Disney/Pixar’s “Hoppers” made over $430 million worldwide in theaters earlier this year. Now the fun continues at home with the Blu-ray, Ultra HD and Digital pack release this Tuesday June 2nd. If you enjoyed the film, I think you’ll have a good time checking out the Bonus Features. Here’s what to expect:
“THE CRITTER DIARIES” — As I learned when I visited Pixar for the releases of “Elemental” in 2023 and “Inside Out 2” in 2024, the iconic animation studio is all about research and attention to details. In this behind the scenes video, you’ll see director Daniel Chong and many team members visit Yellowstone and Colorado to see the creatures highlighted in “Hoppers” (especially beavers) in their natural habitat. The crew takes-in many remarkable sights and sounds to give the film plenty of authentic touches. And they’re inspired by the quieter moments of the great outdoors when it comes to the storyline of lead character Mabel spending time with her grandma.
“HOPPING IN: THE MAKING OF HOPPERS” — It took five and a half years to bring “Hoppers” to the screen. Chong & Co. emphasize the collaborative, “we’re all in this together” process in making the movie, including a focus on humor in drawings during the story meetings. Voice actors Piper Curda (Mabel) and Bobby Moynihan (King George) share insights on their characters, and we also get recording booth sessions moments from Dave Franco, Jon Hamm and Kathy Najimy. There’s also a brief discussion on Meryl Streep’s involvement as the voice of butterfly “Insect Queen”.
“MEET KING GEORGE BREAKDOWN” — There was a lot of work that went into the scene of Mabel (now as a beaver) meeting King George during an aerobics / dance sequence at the Super Lodge. The dam is the biggest set in the entire film, and there are many shades of brown in the entire environment, which was tricky for the Pixar team to make work well. King George is introduced in a memorable way, establishing his personality and purpose. Some storyboards from this scene were made back in early 2022.
“BEAVERTON REVEALED” — Anyone who loves uncovering Pixar Easter Eggs will eat-up this video, which highlights many visual references the filmmakers snuck into “Hoppers”, including the Pizza Planet truck and even a character from next month’s “Toy Story 5”. Plus you’ll learn just how many individual characters make-up specific sequences, including the number of seagulls who lift-up Diane the shark.
“DAM GOOD BLOOPERS” — Some quick voice acting outtakes with the cast.
“DELETED SCENES” — Here’s where things get really interesting. Chong and editor Axel Geddes present six scenes that were not included in the final cut of “Hoppers”. Some got farther along in the process than others, but were ultimately not part of the movie due to timing / pacing issues and dramatic story changes over the course of production. There’s a “Cold Open” that kicks-off the film in the wilderness with the beavers and robot beavers, instead of with Mabel. As Chong describes, setting-up the story like this was essentially showing the concept he pitched as the movie.
“The Glade” showcases a different idea of what the movie might’ve been altogether, with Mabel recruited to take part in this hopping program. There’s also a moose and a wolf. Wow. That also carries over into “The Mission”, which gave “Hoppers” more of a “Bad Guys”-vibe (maybe the Pixar team felt things were getting too similar to DreamWorks’ ensemble animal heist comedy “The Bad Guys”, released in Spring 2022). There would end-up being much more of a focus on the efforts of Mabel and King George and some animal friends, but not as prominently as “The Mission” deleted scene was leading us to believe.
“Kings Arrive” was an exchange in-between the intro of the council members and their memorable, life-changing meeting. I agree with Chong and Geddes that this was a good cut — too much chatter, and moments from the meeting were allowed to feel bigger and more impactful. In “George’s Bachelor Pad”, Mabel and George head to this location after the meeting, which shows even more of why George has admiration for humans, but it’s a little silly, and I understand why, tonally, this was taken out. And the final deleted scene is “Helicopter Ride”. Again, it shows a completely different arc of what “Hoppers” might’ve been, with a bunch of themes initially jammed into this one sequence that were eventually spread-out well in the final product.
Hope you enjoy these exclusive special features of “Hoppers”, available starting June 2nd, with a collectible, limited edition SteelBook!