Pixar's latest animated hit, Hoppers, launched to a showering of praise for its original plotline and adorable character design, but it turns out things could have looked very different. To commemorate the film's success, director Daniel Chong shared an original concept animation that has enchanted fans with its adorable illustrative style. As one of the movies set to make 2026 a big year for animation, Hoppers has brought a newfound hopefulness to animation fans, with many claiming the new film is evidence of Pixar's comeback. While I'm just grateful to see a big animation studio release an original film, I can't help but wish we'd seen more of that adorable original animation.
THANK YOU for loving #Hoppers this weekend! 💞 To celebrate, here's a 2D animation test we did back in 2020 for inspiration (by Lorenzo Fresta) 🦫🦫 pic.twitter.com/DKXWujZ10sMarch 8, 2026
