Hoppers is the 2026 Pixar animated science-fiction comedy directed by Daniel Chong, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Jesse Andrews. It follows Mabel, an animal-loving college student voiced by Piper Curda, who uses new technology to "hop" her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver, allowing her to communicate directly with animals. She befriends the charismatic beaver King George (Bobby Moynihan) and rallies the animal kingdom against a smooth-talking local mayor, Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm), whose development plans threaten their habitat. With an ensemble that also includes Meryl Streep, Kathy Najimy, and Dave Franco, a score by Mark Mothersbaugh, and an end-credits song from SZA, it's a notable original entry in a Pixar slate increasingly dominated by sequels — and it's a thoroughly enjoyable one.

This is, simply, a perfectly good movie and a genuinely lovely family watch. It does exactly what you want a film like this to do. It delivers the classic Pixar emotional one-two punch — the very sad moments that tug firmly on your heart strings, balanced against the genuinely funny moments that make you laugh out loud. That balance is something Pixar has spent decades refining, and Hoppers handles it with real confidence. You're never far from either a laugh or a lump in your throat.

One of the strongest things I can say about the film is about its pacing. I genuinely couldn't identify a single section I'd want removed — nothing dragged, nothing overstayed its welcome, and I was never sitting there wondering how much longer was left. For me, that's the clearest sign of strong pacing, and it kept the whole experience breezy and engaging from start to finish.

It is not, however, a perfect film. There are cliché beats throughout — the kind of familiar, predictable moments you can see coming a mile away. That said, this is a criticism that applies to the vast majority of animated films released these days; it's almost become a feature of the genre rather than a flaw unique to this film. So while it stops Hoppers short of greatness, it's a very forgivable shortcoming in context.

Overall, I came out the other side having laughed, having felt a little emotional, and having genuinely enjoyed myself. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's a warm, funny, well-paced family film that does everything it sets out to do. Sometimes that's exactly what you want.