This is like Avatar ? Haha, okay. Sure. I've heard weirder pitches. But a robotic beaver voiced by Piper Curda? That's… something.
Pixar's got a new one, folks. Hoppers . March 6th, 2026. Mark your calendar. Or don't. Let's see how many of us are still alive in two years.
So what's the deal here? A girl named Mabel—voiced by Piper Curda, who I'm pretty sure was in that Disney show I never watched—sticks her brain into a robot beaver and goes full animal detective. Because why not. Scientists have cracked the code on “hopping” consciousness into lifelike robotic animals. You know, like Avatar , but with fewer blue people and more… beavers.
Daniel Chong is directing. Dude did We Bare Bears: The Movie and worked on Inside Out . So he's got some chops. I mean, he's not Pete Docter, but he's not some random intern either.
Jon Hamm plays the mayor. Again. I mean, the guy's got a type. Always the smug, scheming authority figure. I'm not mad. Just… noticing.
Bobby Moynihan is King George. A beaver. Of course. Because why not cast a SNL alum as a talking animal? It's a Disney law at this point.
Now, the teaser trailer? It's… colorful. Funky. A little chaotic. I watched it. Twice. Once for fun, once to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
I mean, the animation is slick. Pixar always kills that. But the concept? It's a little out there . Human consciousness in robotic animals. Talking to animals as animals. Sounds like a kids' version of Black Mirror , right?
But here's the thing—I'm not mad at it. I'm not sold, either.
Look, I've seen Pixar go from Toy Story to Soul . From Finding Nemo to Lightyear . I've seen the highs. I've seen the… not-as-highs. And this? This feels like it could go either way.
The idea of a robotic beaver hopping around solving mysteries? Sure. Why not. But what's the heart? Where's the emotional core? Because if it's just a bunch of cute animals and tech gimmicks, we've seen that. We've seen that a lot.
I'm not saying it's gonna bomb. I'm saying I need more than a teaser that ends with a beaver falling into a river and a goat playing air guitar.
Also—March 6th, 2026. That's a weird date. Not summer. Not holiday. Early March. Kinda feels like a test screening release. Like, “Let's see if people show up.”
I dunno. Maybe I'm just jaded. Maybe I'm just tired of the whole “robot animal consciousness” thing. It's been done. Kinda. Not exactly. But close enough.
Still, I'll be there. Opening weekend. Probably with a bag of popcorn and a skeptical eyebrow.
Because Pixar? They've still got the juice. Even when they stumble, they usually land on something worth watching.
