Disney and Pixar's new animated film Hoppers set to take the theatre in March 2026

Pixar's upcoming animated sci-fi comedy film, Hoppers, is set for release on March 6, 2026. Directed by Daniel Chong for Walt Disney Pictures, the film's main voice cast features Piper Curda as Mabel, Bobby Moynihan as King George the beaver, and Jon Hamm as Mayor Jerry. The film also features Meryl Streep, Dave Franco, Kathy Najimy, and Melissa Villaseñor, among other actors.

In Hoppers, scientists invent a way to “hop” human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, letting people communicate with real animals as if they were animals themselves. The story follows Mabel, a 19-year-old animal lover, who transfers her mind into a robotic beaver and uncovers hidden mysteries and political tensions in the animal world.

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Pixar's upcoming animated comedy Hoppers for Disney is set for a March 2026 release

Daniel Chong first revealed in December 2020 on Twitter that he had returned to Pixar to work on a brand-new original film. Hoppers was officially announced in August 2024 during the D23 event, when Pixar’s Pete Docter introduced Hoppers, and the first cast members: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, and Jon Hamm were revealed.

Chong has said in interviews that he was inspired by nature documentaries in which robotic animals are placed into the wild. He originally pitched the story with penguins but later switched to beavers explaining that the beavers are “ecosystem engineers,” and researching their environmental impact made him realize how interesting they are. In an interview with D23, he stated:

"I did not know how cool beavers were until we started writing and studying them. But I think beavers, when we started researching them, they are these ecosystem engineers. When they set up these dams and lodges, they basically create this ecosystem for all these other animals—and they can join in and live there."

During development, some reports claimed Pixar asked the team to tone down environmental themes. In an interview with Screenrant published on July 16, 2025, Chong stated:

“I 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.”

However, Chong acknowledged that guiding any Pixar film from development to completion is a challenging journey. He explained that directors are expected to stay flexible and open to constant adjustments. The Hoppers director stated:

“We’re asked to do a lot, as directors, in terms of malleability and being open to changes. You can get lost in the process very easily. The movie will morph with or without you.”

Releasing on March 6, 2026, the first teaser and poster for Pixar's Hoppers debuted in July 2025, followed by a trailer and giving a glimpse into Mabel’s daring journey.

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Stay tuned for more updates.

Edited by Suchita Patnaha