Hoppers

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PatchofBlue
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Re: Hoppers (2026)

Post by PatchofBlue »

I was going to say "I guess these guys have never heard about Avatar ..." and then I remembered that part of their pitch was literally Avatar.
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Re: Hoppers (2026)

Post by D23ExpoVisitor25 »

PatchofBlue wrote: โ†‘Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:16 pm I was going to say "I guess these guys have never heard about Avatar ..." and then I remembered that part of their pitch was literally Avatar.
Maybe The Wild Robot might have to win that Oscar now so Disney will be forced to let Pixar keep their environmentalism messages in Hoppers.

Even if I prefer The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie be nominated and win so Disney and other Hollywood studios can get the damn message through their skulls to make full-length hand-drawn animated films for movie theaters again.
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Re: Hoppers

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https://variety.com/2025/film/news/pixa ... 236430354/
โ€œHoppersโ€ is helmed by BAFTA Childrenโ€™s Awards winner Daniel Chong (โ€œWe Bare Bearsโ€) and appears to bring a refreshing humor to this strikingly beautiful girl-turns-beaver modern ecological adventure. With voice talents such as Primetime Emmy winner Jon Hamm and โ€œSaturday Night Liveโ€ actor and writer Bobby Moynihan, โ€œHoppersโ€ tells the story of Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda) who wants to protect her favorite local pond from a highway construction project. To do so, she steals โ€œHoppersโ€ technology, which places her consciousness into a robotic beaver and allows her to uncover mysteries within the animal world beyond her imagination.
If it's being billed as a "modern ecological adventure," then perhaps we can imagine that the green messages were allowed to remain after all?
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Re: Hoppers

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Description of the footage shown at Annecy.
โ€ข In animal form, Mabel saves a beaver from a bear, only to be scolded by both animals for interrupting the natural order.
โ€ข Mabel tours beaver society under the guidance of King George (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), learning โ€œpond rules" and struggling to fit in.
โ€ข Voiced by Jon Hamm, Mayor Jerry Generazzo gets into his car to prep for a press conference, only to find animals have snuck in. Mabel texts him a warning using his phoneโ€™s speech-to-text feature, which humorously reads out every emoji.
Source: https://www.laughingplace.com/disney-en ... y-5-gatto/


"Like Avatar But Cuter": Pixar Boss Previews Their Next Original Movie 'Hoppers'
https://collider.com/pixar-hoppers-plot ... ease-date/

Pixar Unveils Hilarious First Footage From โ€˜Hoppers,โ€™ Featuring Robotic Beavers and Jon Hamm
https://www.thewrap.com/hoppers-first-f ... ar-annecy/
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Re: Hoppers

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Re: Hoppers

Post by reee9948 »

Hopper and Gatto sounds much more interesting and visually appealing than Elio.
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Re: Hoppers

Post by Dis2d »

the 1st teaser trailer is out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJnAHzo4-KI

have to say it looks rough and generic and doesn't seem that interesting. I don't think its for me, likely to wait for streaming over theatrical.
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Re: Hoppers

Post by bulgaross »

Love this!!

This looks like so much more fun, engaging and hilarious than whatever watered down version of Elio they released in theaters.
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Re: Hoppers

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Re: Hoppers

Post by The Disneynerd »

The way they fully agknowledged that its an Avatar ripoff, only that they are legally allowed to do that since theyre from the same parent company, but execution is key, something i truly learned now after many years :) . Besides that, the humour was actually kinda surprisingly great, i was always a We Bear Bears lover and its essence really translated well here. This teaser alone looks more interesting than anything Elio tried with its marketing. If the upcoming trailers succeed im not hesitating to watch it in theatres. I was never a fan of Flopvatar in the first place, so this could only be an improvement. :thumb: (but i want a Gatto trailer now๐Ÿ˜ป๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ’”)
๐–ฒ๐—ˆ๐—‡๐—€๐—Œ ๐—๐—๐–บ๐— ๐—Œ๐—…๐–บ๐—‰ ๐—‹๐—‚๐—€๐—๐— ๐—‡๐—ˆ๐—:
1. When did you get hot? :mickana: (Sabrina Carpenter)*new
2.House Tour (๐–ฒ๐–บ๐–ป๐—‹๐—‚๐—‡๐–บ ๐–ข๐–บ๐—‹๐—‰๐–พ๐—‡๐—๐–พ๐—‹)*new
3. Tears (Sabri- Carpen-)*new
4. Sugar talking (...๐–ฒ๐–บ๐–ป๐—‹๐—‚๐—‡๐–บ ๐–ข๐–บ๐—‹๐—‰๐–พ๐—‡๐—๐–พ๐—‹!) *new
5. 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton)
6. ๐–ฉ๐—Ž๐—‡๐—ˆ (๐–ฒ๐–บ๐–ป๐—‹๐—‚๐—‡๐–บ๐–บ๐–บ๐–บ)
7. ๐–ง๐–บ๐—‹๐–ฝ ๐—๐—ˆ ๐—Œ๐–บ๐—’ ๐—‚๐—† ๐—Œ๐—ˆ๐—‹๐—‹๐—’ (๐–ข๐—๐—‚๐–ผ๐–บ๐—€๐—ˆ)
8. ๐–ข๐–บ๐—‹๐—‚๐–ป๐–ป๐–พ๐–บ๐—‡ ๐–ฐ๐—Ž๐–พ๐–พ๐—‡! ( ๐–ก๐—‚๐—…๐—…๐—’ ๐–ฎ๐–ผ๐–พ๐–บ๐—‡)
9.๐–ณ๐—๐–พ ๐–ถ๐—‚๐—‡๐—‡๐–พ๐—‹ ๐—๐–บ๐—„๐–พ๐—Œ ๐—‚๐— ๐–บ๐—…๐—… (๐–ก๐– ๐–ก๐–ก๐– )
10. Upside down (Diana Ross)
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PatchofBlue
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Re: Hoppers

Post by PatchofBlue »

Wow. Really rotten timing launching this the same day as the Stranger Things 5 teaser lol.

I'm still needing someone to sell me a little on what's so special about infiltrating a group of beavers specifically, but that can come later.
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Re: Hoppers

Post by UmbrellaFish »

Huh, I wasnโ€™t expecting that scene with the beaver and the bear.

Feels like a treat to see a teaser so far out from the release date.
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Re: Hoppers

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Looks cute. I imagine it couldn't possibly do as bad as Elio even though it does trend towards overly childish / dumbed down just like the last few films from both WDAS and PIXAR. I love the design, just like with Turning Red and Luca; particularly the main character's human design is very nice. I just wish they'd picked a different animal for the lead character, not sure what. And the overall tone and look makes me think of Open Season.
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Re: Hoppers

Post by DisneyFan09 »

To be honest, I`m a little mixed and torn about the teaser. While there were some things that I liked about it, the frenetic parts sullied it`s tone as a whole. The whole premise feels like a blend of Soul, Big Hero 6 (especially the first scenes) and especially Brother Bear. I like Mabel`s design well enough (both as a human and a beaver), but the designs of the other characters are underwhelming (with the exception of the ducks). The Avatar-comment at the beginning felt superfluous and gratuitous. However, for what I liked about the teaser, were the setting and the visuals of the forest. But despite how the teaser was a mixed bag, the premise still sounds intriguing enough, so I could give it a watch.

As for the teaser poster, I disliked it. It was plain and generic.
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Re: Hoppers

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Exclusive Q&A with Hoppers Director Daniel Chong
https://d23.com/exclusive-qa-with-hoppe ... iel-chong/
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Re: Hoppers

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Director Of Pixar's Next Movie Explains Why It's So Much More Than "Animal Avatar"
https://screenrant.com/hoppers-pixar-av ... interview/

This interview has some overlap with the D23 piece, but there's some new stuff here as well.
โ€œI think itโ€™s good for the teaser to actually call it out,โ€ Chong added, โ€œbecause Iโ€™m sure a lot of people were, in their minds, going โ€˜Come on, [youโ€™re] making Avatar again?โ€™ But I think the joke is that itโ€™s nothing like that. The movie will go into different places; it becomes a bit of a spy thriller and there are a lot of Mission: Impossible things in it that we were inspired by. And,โ€ he said, โ€œthereโ€™s a really broad comedy aspect to it too. I think thereโ€™s going to be a lot of fun to be had.โ€
______
โ€œWhen I pitched it โ€ฆ I did not think this was going to be the movie I was going to make,โ€ Chong said about what would eventually become Hoppers, โ€œIt was just a thing I threw out โ€ฆ but Pete [Doctor] and people in leadership saw the potential of this movie, and they encouraged me to keep developing it.โ€ That support came with a bit of a condition, though: changing the animal at the heart of the film. โ€œI wanted to make a penguin movie,โ€ said Chong, adding, โ€œI really love Adรฉlie penguins.โ€

โ€œI pitched it to Pete and Pete was like, โ€˜I donโ€™t think the world needs another animated penguin movie.โ€™ He was just not having it.โ€

Chong was tenacious, though, revealing he โ€œkept pitching it over and over again, and [Pete] kept giving the same note.โ€ Finally, โ€œafter the third time,โ€ Chong agreed to change Hoppersโ€™ central creature, eventually landing on a beaver after some revealing research.

โ€œI was learning about when they rewilded Yellowstone [National Park],โ€ Chong said, adding, โ€œthey put wolves back inโ€“it was this famous story of the rewilding of wolves thereโ€“but I think a big part of [the success] was when beavers came back. When they create their ponds and dams and lodges,โ€ Chong shared, โ€œthey kind of restore a whole ecosystem. The habitat kind of forms, and all these other animals can live there now. These animals can be these ecosystem engineers and help everyone else survive; I think that just made me go, โ€˜Oh man, beavers are crazy cool.โ€™โ€

It doesnโ€™t hurt, of course, that โ€œtheyโ€™re also super cute and chunky.โ€
______
Otherwise, Chong highlighted the movieโ€™s comedy, saying โ€œthe comic tone that we wanted to set up is going to hopefully help separate it from any other movie. I think the movie is willing to be a little chaotic [and] a little unhinged, and weโ€™re not afraid to be a little crazy. I think thatโ€™s going to be some of the fun of experiencing the movie.โ€

On the animation side, Chong worked closely with Pixar animators to create a look that emphasizes not just a โ€œbroad, crazy, comedy,โ€ and โ€œa grounded emotional journey,โ€ but also a natural world that invites audiences into the story. Thatโ€™s where, Chong said, Hoppers and something like The Wild Robot most likely are โ€œtrying to accomplish the same things,โ€ namely โ€œtrying to control the chaos of nature a little bit.โ€
_______
The trailer for Hoppers is being released at an interesting time for Pixar. The studioโ€™s last movie, Elio, underperformed at the box office despite many stellar reviews, and a long piece by The Hollywood Reporter featured testimony from Pixar employees who spoke of behind-the-scenes turmoil on the film, including what the publication called โ€œerasure of queer themes.โ€ Hoppers was even name-checked in the piece, with an unnamed Pixar artist stating that the film had to โ€œtone down themes of environmentalism.โ€

When asked about pressures he faced on his film, Chong replied by saying โ€œI did not experience having been censored or being told not to do things. If anything, I felt a lot of alignment. I think there was a lot of desire for the themes that we were saying in our movie.โ€

That said, and speaking only of Hoppers, Chong added that โ€œThe honest truth about the process, though, is that every movie here goes through so much iteration and changes a lot, and I can see, maybe, to some other peopleโ€™s eyes within the studio, [how] they might see [that] it looks like things are being censored. But, really, [the movie is] just going through its natural course of iteration and stuffโ€“at least for our movie.โ€

But the director admitted that taking any movie from start to finish at Pixar is no easy task. โ€œWeโ€™re asked to do a lot, as directors, in terms of malleability and being open to changes,โ€ Chong said. โ€œYou can get lost in the process very easily,โ€ he added, โ€œthe movie will morph with or without you.โ€

Surviving that process takes a lot, the director said. โ€œThe best thing you can do is just keep grounding yourself every time you change it to make sure, โ€˜Is this still the movie I want to make? Is this still saying what I want to say?โ€™ and โ€˜Do I still see myself in it?โ€™โ€ Chong shared. In addition, he continued, โ€œPart of it is also having a good team around you who can support it, fight for it, and protect it.โ€

In Chongโ€™s experience, he did have that kind of team around him, and the director especially praised the leadership of Pixarโ€™s Chief Creative Officer Pete Doctor. โ€œPete Doctor does a great thing,โ€ Chong relayed, โ€œAfter notes sessions, or even after he gives a lot of notes, heโ€™ll ask me, โ€˜Are you okay with all these changes? Is there anything here thatโ€™s bumping for you?โ€™ โ€ฆ [He] has been amazing in making sure I'm still on the ride and I didn't fall off, and I am very grateful for that.โ€

โ€œThe things that I wanted this movie to say and to feel are still in the movie, so that's the best I can say for our process.โ€
_______
Daniel Chong really wants you to watch Hoppers in the movie theater. โ€œWe got to test our movie with audiences a bit for test screenings,โ€ he said, โ€œ[and] the thing that we experienced watching our movie with an audience [is that] itโ€™s a rollercoaster ride. People scream during the movie, they freak out, they laugh, they are shocked, they cry, and they cheer. It runs the gamut. Even in its unfinished form, we got to experience a crazy fun adventure watching it with an audience.โ€

โ€œThereโ€™s a theater experience here that is so much fun.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s what Iโ€™m most excited about,โ€ Chong finished. โ€œIโ€™m excited for you to see it, and I think itโ€™ll be a lot of fun.โ€
I kinda wonder whether anyone is actually seeing it as so proximate to Avatar. The specific plotpoint of jumping into a manufactured body--to infiltrate an environment that looks nothing like Pandora--isn't really enough to lead me there naturally.

It also appears that the narrative now is that the environmental messaging is in fact being preserved. There are all kinds of things we could read into that. Maybe the animators were overreacting, or maybe we'll get a watered down version in the end but the official story is going to be that "No, this was ALWAYS what we meant (and you suckers can't prove different!)"

Anyways, glad we got the forum up and running again! I really enjoy posting here and reading everyone's reactions.
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Re: Hoppers

Post by The Disneynerd »

I loved reading that Interview, thanks Patchy! :)
Im surprised they were really invested from the get go, as its vague idea doesnt really scream "smash hit" on paper, but he must have brought that style of humour into his pitch which sells it already for me imo. Its that type of random unique humour that has been missing under the disney animated umbrella since New Groove or Stitch, which i really appreciate! Cartoon Network really nailed this type of modern humour that just translates so well in animation and it shows he knows what hes doing. Ok but im bot gonna praise too much based on a trailer because Trailers can be better than the movies themselves. Having Beavers as the main species was a win, but wr ALL know the penguin idea was scrapped in fear of looking like a Madagascar ripoff lol.
I wonder what the other ideas were that he pitched and if they had a similar tone
PatchofBlue wrote: โ†‘Wed Jul 23, 2025 1:04 pm I kinda wonder whether anyone is actually seeing it as so proximate to Avatar. The specific plotpoint of jumping into a manufactured body--to infiltrate an environment that looks nothing like Pandora--isn't really enough to lead me there naturally.
i think comparisons to Avatar were inevitable, so it was nice that they clearly addressed it directly to be on the joke kinda. I mean both are about a human entering in an animal type body and visit a community that has strong bonds with nature, and slowly becomes part of that group until the evil humans want to take over for recources etc. But lets stop crowning Flopvatar as something groundbreaking, its basically Pocahontas but made Sci fi. :pooh: I just hope there is some sort of growth with her character, that she doesnt care about nature at first and is just jumping onboard for the cute animals and gadgets and later on sees the environmental struggles they face which then turns her into a more activistic person, instead of already starting with a (perfect characters )environment alerted worldview from the start with no room for growth, which is one of billion reasons why Assa from Wish was so unlikeable and flat. :shrug:
PatchofBlue wrote: โ†‘Wed Jul 23, 2025 1:04 pm Anyways, glad we got the forum up and running again! I really enjoy posting here and reading everyone's reactions.
me too, would be sad if it was gone permanently. :cry: so why was the forum down (again)? Is it for financial reasons? Hackers?? :?
๐–ฒ๐—ˆ๐—‡๐—€๐—Œ ๐—๐—๐–บ๐— ๐—Œ๐—…๐–บ๐—‰ ๐—‹๐—‚๐—€๐—๐— ๐—‡๐—ˆ๐—:
1. When did you get hot? :mickana: (Sabrina Carpenter)*new
2.House Tour (๐–ฒ๐–บ๐–ป๐—‹๐—‚๐—‡๐–บ ๐–ข๐–บ๐—‹๐—‰๐–พ๐—‡๐—๐–พ๐—‹)*new
3. Tears (Sabri- Carpen-)*new
4. Sugar talking (...๐–ฒ๐–บ๐–ป๐—‹๐—‚๐—‡๐–บ ๐–ข๐–บ๐—‹๐—‰๐–พ๐—‡๐—๐–พ๐—‹!) *new
5. 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton)
6. ๐–ฉ๐—Ž๐—‡๐—ˆ (๐–ฒ๐–บ๐–ป๐—‹๐—‚๐—‡๐–บ๐–บ๐–บ๐–บ)
7. ๐–ง๐–บ๐—‹๐–ฝ ๐—๐—ˆ ๐—Œ๐–บ๐—’ ๐—‚๐—† ๐—Œ๐—ˆ๐—‹๐—‹๐—’ (๐–ข๐—๐—‚๐–ผ๐–บ๐—€๐—ˆ)
8. ๐–ข๐–บ๐—‹๐—‚๐–ป๐–ป๐–พ๐–บ๐—‡ ๐–ฐ๐—Ž๐–พ๐–พ๐—‡! ( ๐–ก๐—‚๐—…๐—…๐—’ ๐–ฎ๐–ผ๐–พ๐–บ๐—‡)
9.๐–ณ๐—๐–พ ๐–ถ๐—‚๐—‡๐—‡๐–พ๐—‹ ๐—๐–บ๐—„๐–พ๐—Œ ๐—‚๐— ๐–บ๐—…๐—… (๐–ก๐– ๐–ก๐–ก๐– )
10. Upside down (Diana Ross)
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Re: Hoppers

Post by Patricier21 »

I really hope that all three of the we bare bears main actors are in this, as itโ€™s already confirmed that Bobby Moynihan PanPan himself is gonna be one of the main characters as is ice bear, and because heโ€™s such a boss, more than one of him is not enough, as he is playing a bunch of budgies, or maybe a cartel of themโ€ฆโ€ฆ I wonder if theyโ€™ll be like the pigeonsโ€ฆโ€ฆ???

So that just leaves, Grizz a.k.a. Eric Edelstien who is arguably funnier than Ice bear, and him not being in so far the only thing that could majorly disappoint me/that Iโ€™m potentially not looking forward to about this movie so far as Iโ€™m so glad I got into we bare bears one of my favourite TV shows of all time. Not only is it freaking hilarious but is it also relatable and just truly to quote another favourite show of mine, unbungalievable in its writing, characters structure themes, and like I said humor. And combined with being made by. Studio in the world and my absolute favorite, what more is I looking for with this?
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Re: Hoppers

Post by Sotiris »

Pixar's Hoppers: Walt Disney Studios Showcase | Destination D23 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-0Zwhhua8
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