Adventure
Animation
Review: ‘Hoppers’ is a Cute and Cuddly Coming-of-Age Tale that Also Serves as a Powerful Message About Technology and the Environment
March 2, 2026Ben MK
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For anyone that grew up in the '90s or early 2000s, the excitement for a new Pixar film couldn't have been understated. Fast forward some three decades, however, and while the studio that brought moviegoers such iconic animated features as Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo and Up has certainly continued to churn out the occasional movie of that caliber, audience enthusiasm has somewhat waned. Whether it's a Toy Story prequel like Lightyear or the alien-themed Elio, the tepid box-office reception for the majority of Pixar's latest efforts is nothing to shrug at. But can the legendary animation studio win fans back with their newest family-friendly tale, Hoppers, in which a headstrong young woman must help avert a disaster that threatens both the human and animal world? Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda) is an environmentally conscious 19-year-old from the city of Beaverton who's earned a reputation for being something of a troublemaker. Ever since she was a little girl, Mabel's rebellious nature and her affinity for animals have proven to be a thorn in the side for her parents, teachers and other authority figures — yet, it's this very same character trait that also drew her close to her grandmother (Karen Huie), the only person in her family who truly understood her for who she was. Now, with her beloved grandma gone and her non-stop activism drawing the ire of the city's extremely popular major, Jerry (Jon Hamm), Mabel must rely on her own unwillingness to quit to motivate her. But with Jerry leading the charge to construct a new highway called the Beaverton Beltway on a once-peaceful glade that was formerly home to a variety of wildlife, will her own personal strength be enough to stop the project from permanently destroying the habitat of some of the area's cutest four-legged creatures? Or will Mabel discover that it sometimes takes a village — especially when going up against something as intimidating as the red tape and bureaucracy of municipal government? Enter Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy), Mabel's professor at Beaverton University and the brains behind a breakthrough technology called Hopping, which allows humans to transfer their consciousness into the body of a robot animal indiscernible from the real thing. Up until now, Dr. Sam and her small team — which includes her colleagues, Nisha (Aparna Nancherla) and Conner (Sam Richardson) — have only ever used Hopping as a means to closely observe their animal counterparts. However, when Mabel learns of what Dr. Sam has been working on in the university's basement, she decides to use the technology for her own self-appointed mission, taking it upon herself to go undercover as a beaver to convince the animals of the glade of the danger that lies just beyond the trees. It's a risky strategy that appears to pay off, with Mabel ingratiating herself to the mammal king, a friendly beaver named George (Bobby Moynihan), as well as the countless other mammals that fall under his rule. But when George calls upon the animal council, they inadvertently trigger a chain of events that leads the newly-crowned insect king, Titus (Dave Franco), to wage war on not just Jerry, but the entire human world. Written by Jesse Andrews and directed by Daniel Chong, what follows is a cute, cuddly and family-friendly animated adventure that offers up no shortage of animal-themed humor and nature-centric sight gags, as Mabel hilariously finds herself a classic fish out of water who must quickly learn to acclimatize herself to a world she has only previously seen from a distance, making new friends and learning a little something about herself along the way. What viewers might not outright expect, though, is for Hoppers to not only explore these familiar and well-worn Pixar themes, but to also lean into society's current fears and wariness about bleeding-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, and how quickly these ideas incredible-yet-dangerous scientific advancements can be made to work against us, rather than for our collective benefit. It certainly feels like a lot for one film to tackle. Yet, somehow, the result makes it seem easy, as it blends its endearing coming-of-age story with a powerful environmental message and a cautionary tale about the inherent dangers of technology. Make no mistake, this isn't the type of tale that's likely to spawn multiple sequels or spin-offs. But if you're a longtime Pixar fan who's hoping that Hoppers can genuinely stand furry-shoulder-to-furry-shoulder with the studio's best, then this is most definitely the right tree to bark up. Hoppers releases March 6th, 2026 from Walt Disney Studios. The film has an MPAA rating of PG for action/peril, some scary images and mild language. Its runtime is 1 hr. 45 min. |
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