Pixar has been a bit hit and miss so far this decade, struggling to garner decent box office for its original movies like Elio last summer.
Ahead of Toy Story 5 in June, the Disney-owned studio is releasing another film this weekend called Hoppers.
The sci-fi adventure follows Piper Curda as 19-year-old tomboy Mabel Tanaka, a student eco-warrior for the local animal habitat, which is mainly occupied by beavers.
Meanwhile, Jon Hamm’s Mayor Jerry of Beaverton, who has all the slimeballery of a Gavin Newsom, is determined to replace the glade with a new freeway.
That is, before Mabel comes across the Hoppers programme secretly being developed by her gender-swapped Doc Brown biology professor Dr Sam Fairfax.
The Hopper tech allows humans to transfer their minds into a robot-animal body to interact with local wildlife. Hooking herself up to a beaver android, Mabel sets off to warn the animals and foil Jerry’s plans in a story that’s pro-environment without being hyper environmentalist. This human-turning-into-an-animal story isn’t new to Disney, after the likes of Brother Bear and Turning Red, nor is its Avatar-inspired plot. But Hoppers, as you would expect from Pixar, is charming, goofy, heartwarming, and there’s plenty of laugh-out-loud comedy moments along the way.
The humour is especially prevalent when Mabel comes across the various animal kings from Bobby Moynihan’s cuddly King George the beaver, to Dave Franco’s Titus the Insect King. Also, in the UK version, watch out for Alan Carr and Amanda Holden voicing Alan the Squirrel and Amanda the Spider.
Hoppers hits UK cinemas on March 6, 2026.
