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Hoppers poster

Hoppers

"Act natural."

2026 1h 44m EN
🙌
8.1
BANGER
🔥
94%
CERTIFIED FRESH
👌
73
METACRITIC
⭐
7.4
IMDB
★8.1TMDB · 2,405🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes●73Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 37,622
AdventureAnimationComedyFamilyScience Fiction
Synopsis
Spoiler shield

Scientists have discovered how to 'hop' human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals. Animal lover Mabel seizes an opportunity to use the technology, uncovering mysteries within the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined.

“Act natural.”

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Cast

Credits

Behind the camera

Director
Daniel Chong
Writers
Max Sachar, Madeline Sharafian, Jesse Andrews
Languages
English
Countries
United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8
MONEY

Did you know

$150M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01
2 / 8
ERA

Did you know

Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Daniel Chong, shot by Jeremy Lasky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Mothersbaugh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Axel Geddes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST

Did you know

Piper Curda and Bobby Moynihan and Jon Hamm carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Act natural.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt26443616 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Daniel Chong directs. Jeremy Lasky behind the camera. Mark Mothersbaugh scores. Axel Geddes cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

  • 1$150M budget — tentpole studio territory.
  • 2Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
  • 3Directed by Daniel Chong, shot by Jeremy Lasky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
  • 4Original score by Mark Mothersbaugh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
  • 5Editor Axel Geddes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
  • 6Piper Curda and Bobby Moynihan and Jon Hamm carry the top of the cast.
  • 7Marketing tagline: "Act natural.".
  • 8IMDB entry: tt26443616 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
  • 9Classified under 16 themes, including "human vs nature", "spy", "beaver", "oregon, usa".
  • 10Released under 46 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography
Jeremy Lasky
Original score
Mark Mothersbaugh
Editing
Axel Geddes
Production design
Bryn Imagire
VFX supervisor
Beth Albright
Sound
Ren Klyce
Runtime
104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical)
1.37:1 (Academy)
Status
Released
Budget
$150,000,000
Box office
$389,685,783
Return
260% of budget
Original language
EN
Certification (US)
PG
Rotten Tomatoes
94% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic
73/100
IMDB rating
7.4/10 · 37,622 votes
MPAA
PG

Also by

Daniel Chong

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

  • RealZero
    ★ 9/10

    I REALLY liked this movie, the best Pixar movie in years for me. To be fair, maybe that's just because of me being an environmentalist myself, but hey, in the end, reviews here are supposed to be subjective, I guess! Mabel, the main character, is a lovely main character. An environmentalist since childhood, depicted by her actions of demonstrating, collecting signatures, blocking building sites and even being carried away by police. And while all of this is depicted in a "funny", child-friendly way, it does actually do a nice job of displaying her doing all the things an environmentalist encounters. She's friendly, dedicated and...no, that one in a bit. First: Visually, the movie is, as one is used from Pixar, beautiful. Lovely hairs and fur, beautiful water and DAMN, clothes, single strands of fabric, it's SO beautiful and detailed! Everything that is not a character is SO detailed and visually impressive! Not to say the characters don't look nice, though. The humans are fine, the animals are lovely and cuddly, and, in case that's a thing that matters for you, it's NOT a movie to use the infamous "bean mouth" design. (I think) Many jokes are quick and funny, the trailers showed the humor quite well as a reference to what to expect. The messages are what you'd expect: humans destroying animal's home in their greed and ignorance, how nature as a whole is one big thing, including humans, and that everyone should do their part. And here are the two things that make the movie really important and lovely for me personally: The thing that we're all part of something bigger, something we're in together, all creatures, is an important part of my life. It's why I love the message of "Sisi Ni Sawa" (We are the same) in "Lion Guard" so much. To see humans not as a single thing, but as the part we are with all other creatures. And in addition, and that's the other part of Mabel that is depicted nicely, but I still wish had gotten more time: The constant feeling of sadness and anger that you get thinking that you are the only one that cares about something that is SO important to you. And that's really why I love her, because she's SO relatable to me as environmentalist and vegan. The music in the movie is also really nice, and really the only downside I can see is: I wish it was half an hour or so longer. More time to depict Mabel's feeling of being alone and misunderstood, more time to show how humans forcefully change nature and of course a bit more time for the hilarious chase scene. So, yeah. I wish the movie did more of what it does, because it does it so well. I really enjoyed the movie and I wish its message, as peaceful as it was (sadly?) transported, would stick with anyone longer than the cinema visit. I recommend this. And greetings to my fellow environmentalists! You're not alone, just like Mabel isn't! ❤️

  • CinemaSerf
    ★ 7/10

    The town’s mayor wants to built a beltway around his city, and it’s almost complete. The only missing segment is over a lake that has been dammed by some now absent beavers. “Mabel” is determined to thwart the constructors, but with all the animal life having seemingly relocated to pastures/ponds new there seems little she can do to stop their dynamiting. Then she learns that if she can reintroduce some wild critters to the waters, then it will be saved. How, though? Well one evening she espies one but it doesn’t like the look of the new surroundings and moves on. She follows it and after a bit of subterfuge, finds herself in a secret laboratory where her college teacher has perfected a scientific technique to link human brains to robotic bodies and so recreate animal. “Mabel” is not to be stopped on her quest, and so promptly finds herself with a new fur coat and introduced to the mammal king “George” who now hosts all the displaced from the motorway. She knows that she must get him and his fellow monarchs from above and below the water to ally if she is to have any chance of restoring the equilibrium of nature. what chance she can rally them all to defeat the bulldozers, though? The environmental message is all pretty blunt, but it is delivered in an amiable fashion with some fun (and puns) from the writing, a lovely scene depicting regal succession in the insect world and even a flying shark as we are gently reminded that humanity is but one of the creatures that lives on our Earth. This also manages to stay clear of sentimentality - not always so easy when the plot is all about all things furry, feathery or fishy, and it’s also refreshing in it’s targeting of the civic administration as the “baddie” here, rather than just opting for those pesky and evil corporate types. It’s reminding us that as usual, it is our own convenience that usually drives projects that destroy and/or pollute the natural resources we all need to survive. The animation is all fairly standard, but it is of an high standard and this has enough for the grown-ups amongst us to keep it worth a watch.

  • emailaddressforgl
    ★ 8/10

    entertainment movie, not so engaging but one time watch is good. some scenes are really enjoyable, concept is good by the way.

Production companies

Who made it

  • Pixar

    Pixar

    US

Key crew

  • ProducerNicole Paradis Grindle
  • Executive ProducerPete Docter
  • Post-Production ManagerHeather Eisner
  • Post Production ProducerJessie Thiele
  • Post Production SupervisorJeremy Slome
  • Supervising Sound EditorCoya Elliott
  • Production Sound MixerDoc Kane
  • Casting AssociateLexi Diamond
  • ADR Voice CastingTerri Douglas
  • ColoristSusan Brunig
  • Story ManagerMax Sachar
  • Sound DesignerRen Klyce
  • Executive ProducerPeter Sohn
  • Executive ProducerKiri Hart
  • EditorAxel Geddes
  • Story SupervisorMadeline Sharafian
  • Production DesignBryn Imagire
  • Sound Re-Recording MixerStephen Urata
  • Story SupervisorJohn Cody Kim
  • Associate ProducerMichael Warch
  • Visual Effects SupervisorBeth Albright
  • Production ManagerLucy Laliberte
  • Animation SupervisorAlon Winterstein
  • Story ManagerSamantha Jane Gruwell

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

  • human vs nature
  • spy
  • beaver
  • oregon, usa
  • transhumanism
  • consciousness
  • aftercreditsstinger
  • duringcreditsstinger
  • human becoming an animal
  • robotic animal
  • mischievous
  • 3d animation
  • amused
  • bold
  • enthusiastic
  • pixar

Release history · US

When it landed

  • Premiere2026-02-28· New York International Children's Film Festival
  • Premiere2026-02-24PG· El Capitan Theatre
  • Theatrical2026-03-06PG
  • Digital2026-04-28PG
  • Digital2026-06-03PG· Disney+
  • Physical2026-06-02PG· 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray / DVD

Also known as

International titles

  • SaltadoresBR
  • Operation BäverSE
  • Mission: BæverDK
  • SauteursCA
  • JumpersBE
  • ХопперсRU
  • ХопперыRU
  • Hoppers: Operación castorAR
  • Hoppers: Operación castorBO
  • Cara de Um, Focinho de OutroBR
  • ХопъриBG
  • Hoppers: Operación castorCL
  • 河狸变身计划CN
  • Hoppers: Operación castorCO
  • Na skok do divočinyCZ

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