Hoppers review: Pixar’s recent run of underwhelming offerings continues

Hoppers is a fable about the disastrous consequences of one species dominating all the others.

Fri, 06 Mar, 2026 - 14:00

Declan Burke

★★★☆☆

The latest Pixar-Disney animation, Hoppers (PG) opens with 19-year-old eco-activist Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda) outraged at the devastation of her grandmother’s beloved pond by the freeway-building populist Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm).

Availing of cutting-edge technology developed by her college professor Dr Sam (Kathy Najimy), Mabel ‘hops’ her consciousness into that of a robot beaver, makes friends with the alpha beaver King George (Bobby Moynihan) and is quickly hailed as ‘a beloved Joan of Arc-type character’ by her furry friends.

Written by Jesse Andrews and Daniel Chong, with Chong directing, Hoppers is a fable about the disastrous consequences of one species dominating all the others. Mabel’s heart is certainly in the right place, but the eco-system, as King George frequently reminds her, only works if all the species are in it together. The message is admirable, of course, but Hoppers continues Pixar’s recent run of underwhelming offerings.

The animation, once Pixar’s crowning glory, feels rather generic and flattened, which results in a muted emotional engagement.