Pixar Pushes the Envelope Once Again In Newly Announced Film
Pixar Animation Studios is making good on its latest promise to fans with the announcement of its newest–and perhaps strangest–film yet, testing the patience of its fans around the world.
Related: Disney & Pixar Just Did Something That’s Never Been Done in Disney’s 100-Year History
Fans Are Divided When It Comes to Live-Action Disney Films
For years, Disney fans have voiced their affinity for–or disapproval of–Disney’s trend toward continually remaking its classic animated films with live actors and live action.
Related: Walt Disney Disliked Remakes and Sequels. Honoring His Legacy Means Putting a Stop to Them Both
Disney’s first live-action remake came in 1996. The take-two of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, starring actress Glenn Close as the diabolical villain Cruella DeVil, laid the groundwork for a growing trend at the Mouse House that included the “reimagining” of beloved classic Disney films that had served as mainstays in the childhoods of millions for decades.
That trend began to take off in 2010 with the release of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, starring Nicholas Cage–a remake of sorts that drew inspiration from Disney’s 1940 musical masterpiece, Fantasia.
The trend has only gained momentum since 2010, and because several of the remake films have been extremely lucrative for Disney, the chances of the Mouse House doing a box office 180 are slim at best.
Pixar Won’t Be Following Suit, Thank You Very Much
Over the years, Pixar Animation Studios has produced sequel films, including Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, Finding Dory, Incredibles 2, three sequels in the Cars film franchise, and–more recently–Inside Out 2.
But while Pixar has ventured into the world of sequels, just like its parent company, Chief Creative Officer Peter Docter says the studio will not produce live-action versions of any of their animated films.
“No, and this might bite me in the butt for saying it, but [producing live-action remakes] sort of bothers me,” Docter said in an interview with Time. “I like making movies that are original and unique to themselves. To remake it [is] not very interesting to me personally.”
Docter continued, saying that Pixar’s storylines work within the confines–and creativity–of the animated world.
“If you have a human walk into a house that floats, your mind goes, ‘Wait a second. Hold on. Houses are super heavy. How are balloons lifting the house?’” he explained. “But if you have a cartoon guy and he stands there in the house, you go, ‘Okay, I’ll buy it.’ The worlds that we’ve built just don’t translate very easily [into live-action films].”
Pixar Doubles Down On Its “No Live-Action Films” Promise
As if taking obvious steps to make good on its promise, Pixar Animation Studios announced a brand-new film in the works during the 2024 D23 Expo in early August. But the film might just be the strangest thing to come out of the Pixar powerhouse in the company’s nearly 39-year history.
Pixar has been drumming up excitement among its fans in recent months with announcements about a fifth Toy Story installment coming in 2026, as well as a third Incredibles film in the works at the studio.
And the recent unbridled success of Pixar’s Inside Out 2 has only added to the excitement about the studio’s newest films.
Up next for Pixar is a film titled Elio, a science fiction adventure film that tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who unintentionally ends up in the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization, where he is named Earth’s ambassador. Elio is slated to debut in June 2025.
But Pixar’s 2026 film Hoppers, which was announced at this year’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, in August, has fans scratching their heads and wondering what’s going on inside the studio in Emeryville, California.
The Strange Premise of Pixar’s “Hoppers”
Pixar teased the upcoming 2026 film, saying:
What if you could talk to animals and understand what they’re saying? In Disney and Pixar’s all-new feature film “Hoppers,” scientists have discovered how to “hop” human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals!
The adventure introduces Mabel, an animal lover who seizes an opportunity to use the technology, uncovering mysteries within the animal world that are beyond anything she could have imagined.
The new film will be directed by Daniel Chong. Nicole Paradis Grindle has signed on as producer of the film. Hoppers will also feature the voice talents of Piper Curda (May December, I Didn’t Do It), Bobby Moynihan (SNL), and Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Million Dollar Arm, and Fargo).
The strange storyline follows the main character, Mabel, as she “goes undercover into the animal world and befriends a regal beaver named King George.” As with any Pixar film, an antagonist throws a wrench in the main character’s adventure in Hoppers, and rather than being a career supervillain, the antagonist is none other but the mayor of the city where Mabel lives.
While Pixar fans can’t be sure what to think about a new animated film that combines the scientific advances that allow humans to understand and talk with animals, a robotics organization, and a young girl who switches brains with a beaver named after one of England’s kings, they can be sure that if anyone can take such strange elements and weave them into the tapestry of an engaging and powerful story, it’s Pixar. And only Pixar.
You can watch a teaser announcement for Hoppers below.
As for finding some clarification about the strange and odd-sounding storyline in Hoppers, fans will simply have to wait until the film debuts in theaters on March 6, 2026.
In the meantime, we can at least be grateful that Pixar refuses to blindly follow Disney’s current trend of live-action remake after live-action remake after live-action remake after . . . well, you get the point.
