Name: Hoppers
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
Released: 2026-03-06
Rating: 7.0
Cast: Jon Hamm, Bobby Moynihan, Piper Curda, Daniel Chong

Hop into the fun and fuzzy animal world with Disney and Pixar's Hoppers! When scientists discover a way to hop human consciousness into animal minds, a student named Mabel jumps at the chance to uncover the wonders of the animal world and joins forces with them to save their beloved forest.

Hoppers

Times of India

India Today

Director Daniel Chong’s delightful animated outing is about environmentalism without being preachy and activism without being heavy-handed. It opens with Mabel Tanaka stuffing her schoolbag with frogs, snakes, and other animals to rescue them from her school’s laboratory. Turns out this is a regular occurrence, for which she is reprimanded and sent home. As her mother drops her off to her Grandmother Tanaka’s (Karen Huie), Mabel forms a close bond with Nan and nature. The two sit on a rock behind the house, in silence, marvelling at the animals. Mabel grows up, loses her grandmother, and is at risk of losing the glade too, as the capitalist Mayor wants to build a bridge there. What follows is their comical tussle, with Mabel turning into a robotic beaver to persuade the animals to return to the glade. Here’s the catch: the evil Mayor has set up fake trees that emit sounds at a frequency audible only to animals, driving them away.
Despite the serious subject at hand, writer Jesse Andrews keeps the story light and the screenplay playful. The realistic animation and cuddly creatures—Mabel herself, beaver King George (Bobby Moynihan), and a sloppy Loaf (Eduardo Franco)—make this a cutesy watch. While the environment is the overarching theme, it also depicts the inherent goodness in people. Much of the charm comes from another posse of animals—like the Butterfly Queen (Meryl Streep), her entitled son Titus (Dave Franco), Fish Queen (Ego Nwodim), Bird King (Isiah Whitlock Jr), and so on—who form the council that will help the glade residents. The story is simple enough for kids to follow, who will enjoy watching all the animals in action. The narrative has several hilarious scenes, such as Mayor Jerry seeing a flying shark (carried by birds) and letting go of the wheel of his car, convinced it’s all a dream and that he will wake up any time.
Each cast member’s voice acting deserves props. Piper Curda embodies the righteous and feisty Mabel perfectly. Bobby Moynihan, as the zen beaver King George, and Jon Hamm, as the Mayor, also deliver solid performances. Dave Franco, as the menacingly ambitious new insect king, stands out. Kathy Najimy and Aparna Nancherla, as the scientists, fuse humour into their acts. Karen Huie and Meryl Streep shine even in their brief roles.
The cute animated creatures and the playful energy ought to appeal to younger viewers, but this is not just kiddie fare. Grown-ups will end up having a blast too. To enjoy it to the fullest, hop to the theatre.

Pixar has always had a knack for taking the most absurd ideas and turning them into heartfelt cinematic journeys. With Hoppers, director Daniel Chong does exactly that, delivering a wildly imaginative environmental adventure that blends zany comedy, emotional storytelling and that unmistakable Pixar charm.

Sure, it borrows a few familiar beats from earlier animated hits, but Hoppers isn’t shy about its influences. Instead, it leans into them with a cheeky wink and charges ahead with playful, inventive energy. And yes, the premise is every bit as delightfully strange as it sounds.
At the centre of the story is Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda), a fiery 19-year-old environmental activist who has loved animals since childhood. Raised in the town of Beaverton, she grew up idolising a serene forest glade her grandmother once introduced her to, a place that feels almost sacred to her.

Years later, that very forest faces destruction thanks to a highway project championed by the opportunistic Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm). Mabel’s plan to stop it? Let’s just say it involves some questionable science, a robotic beaver, and a machine capable of transferring human consciousness into animals.

Enter Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy), Mabel’s biology professor who secretly invented “hopping”, a bizarre technology that allows a person’s mind to inhabit a robotic animal body.
Once Mabel enters the animal world, Hoppers truly springs to life. She’s welcomed into a lively community of woodland creatures led by the peaceful beaver king George (Bobby Moynihan), who firmly believes even their human enemies deserve empathy.

Moynihan’s performance stands out here. His George is gentle, slightly melancholic, and unexpectedly profound, a leader trying to hold together a chaotic animal kingdom that’s constantly on the verge of spiralling into drama.

Things get even more chaotic when the wider Animal Council enters the picture, bringing with it a parade of eccentric personalities and hilariously petty political squabbles. Dave Franco’s Titus adds a wonderfully twitchy comic energy, while several scene-stealing animal characters turn the forest into a playground of pure animated chaos.

One particularly memorable sequence, involving birds airlifting a great white shark (the apex predator) onto a speeding highway like a toothy muscle car, perfectly captures the film’s wonderfully unhinged sense of humour.
While Hoppers doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights of classics like Toy Story or Inside Out, it remains an inventive and thoroughly entertaining addition to Pixar’s catalogue.

Daniel Chong crafts a fast-paced adventure packed with surreal humour, playful satire, and an unexpectedly touching message about unity, even between humans and animals.

Hoppers is lively, imaginative, and just the right amount of weird. It delivers laughs, surprises, and a few moments that might genuinely tug at your heartstrings, proving that even Pixar’s strangest ideas can still feel deeply human.



Hoppers(2026)