynihan nails the character’s lovable and laidback personality (Peter found the sequences of George leading yoga classes to be very funny). Curda is quite charming and energetic as Mabel, and she has strong chemistry with both Moynihan and Hamm. Najimy is a terrific comic actress, and her Dr. Fairfax is a hoot, with  Melissa Villaseñor (Saturday Night Live, Toy Story 4) and Sam Richardson (The Tomorrow War, Werewolves Within) adding great support as her assistants, Ellen and Connor, respectively.

Director Daniel Chong (We Bare Bears: The Movie) fills the movie with a lot of energetic pop songs, which was a big plus for Peter, who got up to dance his heart out for every single one of them.

Hoppers may not rank among Pixar’s most profound tearjerkers, but its scrappy spirit, inventive premise and willingness to embrace absurdity make it feel vibrantly alive. By the time the dust settles — and the glade floods — you’re left not just with laughs, but with a nice reminder that real change, whether human or animal, begins with a willingness to hear each other. This is one “dam” good beaver movie. —Patrick Gibbs, Timmy Gibbs and Peter Gibbs 

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