Ahead of Toy Story 5, Hoppers director says Pixar knows "originals have to exist" and "you can't keep making sequels"

This year, Pixar will release both Hoppers, a delightfully original tale about a girl implanting her consciousness into a beaver, and Toy Story 5, another installment in the iconic, beloved animated franchise that kickstarted the studio's legendary run of films.

When we met with Hoppers director Daniel Chong – who worked for Pixar from 2009 to 2014, then returned in 2019 – in London to talk about his new film, we asked for his thoughts on how Pixar is balancing the past and the future.

"I think Pixar is still doing a great job of being able to do sequels, which I think people want, and I think that's a thing that is a great thing to exist," he says. "I remember as a kid, always wanting sequels of things and wanting more. Working on a TV show [We Bare Bears], I get it, you want these characters to live on, and you want to see new adventures with them.

"But I do think Pixar is still investing very hard in original film," he continued. "They understand that you can't keep making sequels. Originals have to exist. So, I do feel like they're one of the few studios that are really going hard on making more originals, and I'm excited to see what the future for Pixar brings."

Toy Story 5 sees the toys go up against their biggest threat yet: technology, in the form of Lilypad. Hoppers, meanwhile, is an Avatar-esque story about a girl's attempts to save a local glade, using the body of a beaver.

Hoppers arrives this March 6, while Toy Story 5 lands on June 19. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the upcoming Disney movies.