Exclusive Look Into The Bonkers Brilliance Of Pixar's 'Hoppers'

There’s never been a shenanigan-stuffed Sci-Fi Comedy with talking animals like Hoppers–Pixar’s hilariously unhinged new film starring the kookiest collection of pond critters you’ll see on screen in 2026.

Bursting with bright-eyed beaver energy, Hoppers is everything audiences love about Pixar’s signature brand of bonkers brilliance which reverberated through our early access press day at the iconic animation studio’s headquarters in Emeryville, CA.

Refreshingly original with innovative animation, Hoppers is an absolute HOOT (or whatever sound beavers make) about an animal lover named Mabel who uses a new technology to ‘hop’ her consciousness into a life-like robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals.

As she uncovers mysteries in the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined, Mabel befriends charismatic beaver King George (voice of Bobby Moynihan) who helps her rally the entire animal kingdom to face a major human-threat: smooth-talking local mayor Jerry Generazzo (voice of Jon Hamm).

Check out the trailer below:

Surrounded by beloved characters from the pantheon of Pixar amazingness, we explored the wild world of Hoppers brought to life by an incredibly talented creative team lead by visionary director Daniel Chong.

“I pitched three movie ideas, and Hoppers was the one I was pretty certain they would never go for. It was so strange and goofy–I barely took the idea seriously,” he said. “But I think people saw what the movie could be, and that there was a really interesting concept at its core.”

Interestingly, the film’s stars were actually penguins before later being swapped with beavers (because who doesn’t love beavers).

“I had this fixation with penguins for some inexplicable reason, and was determined to make the movie about them. But Pete [Docter, Chief Creative Officer at Pixar] didn’t feel the world needed another penguin movie. He was right, of course,” he revealed.

“As I continued to develop the idea, I came across a story about how Yellowstone National Park had rewilded their ecosystems with wolves after they had all disappeared. Their reintroduction began to rebalance things–leading to other animals returning, including beavers. And once beavers returned, and built their dams and ponds, a giant wealth of animals and plants returned. They are often referred to as ecosystem engineers.”

Bringing the colorful cavalcade of characters to life is a star-studded ensemble voice cast headlined by Meryl Streep (Insect Queen), Dave Franco (Titus), Ego Nwodim (Fish Queen), Sam Richardson (Conner), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Bird King), and Jon Hamm (Mayor Jerry).

“The No. 1 thing with all the actors we hired, no matter what, was they had to be funny,” said Chong, who landed his dream pick for the role of the Insect Queen.

“We needed the Insect Queen to exude power and presence immediately–and I don’t think we could imagine anyone other than Meryl Streep,” he said.

“We met on Zoom initially, and I pitched her through the film in its early stages. What stood out to me was how much she clearly understood the tone and comedy–and she laughed in all the right places. She also had a soft spot for beavers, thankfully.”

With a unique vision and hilarious voice cast, the only remaining obstacle was creating a visual style where these zany animals seamlessly exist in the gorgeous ebbs and flow of nature.

“We didn’t want the visual style to be different between the environments and the characters,” said Visual Effects Supervisor Beth Albright. “And there was a question of what to lean into in terms of style, because the tone of the movie was always a little unconventional. We were creating an unpredictable absurdist comedy that’s also a spy thriller with a science fiction undertone.

“And, ultimately, we wanted to immerse the viewer in the beauty of nature. Daniel (the director) was super focused on the story he wanted to tell, the tone that he wanted to tell it with, and also gave us a lot of room for exploration.”

It’s this unwavering dedication to creative collaboration that defines Pixar which, based on our sneak peek, is primed for another smash hit with Hoppers–a film so wacky and audacious that you’ll appreciate its glorious existence in today’s remake-obsessed movie industry.

Hoppers hops into theaters March 6 with special early access screenings on Saturday, February 28!