Hoppers (2026) – Review and Summary

Pixar’s take on a Studio Ghibli-type story, for the most part, goes well – even if it may lack character details and preach undue forgiveness.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Hoppers” Film Details

  • Director(s): Daniel Chong
  • Writer(s): Jesse Andrews
  • Based On Work By: Daniel Chong
  • Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
  • Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 45 Minutes
  • Public Release Date (In Theaters): March 6, 2026
  • Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy, Young Adult, Animation
  • Content Rating: Rated PG
  • Primary Language: English
  • Images © of / Courtesy Of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Movie Summary

Mabel has always found peace in nature and with animals. As a kid, she tried to free them from the grubby hands of peers, and as an adult, she tries to protect their local habitat. However, with Mayor Jerry trying to finish his beltway highway, the place Mabel grew up going to for peace, an animal sanctuary, is threatened.

So, after learning that Dr. Sam, her professor, has invented a means to integrate with animals as a robot, Mabel tries to inspire them to fight back. But things go far beyond what she initially hoped for.

Cast and Characters

Mabel (Piper Curda)

  • Character Summary: Mabel was the kid who tried to free the classroom pet whenever she could, and wasn’t easy to manage for her parents. Thankfully, her grandmother had time for her, sought to understand her, and was able to mold her into someone who understood her place in the world. However, there is only so much you can do for a young person with so much passion and nowhere for it to be refined.

Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm)

  • Character Summary: Deep in his re-election campaign, Mayor Jerry is single-minded and focused on getting his major beltway project done. Even if it means some nefarious methods to get approvals.

Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy)

  • Character Summary: Dr. Sam is Mabel’s professor who appreciates her enthusiasm, but also recognizes that Mabel’s passion isn’t something she can handle.

King George (Bobby Moynihan)

  • Character Summary: King George is a beaver, deemed king of the mammals, including humans.

Grandma Tanaka (Karen Guie)

  • Character Summary: Seemingly retired, with a deep love for nature, Grandma Tanaka seems to be one of the few who have time, or is willing to make the time, for Mabel, so that she can learn to process her feelings.

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

Pixar’s Take On A Studio Ghibli Story [83/100]

Pixar is no stranger to movies about the environment, see Wall-E for example. However, what leads to the Ghibli comparison is that a human girl, with no interest in anything but one subject matter, is our lead. She cares about animals, the environment, and when given the opportunity to speak to them, she snatches it.

But from there things shift. She goes in with a singular point of view, one which is very much us vs. them, and comes to understand that, while humans have an outsized role, they are animals like everyone else. They may not benefit from the beavers making a dam like the deer, but look at Mable. She watched everyone live their life and found peace.

In the process of making it clear Mable isn’t as much of an outsider as people often push her to feel, you see her gain a sense of belonging. Are bears predators of beavers? Yes. Yet, they live amongst each other, and what they do in the wild benefits each other to the point that they need each other.

This isn’t to say Hoppers eventually becomes a very new-age, we are all one under Gaia type movie, but it does push the idea that symbiotic relationships between species don’t always need to be one-sided. Even between humans, with enough effort, there can be balance. You just have to address the holes in communication and work on patching things up, instead of focusing on the problem and extreme solutions.

Unexpected Emotional Moments [82/100]

Mabel is one of those “No one understands me,” rebels who aren’t good at inspiring allies to join her cause, type. As a human, this makes her relationship with her grandmother mean everything to her, especially since Mabel’s parents, well, mom, appear to have too much going on to parent someone like Mabel. So, as you watch Mabel’s grandmother break through to her or King George, the king of the mammals, when Mabel becomes a beaver, it does something to you.

For many people, finding your person, whether romantic or platonic, takes longer than you’d want. So to see someone like Mabel find something adjacent to that in Dr. Sam, but not quite, but then get that loving relationship from King George, who gives Mabel grace like her grandmother, it could cause tears. Add in how hard she goes in for these animals, more for their sake than to keep memories she had with her grandmother alive, and you get something genuine. Which makes her passion, her anger, all the more heartbreaking, when so few seem to recognize how much love is behind it.  

Representation Without Making It A Big Deal [81/100]

Mabel is Asian. It isn’t made clear if she is Korean, Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese, but from her look, what her family eats, it is clear she is from an Asian household. I appreciate that, as much as it can be important to double-down on how someone is unique and specific, it doesn’t need to become a thing every time someone is clearly not White – especially in 2026.

On The Fence

While Villains Get Nuance, They Could Have Taken Things Further [76/100]

There are multiple characters who can be considered villains. Mayor Jerry is the most obvious, but others are introduced, and each one isn’t necessarily a clear-cut form of evil. Mayor Jerry, beyond re-election, is like many humans. He fulfills his legal requirements regarding how a construction project may affect the environment, but isn’t trying to go beyond what is necessary. So, if something or someone, like the animals, must be sacrificed, it is for the greater good. The animals find new homes, and people can go from the city center to the suburbs more quickly to see their families.

The other characters who could be considered villains? I would say they keep things as simple as they do with Jerry, which feels like a problem. Mabel, for example, does something villainous which, honestly, shouldn’t have been forgiven as easily as it was. But that’s sort of the issue here with Hoppers: in an effort to show people and/or animals can co-exist, it quickly tries to sort out how forgiveness is always possible, even when it shouldn’t be.

It Can Feel Like Details Are Omitted For Time [74/100]

While Mabel is a strong character, she isn’t so strong that it allows you to forget all of the things that go unmentioned. For example, minuscule questions like, where was Mabel’s dad when she was getting in trouble as a kid, and was he involved in her life at all? Why did it take Mabel saying something for the animals to fight back, considering they have lost so much territory that they were basically on top of one another? Never mind, clearly, there are government organizations among them that could have formed a response? Then there are the bigger questions, like, who is running against Mayor Jerry for him to need this beltway highway so badly?

If you are someone all about the details, including those that would more so be fat to give some weight to characters, than are 100% necessary to tell the story, you might be a bit annoyed.

Overall

Our Rating (79/100): Mixed (Divisive)

We appreciate Hoppers advocacy for the environment and animals, and the passion they instill in Mabel regarding both subjects. However, I’d submit that it intentionally skims the surface to avoid truly addressing the complexities it presents. Whether it is the relationship between wild animals or their relationship with humans, things are often simplified. The same can be said about the villains, or people who do evil acts, receiving forgiveness, which fulfills the film’s message, but is hard to accept once logic enters the room.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.