Hoppers director Daniel Chong says jokes drove Pixar’s 30th film

Director Daniel Chong told MovieWeb that laughter and jokes helped drive story development on Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers. The film is Chong’s first directing credit with Pixar and his second full‑length directorial credit since 2020’s We Bare Bears: The Movie; Hoppers is the studio’s 30th film and opens March 6, 2026.

Chong has worked on nine previous Pixar films and has been part of the studio’s Senior Creative Team for the last four years, a background he said informed his approach to Hoppers.

Describing the process as “very visual‑oriented” and collaborative, Chong said the team often “drew through the jokes” and used comedy to push the story forward. He told MovieWeb the group worked with story artists and writers, pitching ideas and making each other laugh, which he believes “shows up on screen.”

Hoppers centers on Mabel Tanaka, a young scientist working on technology that lets people put their brains into robotic animal bodies and integrate with nature; Piper Curda voices Mabel. Chong noted that a new influx of talking animal characters gives the filmmakers room for comedy, and the voice cast includes Bobby Moynihan, Vanessa Bayer and Jon Hamm.

The studio’s promotional trailers have already teased the film’s jokes, and Chong said more of those comedic moments should come into focus as Hoppers approaches its March 6 release; tickets are available now.

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