To be one with nature and to communicate with the animals is the focus of Pixar’s 2026 animated film Hoppers.
19-year-old Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda) has been a huge fan of all animals since she was a kid. When the film opens, little Mabel tries to sneak out all the class pets in her school—including a turtle, guinea pigs, fish, and other small creatures—but gets caught and punished by the school and her mom. Only her grandma (voiced by Karen Huie) seems to understand Mabel’s deep love for animals and anger toward those who would capture and keep wildlife.
Mabel’s grandma takes her to a beautiful glade, where she teaches her to calm herself and take in all the creatures living there. This sparks her love and passion for conservation.
Fast forward to a 19-year-old Mabel, who is always at odds with Mayor Jerry Generazzo (voiced wonderfully by Jon Hamm) over his efforts to expand the city at the cost of cutting into the existing wildlife. The latest battle now involves trying to stop the mayor from building a beltway over the glade.
When she’s not trying to save her beloved glade, Mabel attends Beaverton University. It’s there that she accidentally discovers new technology created by her favorite professor, Dr. Sam (voiced by Kathy Najimy), that allows a person to transfer their consciousness into a robot that looks exactly like a living animal to fool the real animals into believing that the robot is an animal.
“Guys, this is like Avatar,” says an impressed Mabel. “This is nothing like Avatar,” replies Dr. Sam, a little annoyed with Mabel for the comparison.
Mabel sees a chance to use this technology to save the glade. She transports her consciousness into a beaver robot, against Dr. Sam’s protests, and she escapes into the wild. Now Mabel, as the beaver robot, looks for animals to communicate with them and try to convince them to move back to the glade.
Her search leads to King George (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), who has created a new home for the animals displaced by the mayor’s beltway work. Beaver robot Mabel has her work cut out for her trying to get King George, along with hyper-energized lizard Tom (voiced by Tom Law); a huge grumpy grizzly bear named Ellen (voiced by Melissa Villasenor); and other creatures to move back to the glade to save it.
Visually stunning and extremely funny, Hoppers is a chaotic, warm-hearted adventure with a positive message about working together to overcome obstacles and about saving the environment.
The film has a fantastic voice cast led by Piper Curda, who brings to life Mabel’s determination, love of nature, and even her occasional selfishness in using others to get her own way. She’s a refreshing, multi-layered heroine for a Pixar film.
Jon Hamm is hilarious as the voice of Mayor Jerry Generazzo, the smooth, smiling politician who loves himself more than the community he represents and is determined to build the beltway no matter what the cost. Hamm really shines comedically in the second half of the film when Jerry becomes the focus of some of the animals’ wrath.
Hoppers is breathtaking to look at with lush, bright animation, and it’s jam-packed with zany and comical action. The only issue is with the film’s runtime, coming in at 106 minutes, which is about 20 minutes too long. The children at this critic’s screening were getting antsy and bored until the big crisis near the end of the film…which is actually another concern. The dark and dangerous tone of the film during the crisis may be too intense for children under seven.
Still, with marvelous animation, a stellar voice cast, and solid messages about friendship, compassion, and environmental awareness, Hoppers may not be in the upper tier of Pixar films, but it’s definitely a fun addition to their roster.
GRADE: B
Rating: PG for some scary images, mild language, action, and peril
Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
Release Date: March 6, 2026
Directed By: Daniel Chong
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