It was a very good weekend for Hoppers, the latest animated offering from Pixar-Disney. The film claimed the No. 1 box office spot, raking in $88 million globally and $46 million domestically. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s got a 92% approval rating from critics. Yahoo’s own Brett Arnold hailed it as “easily the best Disney movie in quite some time.” My 5-year-old liked it. So why are so many parents issuing warnings about how “terrible” and ‘scary” it is?
The film is rated PG, which means viewers of all ages are admitted, but parental guidance is suggested for children. But the days since its March 6 release, posts from parents decrying the film as too dark for kids have popped up all over social media. Is it really that terrifying? Are kids “sobbing loudly” in theaters? Will parents be treating their little ones to a fun movie night, or fueling nightmares?
Here’s what to know. Spoilers ahead!
What is the film about?
Hoppers follows Mabel Tanaka (voiced by Piper Curda), an animal-loving college student who wants to save a beloved forest glade from being destroyed by a new highway that Mayor Jerry Generazzo (a delightfully smarmy Jon Hamm) wants to build through it. She’s in luck: Mabel’s professor has created an experimental technology that allows humans to transfer their consciousness to robotic animals. Mabel recklessly uses the technology to “hop” into a robotic beaver in an effort to go undercover, communicate with real-life beavers and convince them to protect their habitat and save the glade.
Things spin out of control when other species get involved and decide humans must be stopped for good, kicking off an insane showdown — and two scenes that critics are singling out.
The ‘squish’ scene
Insect Queen (Meryl Streep) in Hoppers.
(Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Everett Collection)
One of the film’s most jarring scenes — many adults I spoke to said they gasped — occurs when the animals debate how to take revenge on humans for destroying their habitat. The insect queen, a moth voiced by Meryl Streep, suggests a radical plan to “squish” the humans, just like they do bugs. It escalates into the animals all chanting “squish!”
With the insect queen flying in her face, Mabel reacts with a big accidental squish — killing the queen and shocking everyone (the other creatures, theater-goers), watching. Mabel then sheepishly rubs her beaver paws on the rockface behind her to get rid of the queen’s gooky remains, which got a big laugh of disbelief from me and others in the audience.
Mayor Jerry does robot body horror
The demise of the insect queen set the stage for her bratty son, Titus, to become the main antagonist. Later in the movie, Titus (voiced by Dave Franco at his most unhinged) inhabits a human robot version of Mayor Jerry. During a confrontation, the robot moves on all four limbs in some sort of Pixar version of body horror. The animals manage to rip off his fake human mask, revealing a mechanical robot head underneath.
At this point, I looked over at my daughter to see if she was OK. Thankfully, she was, but I was ready to bolt out of the theater. So far, there have been no reports of nightmares. Honestly, she was more startled by the early scene where Ellen Bear (Melissa Villaseñor) jumps into the pond to consume Loaf, the laid-back beaver (Eduardo Franco). (Don’t worry — he survives.)
According to an interview director Daniel Chong gave CinemaBlend, it could have been way worse. Chong revealed that an earlier version of the movie — in which Franco’s Titus screams in pain as his human mask is ripped off — had to be toned down after being deemed too scary during test screenings. Instead, Chong said he had Franco talk through the face mask being ripped off. And yet …
Some parents aren’t happy
Parents aren’t a monolith, so reactions are subjective and depend on a child’s age, temperament and tolerance to dicier fare. For the record, Common Sense Media, which provides independent, unbiased reviews from parents and kids, recommends the movie for kids ages 7 and up, and doesn’t consider the “squish” moment or robot scene any huge red flags. Its review did caution that “a few scenes may frighten younger viewers.”
Over on social media, that may be an understatement. “My almost 8yo, who loves KPop Demon Hunters and has seen other things with fighting & mild violence, was sobbing loudly in the theater at one point 😭,” one mom wrote in a March 8 Facebook post. “I would recommend it for older kids and/or preview it first if you may be concerned. Especially if you and your babies are animal lovers.”
Right-wing podcaster Alex Clark slammed the film as “anti-biblical” in an X post that’s gotten more than 5 million views. “Parents shouldn’t take kids under 10 to see this movie,” Clark warned, calling Hoppers “the darkest Pixar film with heavy themes.”
“It was frightening,” one dad shared on Facebook about the “intense and scary” film. One scene had his kid “crying out of fear,” he wrote. “He buried his face in my chest and we left. … I have no idea what Disney was thinking.”
Other parents also reported walking out. “It was TERRIBLE and scary enough that we left in the middle,” another mom wrote on Facebook.
The counterpoint
King George (Bobby Moynihan) in Hoppers.
(Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Everett Collection)
Clearly … it’s not for everyone. But a lot of families (mine included!) came out of the screening gushing about the cute characters (Bobby Moynihan’s King George is adorable), funny scenes and feel-good message about collectivism and protecting wildlife. Many of those parents are sharing their reviews online, too, giving positive feedback while flagging scenes that might be a little much for some kiddos.
“We all freaking loved it,” raved Mary, the mom behind I Just Wanna Chat on Instagram, after taking her four kids, ranging in age from 3 to 9 to see Hoppers. She assured parents that “there is literally nothing to worry about,” but acknowledged parts of the film that can get “a little scary” and “intense.” “There were scenes of this movie that honestly felt like an intro to, like, the body horror genre,” she noted — but also called it the funniest Pixar film since Turning Red.
Jennifer Borget of Mom Life & Movies takes a similar view; her review hailed it as a “feel-good Pixar movie” but also addressed the parts that made her youngest child, age 7, jump.
“The movie is really fun overall, but there are a couple of moments that might feel intense for younger kids, so it’s helpful for parents to know that going in,” she tells Yahoo over email.
“I wouldn’t say it’s over the top, but it reminded me a bit of watching Toy Story for the first time as a kid and seeing Sid’s toy experiments,” Borget adds. “ Sometimes that emotional rollercoaster is part of what makes a movie so great, but I always like to give parents a heads up so they can decide if those moments might be a little much for their little ones.”