Pixar’s new movie Hoppers is great, but it does give fans of the animation studio a reason to be worried about Toy Story 5.
Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures’ Hoppers is directed by We Bare Bears’ Daniel Chong. Piper Curda voices Mabel Tanaka in the film, while the cast further includes Bobby Moynihan as King George, Jon Hamm as Jerry Generazzo, Kathy Najimy as Dr. Samantha “Sam” Fairfax, Dave Franco as Titus, Eduardo Franco as Loaf, and Meryl Streep as Insect Queen.
“Animal-lover Mabel seizes an opportunity to use a new technology to ‘hop’ her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals,” the synopsis reads. “As she uncovers mysteries in the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined, Mabel must rally the entire animal kingdom to face a major imminent human-threat.”
Why should Pixar fans be worried for Toy Story 5 after Hoppers?
Hoppers is a huge win for Pixar. It’s funny, it’s creative, and it’s a proper return to form for the animation studio. How it does at the box office this weekend remains to be seen (early projections are saying it could be Pixar’s biggest opening since Coco), but the reviews for Hoppers are outstanding, with it currently having a 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.
Pixar has had a string of original movies that didn’t quite live up to expectations: Elio, Lightyear, and Onward. Your mileage may vary on other films like Elemental, Turning Red, Luca, and Soul. Now, though, they seem to be back in a way that’s really exciting to imagine what could be next for them around the corner.
What’s next for them around the corner, however, is another sequel, Toy Story 5. It’s Pixar’s first time ever making a fifth film in a franchise. And franchises aren’t necessarily where the studio is always at its best. Sure, we all love the original Toy Story trilogy, and Toy Story 4 is what it is. But nobody really seemed to be asking for Toy Story 5. Which, of course, doesn’t mean that it can’t be good, but we’re now wading more into ‘let’s make money’ territory versus ‘let’s make good art.’
Pixar’s got another original movie, Gatto, coming out next March; while there hasn’t been any marketing for that yet, the quality of Hoppers will likely really help build up some excitement for that movie. Toy Story 5, though? We’ll see, I suppose. We’ll see.
Hoppers is now playing in United States theaters.
