--- title: "Hoppers" year: 2026 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/hoppers" fi1m_id: "hoppers" imdb_id: "tt26443616" tmdb_id: 1327819 wikidata_id: "Q128798957" fi1m_score: 76 critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 20 published: "2026-09-09" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:44.518486+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Hoppers (2026) Directed by Daniel Chong · 1h 44m · MPA PG · Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Science Fiction ## Identity Hoppers - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/hoppers - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** hoppers - **IMDb ID:** tt26443616 - **TMDB ID:** 1327819 - **Wikidata ID:** Q128798957 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26443616/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1327819, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q128798957 **Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 77 from 20 reviews *In a sentence:* Avatar, if the aliens were beavers and the war was a planning dispute > Pixar’s beaver body-swap is the studio’s funniest film in some years: quick, odd and unafraid of a nasty joke. The plot carries more than it needs and the last act loses its nerve, but the first hour is a pleasure. ## Synopsis Mabel (Piper Curda) is a teenager who cares about the woods and water near her town, and about the creatures in them, more than anyone around her does. When the habitat comes under threat from development, a piece of technology transfers her consciousness into a robotic beaver, so that she can pass as an animal and enter a world humans never see. It turns out to be a society, divided into kingdoms with kings for the insects, the birds and the amphibians, and a king called George (Bobby Moynihan). Kathy Najimy voices Dr Sam, and Jon Hamm voices Mayor Jerry Generazzo, the politician on the human side. Daniel Chong directs from a screenplay by Jesse Andrews, for Pixar. ## Review Pixar has borrowed the premise of *Avatar*, a human mind piloting a body that can pass among the natives, and handed it to a beaver. Mabel (Piper Curda) is a teenager who cares about the woods and water near her town, and about the creatures in them, more than anyone around her does. A piece of technology puts her consciousness into a robot beaver, and once she is inside it the film becomes a comedy about pretending to be something you are not while everything around you carries on being exactly what it is. This is the funniest film Pixar has made in some years. It is also carrying more plot than it needs, and its last act is not as brave as its first. The animal world is the best idea in it. The creatures have a society, and it is divided into kingdoms by class: an Insect King (Dave Franco), a Bird King (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), an Amphibian King (Steve Purcell) and King George (Bobby Moynihan), whom Moynihan voices with the self-regard of someone who has never lost an argument. Bryn Imagire’s design keeps everything soft-edged and slightly squashed, the beavers in particular built like cushions, and the animation moves them with the elastic violence of a Looney Tunes short. We laughed more than we have at a Pixar film since *Turning Red*, mostly at the gap between how these animals see themselves and how they look to us. And the film lets nature be unkind. It is a U, but it does not pretend the woods are a nursery. Jeremy Lasky and Ian Megibben photograph the woods and the water with the patience of a nature programme, and seen from the animals’ height the human town looks large, flat and faintly ridiculous, which is the point. The sound design leans on birdsong and running water rather than cartoon noises, and it is doing more work than you notice. Mark Mothersbaugh’s score bounces rather than swells; it is written for chases and pratfalls and it stays out of the way when the film wants to be quiet. Axel Geddes cuts the whole thing to 104 minutes and it never dawdles. Curda gives Mabel a stubbornness that is not always likeable, which is right; the film is about a girl who thinks she knows best and is only partly correct. Jon Hamm voices Mayor Jerry Generazzo, the politician on the human side, in the smooth, well-fed tone Hamm does better than anyone. Kathy Najimy’s Dr Sam is warm and quick. Around them Aparna Nancherla, Sam Richardson and Eduardo Franco fill out a supporting cast who get a good share of the sharpest lines between them. The trouble is quantity. Jesse Andrews’s screenplay, from a story by Andrews and Daniel Chong, has to explain the technology, introduce four kingdoms and their politics, keep the town in view and deliver a lesson about living alongside things you do not control. For an hour the jokes carry all of that. In the last half hour the jokes thin out and the lesson steps forward, and the emotional turns are announced rather than earned; we could feel the film asking us to be moved before it had done the work. It also loses its nerve about its villain, in a way we will not describe, except to say that a film this cheerfully rude about the natural order goes soft at the one moment it should not. Set against the studio’s own record, this belongs with *Turning Red*: small, strange and personal, and not much interested in being important. After [*Elio*](https://film.one/film/elio) it is a relief. It does not have the ache of [*Coco*](https://film.one/film/coco), and the message about coexistence is spoken aloud when it should have been left in the pictures. But it is sure of its jokes, and it lets its animals be greedy, vain and frightened rather than merely sweet, which is rarer than it should be. Take children if you have them, and treat the slapstick as the main event. The lesson at the end is a good one and you will have heard it before. The beaver you will not have seen before. *Fi1m score 76, published 9 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics take Hoppers as Pixar finding its footing again, and the praise clusters on the comedy: review after review calls it the studio’s funniest film in years, with the beaver-world gags, the slapstick and a darker strain of humour singled out. The premise, a young activist sending her mind into a robot beaver, is widely thought well handled, and several reviews credit Chong’s direction and the voice cast. The message about coexistence is generally found warm rather than preachy. Reservations, where they come, are about the plot: The New York Times finds it overcrowded, Screen Daily thinks the emotional beats are sometimes forced, and The Guardian notes a loss of nerve on the villain. Two reviews break sharply from the rest. Slant sees a messy, confused film and a sign of the studio’s decline; Polygon goes further, calling it incoherent and arguing its message punishes the protagonist for trying to act. The spread is otherwise narrow, and warm. ## Straight answers **Is Hoppers worth watching?** *Hoppers* is worth watching for families and anyone who wants Pixar at its funniest rather than its most solemn, and we scored it 76. The first hour, in which Mabel pilots a robot beaver through a rude, vain animal society, is a pleasure; the last half hour thins the jokes and speaks its lesson aloud. Go for the slapstick. **How long is Hoppers, and what is it rated?** *Hoppers* runs 1h 44m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is an adventure and animation film. **Where can I watch Hoppers in the US?** *Hoppers* is streaming on Disney+ in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Hoppers compare to Fantastic Mr. Fox?** *Hoppers* and [*Fantastic Mr. Fox*](https://film.one/film/fantastic-mr-fox) share a taste for animals who are greedy, vain and articulate while the humans are the problem, but Anderson's stop-motion caper is the more sure-footed of the two and holds its nerve to the end. *Hoppers* is broader, quicker and more elastic, closer to a Looney Tunes short, and better for younger children who want chases and pratfalls. **What should I watch after Hoppers?** After *Hoppers*, try [*Fantastic Mr. Fox*](https://film.one/film/fantastic-mr-fox) (2009, Fi1m 84): Wes Anderson’s animals are vain, greedy and articulate, and the humans are the problem. Then [*Watership Down*](https://film.one/film/watership-down) (1978, Fi1m 81): Rabbits, developers and a British refusal to soften what happens to animals; and [*Flow*](https://film.one/film/flow) (2024, Fi1m 83): A cat, a flood and no dialogue; the natural world without a lesson attached. ### Reviews we read (24) - **Empire**, John Nugent (90/100, inferred): Pixar’s funniest film in years threads silly, emotional and meaningful elements together with bonkers animal-world worldbuilding and a heartfelt message about nature and unity. It shows confidence the studio has often lacked lately. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/hoppers/) - **IndieWire**, Wilson Chapman (A-): The critic deems it Pixar’s freshest, funniest movie in years and the first since Turning Red offering something new, with nimble comedy about an environmental activist infiltrating the animal kingdom. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/hoppers-review-pixar-1235181189/) - **RogerEbert.com** (85/100, inferred): The film is Pixar at its best, with warmth, humor, exciting action, endearing characters, and an expansive notion of community. It has charm and a touch of magic but is grounded in empathy for all species. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hoppers-pixar-film-review-2026) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it Pixar returning to vintage form with a clever, funny and visually appealing nutty action comedy that zips along driven by rambunctious energy. It singles out the tenacious protagonist flanked by amusingly anthropomorphized creatures that thrill kids while entertaining adults. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/hoppers-review-pixar-disney-comedy-1236518225/) - **The Observer**, Wendy Ide (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it an inventive eco-adventure and a delight, praising its wit, comedic bite, expressive character design, crisp pacing and savage humour. It excels at finding magic in real-world environments threatened by urbanisation. [Read](https://observer.co.uk/culture/film/article/wendy-ides-pick-of-other-films-hoppers-sound-of-falling-peaky-blinders-mothers-pride) - **The AV Club**, Jesse Hassenger (B+): The critic sees it as a reminder of how good and weird Pixar can be when it aims small, with smart unruly variation at its center, comic energy unseen since Turning Red, and a zippy stylized cuteness. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/hoppers-revew) - **Los Angeles Times**, Carlos Aguilar (80/100, inferred): Chong has unleashed a hilariously unexpected and outrageous crowd-pleaser with this environmentalist tale. It feels like the first great animated movie of the year, exalting individual conviction and community. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-03-06/hoppers-review-pixar-daniel-chong-animation) - **Radio Times** (4/5): Pixar bounces back from Elio with a beautifully judged, adorably animated film that blends body-swap chaos with an empowering message about co-existence. The critic praises its funny, lovely and appealingly righteous tone with big-hearted hopefulness. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/hoppers-review-pixar/) - **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (80/100, inferred): The critic argues it counts as required family viewing for its fresh artistry and storytelling, being breezily funny, commendably fleet and appealingly modest. It owns its Avatar-like premise while using perky stylisation and old-school resolution. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2026/03/06/hoppers-pixar-review/) - **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): Pixar rediscovers its mojo with an exuberant beaver-led action-thriller in which a young woman turns into a robot beaver to save an ecosystem. The critic singles out the well-executed high-concept premise and its full David Attenborough-style embrace of the natural world. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/hoppers-review-2026) - **The Guardian** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds it a witty, sprightly family animation that riffs amusingly on Avatar and other films while exploring anthropomorphism and environmental protection. It zaps along entertainingly despite a loss of nerve on the villain. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/02/hoppers-review-family-animation-nature) - **The New Yorker**, Justin Chang (75/100, inferred): The cheerfully ludicrous sci-fi comedy launches into strange narrative territory with screw-loose comic vigor. It is a hoot but also soulful, knowing that seeing and understanding are one and the same for humans and animals. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/16/hoppers-movie-review) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): An entertaining Pixar picture that gets plenty of comic mileage out of its oddball premise of a teenager transmitting her consciousness into a robot beaver. The critic notes it introduces a refreshingly darker strain of humour alongside its paeans to the natural world, though the story sometimes forces its emotional beats. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/hoppers-review-pixar-bounces-back-with-charmingly-oddball-family-animation/5214404.article) - **The New York Times**, Alissa Wilkinson (70/100, inferred): The movie has charm from its pudgy beavers and absurd humor that makes the overcrowded plot watchable. It delivers a fable-like lesson on coexistence and not letting the strongest win, with a science-nerd edge. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/movies/hoppers-review.html) - **Vulture** (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a fun, modest little movie with enough zip and charm to keep kids engaged, acknowledging Pixar may be running out of ideas but crediting the filmmakers for making the cumbersome setup go down easy with Looney Tunes-style antics. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/hoppers-review-pixars-running-out-of-ideas-thats-okay.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Eli Friedberg (★★): The critic finds it a messy confused film and a clear illustration of Pixar’s decline, with hectic chatty world-building that becomes less coherent, regressive artistically, and a Disney-friendly platitude disconnected from its themes. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/hoppers-review-meryl-streep-dave-franco-pixar/) - **Financial Times**, Danny Leigh (★★★☆☆): The critic notes the energetic, bittersweet latest with care, energy, gags and neat flights of fancy that elicits gasps and laughs from kids. It may leave children with mixed feelings while parents enjoy the wholesome eco-activist adventure. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/7603d71c-3c96-4d0d-bef8-5e8c2bf9d1dd) - **The Independent**, Damon Smith (****): Hoppers is a wildly imaginative Pixar comedy that conceals a lesson about protecting natural habitats inside a hilarious coming-of-age story. It features zany set pieces, visual and verbal gags, and emotional gut punches. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/riz-ahmed-ed-harris-neve-campbell-download-lily-james-b2987084.html) - **The Times** (★★★☆☆): The critic sees it as a step in the right direction for Pixar, with lots of fun, exquisite one-liners and a delightfully overstuffed finale, though not quite returning to glory days. It delivers a wholesome message through the secret life of woodland creatures. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/hoppers-film-review-pixar-l703dc2xm) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (Critic's Pick): The delightful new Pixar film is an out-of-the-box critter comedy that’s like ‘Bambi’ on crack. It is top-drawer Pixar that takes you someplace you’ve never imagined. [Read](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/hoppers-review-jon-hamm-piper-curda-pixar-1236675932/) - **/Film**, BJ Colangelo (9/10): The critic calls it Pixar's funniest film in years and an instant classic, praising its audacious mix of slapstick comedy, heartfelt emotion, and thoughtful environmental themes. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/2111474/hoppers-pixar-movie-review/) - **The Wrap** (90/100, inferred): The critic hails “Hoppers” as Pixar’s best film since “Coco,” praising its funny, clever, kind, playfully dark and wonderfully weird sci-fi comedy that subverts the “Avatar” premise with moral complexity, imaginative animal society storytelling, and a nuanced take on politics and intervention. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/hoppers-pixar-review/) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (8/10): The critic calls Hoppers one of Pixar’s funniest films yet, praising its wild tone, inventive concept, and balance of comedy with emotional themes and heart. Chong’s direction and the voice cast stand out as highlights. [Read](https://collider.com/hoppers-movie-review-pixar/) - **Polygon**, Sam Nelson (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film clumsy and incoherent, arguing it undermines advocacy and promotes apathy by punishing the protagonist for trying to make a difference. Strong animation is noted but does not salvage the muddled message and plot. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/pixar-hoppers-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Daniel Chong - **Director:** Daniel Chong - **Screenplay:** Jesse Andrews - **Story:** Daniel Chong, Jesse Andrews - **Cinematography:** Jeremy Lasky, Ian Megibben - **Editor:** Axel Geddes - **Music:** Mark Mothersbaugh - **Production design:** Bryn Imagire - **Producer:** Nicole Paradis Grindle - **Cast:** Piper Curda as Mabel (voice); Bobby Moynihan as King George (voice); Jon Hamm as Mayor Jerry Generazzo (voice); Kathy Najimy as Dr. Sam (voice); Dave Franco as Insect King (voice); Eduardo Franco as Loaf (voice); Aparna Nancherla as Nisha (voice); Tom Law as Tom Lizard (voice) - **Runtime:** 1h 44m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG - **Release (the US):** 6 March 2026 - **Genres:** Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Science Fiction - **Budget:** $150 million - **Box office:** $390 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PypDSyIRRSs ## Where to watch in the US - Disney+: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-10.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Fantastic Mr. Fox* (2009), Fi1m 84: Wes Anderson’s animals are vain, greedy and articulate, and the humans are the problem — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/fantastic-mr-fox.md) - *Turning Red* (2022): Pixar’s other small, odd film about a girl whose body stops obeying her - *Watership Down* (1978), Fi1m 81: Rabbits, developers and a British refusal to soften what happens to animals — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/watership-down.md) - *Flow* (2024), Fi1m 83: A cat, a flood and no dialogue; the natural world without a lesson attached — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/flow.md) - *Wolfwalkers* (2020), Fi1m 84: A girl becomes a wolf to save a forest, drawn by hand in Ireland — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wolfwalkers.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/hoppers