Hoppers director Daniel Chong says his "chaotic, unhinged" Pixar movie took inspiration from Avatar and Studio Ghibli

"I feel very lucky that I got to come back," says Hoppers director Daniel Chong of returning to Pixar at Pete Docter's invitation, years after leaving, to pitch ideas for an animated feature film. "When I left, I remember saying goodbye to the studio, thinking I would never be back there again. So to come back and then be coming back to direct, it felt really special, and it was really good to reconnect with that place, because it was such an important place for my career."

Chong had three pitches for Pixar, but it was the unlikeliest of all of them that was ultimately chosen. "They ask you to pitch three, and Hoppers was the last idea I pitched, and it was not the one I thought they were going to pick," Chong explains. "I almost treat it more like a joke that I threw in there at the end, but I think they saw through it. They thought it could be a pretty good idea. And I think they were right. So, I ended up just making that movie."

That movie is Hoppers, which might just be Pixar's wackiest film yet. It follows Mabel, a teenage girl on a mission to protect a local glade to which she has a deep, personal connection. And how do you save a glade? Why, by implanting your consciousness into a robot beaver, of course.

"We're very upfront with the Avatar reference," Chong jokes. "But the real, actual inspiration came from these nature documentaries, where they put robot animals into nature, and they have cameras in their eyes, and they're basically trying to give us an inside look at how animals behave without a human there. It's really fun. It's also very tense, because you always wonder, 'When is the animal going to figure it out and kick over the robot?' But it just felt like such a funny idea that they do that, and it plays into how funny it is how humans try to infiltrate the animal world. So, everything just kind of sprung from that."

Pond rules

Mabel's adventures bring her to King George, a beaver who rules over the local pond. The habitat runs on Pond Rules, three maxims that allow the rich variety of critters who call the pond home to live in harmony. You might be surprised to learn, though, that one of these rules is that when you gotta eat, you gotta eat – even if that means chowing down on a fellow adorable, talking creature. This ain't your regular Pixar movie...

"It felt like the only way to really tell a story about a king, King George, who somehow got everyone on the same page," explains Chong. "But we can't ignore the realities that they eat each other. But King George is just such a good leader that he got people to accept and be okay with the contradictions and the weirdness of those rules. And, ultimately, maybe that is just what life is for anyone living under any kind of agreements or rules with each other, that not all of them are going to make sense. But, we can still just learn to be fair to each other and kind to each other."

The threat to the glade takes the form of Mayor Jerry, who intends to build a highway through the tranquil habitat. Interestingly, though, Jerry doesn't seem like a straightforward bad guy in the classic Pixar tradition. "Not everyone is who they seem to be. And as we get to know Jon Hamm's character, Mayor Jerry, we'll find out that he's dimensional. He's a human being. And Mabel will have to learn to see him as more than just a villain," teases Chong.

For Chong, the movie's ecological themes are also particularly timely. "The movie speaks to a lot of different things, not just about the environment, but it's also people, and how people relate to animals, how people relate to other people," he tells us. "And so the movie speaks to really the collective whole of all of us and the things around us, and that we are all part of the same ecosystem. And I think that just felt like something that we could use today."

Expect the unexpected

Naturally, a film with such a unique premise requires a fittingly unique tone, too. Trailers for Hoppers have been downright chaotic – in the best possible way – and emphasize a high-energy, hilarious adventure.

"Chaotic, unhinged, we wanted all those things," says Chong. "A lot of it is driven by our main character. I remember when we were writing Mabel, one of the biggest things I wanted was, I wanted to not know what's going to happen next, what she's going to do, what she's going to jump into. We knew there was opportunity here to make it almost like a spy action thriller. So, it just felt like a character who's unpredictable would be great for an action movie [where] anything could happen. So, we played into a lot of those things, and comedy was number one, though, for me, and making sure it was funny and crazy, and then on top of that, grounded, in addition to that, in a way that could be emotional. So, with all these tones that are bouncing off each other, that got us to this sweet spot that we honed over the course of six years."

Just like the tone is pretty different for Pixar, the animation is visually distinct, too: the animals even shift appearance depending on whether they're viewed from a human or creature perspective, as showcased in a scene where Mabel, in her beaver body, attempts to communicate with Mayor Jerry. From his perspective, she has pinprick black eyes, but from her own, she has large, expressive peepers. "The idea that there are two points of view, or two worlds… is something that felt really necessary for the storytelling, just because humans can't understand what animals are saying," Chong explains.

For this particular aspect of the animation, Chong was influenced by another powerhouse animation studio. "A lot of the inspiration came from a movie called Pom Poko, a Studio Ghibli movie, and they use it for different reasons, but they also sometimes show the animals with dot eyes, and sometimes they have more cartoonish features," he says. "So, we use that in our own way to highlight that there are two different points of view, and we go back and forth on both of them here and there, to hopefully comedic effect."

Going up

Animation is enjoying its time in the spotlight right now, with Netflix and Sony's juggernaut KPop Demon Hunters taking over the world, Zootropolis 2 becoming the highest grossing Hollywood movie and Ne Zha 2 the highest grossing movie of 2025 (both beating Avatar: Fire and Ash), and anime movies like Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc proving huge hits at the box office.

"I think people want more animation. I think different ages are also venturing into it, and I think people want different kinds of animation," says Chong. "They want different kinds of stories. And there's just a larger spectrum now, especially in America, that is embracing different kinds of things, and that's just going to open up the possibilities in really exciting ways."

Hoppers is also arriving a few months ahead of another Pixar movie: Toy Story 5. That, of course, is a fivequel to one of – if not the most – beloved animated film series in history.

"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," reflects Chong. "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. 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." With a one-two punch like 2026's Hoppers and Toy Story 5, so are we.

Hoppers is in theaters from March 6. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Disney movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.