Hey, look at that — Pixar is back in critics’ good graces with what might be their best-reviewed movie since “Soul,” or “Turning Red” — both released in 2020.
“Hoppers” has a voice cast that includes Jon Hamm, Bobby Moynihan, and Piper Curda, and centers on Mabel, an animal-loving girl who transfers her mind into a robot beaver to infiltrate their animal kingdom. It’s a “body swap” comedy.
The review embargo has lifted on “Hoppers,” and word is very positive — maybe not golden-age-era Pixar worthy, but surely a major step up for the studio, which has been somewhat going through a creative struggle of late.
The aggregates show that “Hoppers” has a 77 on Metacritic (18 reviews), and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes so far, and if these scores hold, it would be superior to Pixar’s last six movies: “Onward,” “Lightyear,” “Luca,” “Elemental,” “Elio,” and “Inside Out.”
Pixar is coming off the immense success of “Inside Out 2” ($1.7 billion worldwide) and the total debacle of this summer’s “Elio,” which lost over $150M. “Hoppers,” which is projected for a $50M opening weekend, could become Pixar’s first original hit since 2017’s “Coco.”
If anything, their last few original efforts (“Onward,” “Soul,” “Luca,” “Turning Red”) were either pandemic casualties or Disney+ releases, while “Elemental” only found success after a slow start, and “Elio” became the lowest-grossing film in Pixar history.
As their originals falter, sequels are almost all that Pixar cares about these days, which is why the potential success of “Hoppers,” directed by Daniel Chong, should be celebrated. Chong is best known for creating Cartoon Network’s beloved series “We Bare Bears” and directing its feature-length adaptation in 2020.
“Hoppers” is scheduled for a March 6, 2026 release via Disney/Pixar.
I'm going to say what a lot of people think, and won't say out loud: I don't believe Tom Holland can be a movie star outside of Spider-Man. That's been my genuine hunch for a few years now.