Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ trailer transplants girl’s mind inside a beaver — it’s ‘nothing like Avatar!’

Pixar’s Hoppers trailer, previewing the 2026 animated film, presents a world in which scientists have developed technology that inserts a human mind into a robot animal, allowing them to blend in and communicate with real critters in the wild. The self-aware sneak peek makes the obvious comparison.

“Guys, this is like Avatar,” says Mabel, an animal-loving college student voiced by Piper Curda (May December, Matlock).

“This is nothing like Avatar!” the scientists shout in unison.

Pete Docter, the head of Pixar Animation Studios, addressed the Avatar of it all in a June press event pegged to the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival. “It’s kind of like Avatar, but cuter,” he said at the time.

Docter took the comparisons a step further. “What happens next is a little like Avatar meets Mission: Impossible meets Planet Earth,” he said. “It’s an action-adventure, comedy, spy-thriller where the humor, the heart, and the adventure leap from the screen in surprising ways. It’s an over-the-top crowdpleaser, full of twists and big laughs and tons of great characters.”

Directed by Daniel Chong and produced by Nicole Paradis Grindle, Hoppers focuses on Mabel’s efforts to save a beloved glade from her childhood from being destroyed by Mayor Jerry’s (Jon Hamm) construction project. If she brings animals back to the glade, she stands a chance at halting development. To do that, she discovers “hoppers.”

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In a secret lab, scientists “hop” their brains into robot animal bodies to help them study actual animals in the wild. Before they can stop her, Mabel hops into the body of a robot beaver and scampers off to recruit animals to her cause.

Saturday Night Live alum Bobby Moynihan voices King George, a beaver and the leader of the local wildlife. Any time an animal loses their home, they relocate to King George’s pond. Mabel quickly learns all about the complex “Pond Rules” when she stops a bear from eating another beaver. Rule 1: Don’t be a stranger. It’s harder to be mad at someone if you know their name. Rule 2: If you gotta eat, eat. Rule 3: We are all in this together.

Hoppers is scheduled for release in theaters on March 6, 2026. Watch the trailer above.