ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A Pixar movie about beavers, humans and the bonds between them. A scathing documentary about the Alabama prison system. The latest installment in a long-running horror franchise. Which should you see, stream or skip? Find out below.
You should see…
“HOPPERS” (2026, 105 min., directed by Daniel Chong)
Pixar needed a win. The last few years have been tough for their original movies. “Elio” bombed last summer, “Elemental” was passed over by critics in 2023 and “Turning Red,” “Luca” and “Soul” were released straight to Disney+ during the Covid-19 pandemic. While “Inside Out 2” was a colossal success, it’s been almost a decade since a brand spankin’ new Pixar original hit with audiences. “Hoppers,” which has already hopped well over projections at the box office, may be on track to do just that.
“Hoppers” follows Mabel Tanaka, a young college student and environmental activist, as she campaigns to stop the construction of a freeway through a local animal habitat. As she fights to find a way to protect the threatened region, Mabel chances upon the “Hoppers” program, a secret research project designed by one of her professors that allows a human mind to control a lifelike robotic animal. Mabel impulsively hijacks the tech, taking on the body of a robotic beaver, and infiltrates the animal kingdom, leading a freedom fighter movement among her newfound animal comrades.
Calling “Hoppers” a wholly original film feels like a stretch. The movie is the latest in a long lineage of Man vs. Nature flicks in animation, not the least of which is “Pom Poko,” a Studio Ghibli film which shares a similar premise. That said, the movie has a personality which feels a little different from your average animal animation, almost like an alien consciousness is inhabiting the body of a standard Pixar film. For one, it’s got some killer jokes. One key scene, involving the word “squish,” may be the best twist I’ve ever seen in a kids movie, and certainly feels tonally distinct from the likes of “Coco” or “Finding Nemo.” The film is bold enough to sprinkle in some mild body horror, too. Parents of young children, pay attention to that “PG” rating on this one…