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In 2020, \u201cWe Bare Bears\u201d creator Daniel Chong came to Pixar leaders with an idea.<\/p>\n
He had seen documentaries in which robotic animals with eyeball cameras captured footage of natural habitats. But what if that technology was so good that no one could tell the difference? And to make it even more zany \u2014 what if someone went undercover in that animal body?<\/p>\n
That idea became the basis of Walt Disney Co. and Pixar\u2019s new animated movie, \u201cHoppers,\u201d which debuts this week. The film is Pixar\u2019s latest attempt to break through at the box office with an original story, something that has been a struggle for the storied animation studio since the pandemic.<\/p>\n
The pressure of Pixar\u2019s legacy can be a little overwhelming and coming up with an original idea is difficult, said Chong, who directed \u201cHoppers\u201d and also serves as a writer on the film.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a Pixar movie, it\u2019s very high stakes,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I just felt like I had a really funny idea, and I thought as long as we made it really funny and had characters you loved, to me that\u2019s the key to every Pixar movie \u2014 really awesome characters that really connect emotionally with people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recent theatrical success for Pixar as well as other animation studios has come from sequels, such as 2024\u2019s \u201cInside Out 2,\u201d which grossed $1.7 billion globally. But the reputation of Emeryville-based Pixar is built on its string of blockbuster originals, including 1995\u2019s \u201cToy Story,\u201d 2001\u2019s \u201cMonsters, Inc.\u201d and 2004\u2019s \u201cThe Incredibles,\u201d making new stories crucial to the studio\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
People like coming back to familiar characters like Woody and Buzz from \u201cToy Story,\u201d but the studio can do only so many sequels, said Pete Docter, Pixar\u2019s chief creative officer. And some films don\u2019t lend themselves to new chapters, he said, noting the studio\u2019s efforts to look at \u201cMonsters, Inc.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying, struggling for a long time to get somewhere with that, and we\u2019ll see in the future how things go, but it\u2019s been an uphill battle,\u201d he said. \u201cFor whatever reason, that movie seems to be self contained and doesn\u2019t want to go forward without repeating some of the same themes, which I think would be disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opening weekend expectations for \u201cHoppers\u201d are wide-ranging, from $25 million to $40 million, on a production budget of $150 million. So far, the reviews have been strong, with a 96% approval rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t continue to do originals, we\u2019re going to run out of stuff,\u201d Docter said. \u201cIf \u2018Hoppers\u2019 can really catch on, it could show that audiences still want original movies. They\u2019re still excited to see things that surprise them, that are not just following through on characters and worlds that they\u2019ve seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a tough time for original animated movies \u2014 and new films in general. As the theatrical market continues to find its footing after the pandemic, audiences still largely have gravitated toward familiar fare, including sequels and reboots, even as they profess to want new stories.<\/p>\n