Hoppers
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: March 6, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 46 Critic Reviews
Positive:
37
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comNell MinowMar 2, 2026
Hoppers is Pixar at its best, a story with warmth, humor, exciting action, endearing characters, and a reassuringly expansive notion of community. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarMar 9, 2026
There are many heavy hitters still to come, but Hoppers feels like the first great animated movie of the year. At a time when our right to protest is under siege, this sci-fi yarn exalts the way an individual’s conviction can plant seeds of change, leading to a stronger sense of community. Read full review
90
VarietyOwen GleibermanMar 2, 2026
Hoppers never stops surprising you in rudely antic ways, and that’s the essence of its delight. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyMar 2, 2026
Clever, funny and visually appealing, Daniel Chong’s nutty action comedy zips along, driven by rambunctious energy and a spirited Mark Mothersbaugh score. Its tenacious protagonist is flanked by a cast of amusingly anthropomorphized creatures that will thrill the core audience of kids while keeping the grownups entertained. Read full review
90
SlashfilmBJ ColangeloMar 2, 2026
Audacious, heartfelt, and uproariously funny, Hoppers has all the makings of an instant classic for Pixar. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesKatie WalshMar 5, 2026
What keeps Hoppers from drifting into Pollyanna-ish sensibility is its charming spikiness, and embrace of the weird, wacky and witty as it unfurls a high-tech action thriller about a strange, if brief, merging of the human and animal worlds. Read full review
88
The Associated PressLindsey BahrMar 2, 2026
Somehow, amid all the lighthearted anarchy, “Hoppers” manages to pull a few emotional strings too. After the heavy-handed “Elio” misfire, “Hoppers” might still feel fairly distant from the heights of peak Pixar; It’s also a big, joyful leap in the right direction. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariMar 2, 2026
Like many of its Pixar predecessors, Hoppers manages to thread the needle between a charming story for a young audience and a considered take on the climate crisis that will also resonate for their adult caregivers. Read full review
88
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiMar 2, 2026
Hoppers' isn’t just James Cameron’s Avatar if it had feelings, it’s also James Cameron’s Avatar if it was good. Read full review
83
IndieWireWilson ChapmanMar 2, 2026
The dimming prestige of the brand perhaps allowed Hoppers the freedom to be something much more modest, and also way more fun and satisfying — a hilarious, joke-a-second comedy that has its moments of sweetness and emotional resonance, but isn’t looking to force tears out of you. Read full review
80
The New YorkerJustin ChangMar 12, 2026
Hoppers is a hoot but also a more soulful film than some will give it credit for. It knows that, for humans and animals alike, seeing and understanding are one and the same. Read full review
80
StatusBrian LowryMar 6, 2026
Hoppers certainly has the vibrant feel of a plush-toy merchandising bonanza waiting to happen. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMar 6, 2026
In short, the film actually looks funny. Remember when animations always did. Read full review
80
EmpireJohn NugentMar 2, 2026
Don’t call it a comeback — but this is really strong stuff from Pixar: funny, thoughtful, sweet, making for a heartfelt paean to nature, and beavers in particular. Dam good. Read full review
80
Radio TimesEmma SimmondsMar 2, 2026
It’s not quite up there with Pixar’s finest, but this warm, extremely witty and wonderfully entertaining film is sure to delight the whole family, whilst spreading a positive message about living side-by-side with nature and not judging our fellow humans too harshly. Read full review
80
LooperAlistair RyderMar 2, 2026
If Pixar is now just as formulaic as its Hollywood animation peers, then director Daniel Chong's film is a reminder that a stereotypical crowd-pleaser from this studio is made with enough emotional sincerity and visual inspiration to never feel like cheap product fallen off the factory line. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 2, 2026
The film perhaps suffers from a loss of nerve about how villainous to make the villain, but it zaps along very entertainingly. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenMar 2, 2026
Smart storytelling and snappy editing elevate the jokes and enrich the emotions. Read full review
80
ColliderRoss BonaimeMar 2, 2026
Hoppers is an absolute delight, setting the bar high for animated films this year, while creating a film that reminds us just how amazing Pixar still is at making new, exciting worlds and stories, without relying on sequels. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMar 2, 2026
It’d be uncharitable to call Hoppers derivative, when it’s otherwise odd and spiky enough to carve out its own niche. Read full review
80
Next Best PictureDaniel HowatMar 2, 2026
It’s exactly the kind of solid entertainment, with the right mix of laughs and tears, that reminds us of the genius-level storytelling the good folks over there are capable of. It’s precisely what the animation studio needed at this time and fits comfortably alongside some of their upper-tier offerings. Read full review
75
The AtlanticDavid SimsMar 26, 2026
Its advertising promises goofy hijinks amid an enclave of diverse species whose ecosystem is threatened by humans. The movie, in actuality, is refreshingly mordant about what might really happen if prey and predators were to try banding together: Their efforts would immediately devolve into a despairing, even political quagmire. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 6, 2026
There is a sense of formulaic efficiency here that provides entertainment without soul-stirring depth. Read full review
75
The Travers TakePeter TraversMar 6, 2026
Even when it hops off course, this animated gem is funny and fierce in all the right places. Pixar is back, baby. Haters deserve a good squishing. Read full review
75
The PlaylistMarshall ShafferMar 6, 2026
Amidst all the noise and nonsense, Hoppers makes a winning case for the enduring value of dignity and respect for all creation. Read full review
75
The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeMar 4, 2026
Hoppers tells an effective story with wit and ingenuity, not to mention distinctive character design for every corner of the animal kingdom, from a kind-hearted shark (Vanessa Bayer) to a bratty caterpillar (Dave Franco). Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMar 3, 2026
Director Daniel Chong’s original movie is terribly funny, and often in an unfamiliar, warped way for the cerebral and mushy studio. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonMar 2, 2026
While Pixar doesn’t exactly alter the chemistry here, Hoppers is energetic and fun. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerMar 2, 2026
While there’s plenty of familiarity in Pixar’s small-scale animated romp Hoppers, there’s also a smart, unruly variation at its center. Read full review
75
The Film MavenKristen LopezMar 2, 2026
Hoppers is one of the best Pixar movies in recent years, though the script does feel slight in character motivations. Read full review
70
SlateSam AdamsMar 13, 2026
Hoppers feels a little less sanded-down than most of the studio’s recent movies, less content to coast on formula and hew to expectations about what Pixar movies do and don’t do. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonMar 5, 2026
It’s a fable, really, with a science-nerd edge and some charming animal friends. You could do a whole lot worse at the movies. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 2, 2026
Hoppers is a fun, modest little movie with enough zip and charm to keep kids engaged, and as such, one doesn’t want to criticize it too much. But the memory of what Pixar once was, the behemoth that redefined animation for multiple generations, may still make us wonder where all that energy and originality and artistry went. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonMar 2, 2026
Sometimes the convoluted story forces its emotional beats, but Hoppers is a largely successful animation that introduces a refreshingly darker strain of humour alongside its paeans to the natural world. Read full review
70
Screen RantGregory NussenMar 2, 2026
Daniel Chong's film isn't perfect, but it reaches such a strange fever pitch of hilarity and political prescience that it demands respect. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMar 3, 2026
It becomes a warm and insightful tribute to every kid that finds peace climbing up a tree, to every adult that realizes the value of the natural world, and to the ties that bind us to the world around us. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn what a keystone species is. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonMar 4, 2026
Unfortunately, I didn’t laugh very much, and the story didn’t work as well as the movies that inspired it. Read full review
60
Film ThreatAlan NgMar 9, 2026
In the end, the film and its storytelling is meh. Read full review
60
Little White LiesHannah StrongMar 5, 2026
One can’t help but long for something a little more exciting than ​“pleasant” – Pixar used to lead the animation industry, and they’ve been treading water for far too long. Read full review
60
The TimesKevin MaherMar 2, 2026
There’s lots of fun here, some of the one-liners are exquisite and the helter-skelter finale is delightfully overstuffed. Frustratingly, it’s still second-grade Pixar. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushMatt SingerMar 2, 2026
Hoppers director and co-writer Daniel Chong throws a lot of ingredients in the pot here, but I’m not sure they all blend together into a coherent stew. The film has a couple fun gags, an uplifting theme, and a touching subplot about Mabel and her grandmother (Karen Huie). Still, as a story it’s a bit of a jumble, as if someone took a nature doc and hopped it into a mystery movie that was hopped into a broad comedy. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithMar 6, 2026
Pixar, which is notable for its emotionally rich soul and its irresistible fancy, this time comes up with almost none of the former and very little of the latter. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 6, 2026
The slapstick doesn’t slap — not that often, anyway. And the one-liners don’t land. Even the “funny” voices aren’t funny, and the wacky character design seems lacking in the wacky. Read full review
50
The RevealScott TobiasMar 5, 2026
Chong seems to intend for an escalating series of comic events that get more giddily absurd as it approaches the climax, but the film loses its soul in the process. Hoppers longs for the quiet beatitude of nature, but it’s just another noisemaker. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineEli FriedbergMar 2, 2026
It falls well short of providing any satisfying exploration of its weighty theme of persuasion versus violence in the face of oppression. Read full review
40
PolygonSamantha NelsonMar 5, 2026
Pixar has been alternating between playing things safe with sequels to its hits and taking bigger swings with emotional human stories. Hoppers sits awkwardly between these impulses, recycling emotional moments and plots from other films while eschewing any clear moral or big moments of character growth. Read full review
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