Pixar and We Bare Bears creator team on Hoppers, a beaver brain-swap comedy

Inside Out 2 has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated feature of all time. That kind of number would shift some studios firmly into the sequel/franchise business, and while Pixar will certainly cash in in the future — Toy Story 5 arrives in 2026 — the Disney-owned studio remains committed to original storytelling, and with new storytellers outside the core team.

Case in point: At the 2024 D23 Expo, Pixar announced a new film, Hoppers, directed by We Bare Bears creator Daniel Chong, set for release in 2026.

According to Pixar, Hoppers tells the story of a girl who transfers her brain into a robot beaver in order to live among real beavers. Avatar but with beavers? The film stars Bobby Moynihan, Piper Curda, and Jon Hamm, who plays a mayor trying to destroy the beavers. Delightful.

Chong, who posted with giddy excitement in the hours before the panel to say he’s “been holding this secret for 4 years,” is no stranger to feature animation. His previous credits include storyboard work on Disney’s Bolt, Pixar’s Cars 2 and Inside Out, and Illumination’s The Lorax. Chong left Pixar to pursue his own projects, creating We Bare Bears and its movie-sized finale for Cartoon Network. Shortly after, the animator moved on from the series to begin work on Hoppers.

Hoppers is set for release in 2026.

This post was originally published on Polygon

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