Hoppers

After a string of original films that struggled to connect with audiences, Pixar returned to form with Hoppers, a wildly imaginative adventure that blends environmental themes with the studio's signature heart. The film follows Mabel, a college student who discovers her biology professor has invented a machine that can transfer human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals. Desperate to save a beloved natural glade from development, Mabel hops into a robotic beaver and finds herself thrust into a hidden world of animal politics and intrigue.

Directed by Daniel Chong, who developed the project over six years after returning to Pixar in 2020, Hoppers marks a creative resurgence for the studio. The voice cast is led by Piper Curda as Mabel, with standout performances from Bobby Moynihan as the gentle beaver king George and Jon Hamm as the slick Mayor Jerry Generazzo. Mark Mothersbaugh provides the score, and SZA contributes the end-credits song Save the Day.

Released in March 2026, the film earned an A CinemaScore and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year with $372 million worldwide. Critics praised its dark humor, emotional depth, and timely message about cooperation between humans and nature, with a 96% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [edit]

Mabel is a passionate animal lover living with her grandmother in a small Oregon town while attending Beaverton University. Her grandmother, a wise nature enthusiast, has taught her that immersing oneself in the natural world helps temper frustration and anger. When Mabel's parents moved away, she chose to stay and care for her grandmother, and the two share a deep bond rooted in their love of plants and animals.

The peace of their community is threatened by Mayor Jerry Generazzo, a slick politician who plans to build a beltway freeway through Mabel's beloved glade, a pristine habitat for local wildlife. Mayor Jerry claims all the animals have already left the area, justifying his development plans. He gives Mabel 48 hours to gather signatures on a petition to stop the destruction. But after a day of rejection, her efforts prove fruitless when she discovers an elderly man she thought had signed her petition had actually written a grocery list because his hearing aid was turned off.

Desperate to save the glade, Mabel stumbles upon a secret in her dowdy biology professor's laboratory. Dr. Sam is a mad scientist who has invented a technology called hopping, which allows a person's consciousness to be transferred into a specially built robotic animal droid. The transfer occurs when a person places their head inside a hair-dryer-like device connected to a Frankenstein-style laboratory setup. Mabel seizes the opportunity and hops into a robotic beaver, enabling her to communicate with animals as one of them.

As a robotic beaver, Mabel is welcomed into the local beaver community led by King George, a persistent optimist who believes in seeing the humanity in everyone, even Mayor Jerry. George insists that the animals should find a way to communicate with humans and reach a compromise that benefits everyone. His backstory reveals a rousing family history involving his father banishing him, an attempt to start a new family, and nearly being usurped by his uncle before his father begged him to return.

Mabel uncovers mysteries within the animal world that go beyond her imagination. She discovers that Mayor Jerry has installed tall metal trees with speakers that emit an intolerable noise only animals can hear, designed to drive them away from the glade. He also plans to blow up the beavers' dam, which serves as the ecological fulcrum of the glade. As Mabel navigates this hidden world, she inadvertently sparks an uprising among the animals, who begin to organize against the human threat.

The story builds toward a confrontation between the animals and humans, with Mabel caught between her loyalty to her own species and her newfound animal friends. The central theme revolves around the need for cooperation, with the message that the only path to salvation is for everyone to work together.[edit]