I got a chance to see Pixar’s Hoppers, the new entry from the legendary studio, on Sunday morning. Right out of the gate, Hoppers is a return to form. Now I’m not one to say the last six years have been terrible. Luca, Turning Red, Soul, and Onward all have a lot of heart and have developed passionate fan bases of their own. The problem is none of them got a fair shake in theaters. So when I say return to form I mean Pixar delivered a film that appealed to critics and audiences alike and made a meaningful impact at the box office. It opened to $88 million worldwide, the biggest opening for an original animated film since Coco in 2017, with a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences.
With Toy Story 5 coming later this year, it feels like Pixar has shaken off the cobwebs of the Chapek era and is kicking into high gear for the decade ahead. And if the quality of Hoppers is what we can in the years ahead, I would say the future looks bright for Pixar and Disney as they continue to develop new enduring franchises.
Hoppers is the story of Mabel, an idealistic 19 year old college student who stumbles into a wild adventure while trying to save “the glade” by transferring her mind into a robotic beaver through hopping technology. The story gets progressively more absurd but it never loses you. King George steals the show with his unwavering belief that everyone, whether mammal, reptile, insect, fish, bird, or human, is good at their core.
The film is also much deeper than its premise suggests. What looks like a simple environmentalist vs. developer story ends up being about unity, trust, and the dangers of rhetoric that can lead to violence. The jokes depend on timing and delivery and they land consistently. The plot is chaotic and unpredictable. Once you think you know where it’s going it hits you with another twist. By the time you get to the heartwarming final scene you’re not questioning the absurdity of the pure insanity you just witnessed.
Disney has already added some small integrations from the film into the parks. A cutout garden at EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival, a small activation at Redwood Creek in Disney California Adventure, and character drawing at the Animation Experience. However the question looms, could Animal Kingdom end up as a permanent home for Mabel and King George? Animal Kingdom, of course, has always been about conservation and the interconnectedness of all living things. That’s exactly what Hoppers is about. The fit feels natural and if you’ve seen the movie you know why.
At Animal Kingdom the most obvious home is the Tree of Life Theater. Zootopia just took over from It’s Tough to Be a Bug after 30 years, and how well Zootopia fits there has been hotly debated. There’s a good argument that Hoppers is actually the more appropriate IP for that space, but Zootopia is the larger and more popular franchise so it’s not going anywhere soon. The precedent for change is now there though, and that matters. Kali River Rapids is another option that comes to mind. The attraction could use some new energy and Hoppers would be a perfect fit visually and thematically, though dropping an Oregon forest beaver movie into the Asia section of the park would be a step too far for most Disney park purists.
Final Thoughts
Is it premature to be armchair imagineering a theme park land for a movie that came out three days ago? Probably. But never say never. Josh D’Amaro has been quoted saying that the studios and experiences teams discuss integrations with each other from day one of production. If Hoppers proves to be the start of a new franchise, and the opening weekend suggests it might, it’s very possible in the decade to come.