6 Years Ago, 'Hoppers' Director Made This Amazing Movie Now Streaming on Hulu

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Published Mar 20, 2026, 7:39 AM EDT

Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.

Director and animator Daniel Chong just delivered Pixar's biggest original, non-sequel hit since Coco with the new animated feature, Hoppers. The film is a breakout critical and commercial success, and it certainly gives Pixar reason to celebrate. However, before working on Hoppers, Chong made another animated feature that was absolutely adorable. We're talking about We Bare Bears: The Movie. It's time to unpack the grand finale of the hit Cartoon Network show of the same name.

'We Bare Bears: The Movie' Acts as the Show's Series Finale

The animated feature finally depicts how Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear first met as cubs, showing how they forged their unbreakable bond. Although the bear trio is not biologically related, they define the term "found family," as they are brothers by choice. The movie also utilizes the evil Agent Trout to embody human prejudices. Early in the film, Agent Trout stokes the negative sentiment against the bear trio among their human neighbors after the bears unintentionally cause a massive citywide blackout. The root of Trout’s fears lies in the bears and wild animals integrating into human society and their unconventional "stacking." Hey, that's the bear brothers' trademark! It’s kind of their thing.

Ultimately, the movie culminates in Grizz standing up to Agent Trout and inspiring other "normal" bears to help Grizz free his brothers in a rousing finale. However, their preserve center becomes a death trap when its electric fence causes a fire. The bears then work together to form a giant, ultimate stack before they're saved by their old friend, Officer Murphy (Keith Ferguson), who arrests Agent Trout for his actions. The video of the bear brothers' heroic exploits finally earns them the love and respect they sought at the beginning of the movie, and they are finally accepted and embraced by their neighbors. The movie serves as a picturesque, idyllic ending to the hit animated show, one that shares some clear parallels with Hopper.

'Hoppers' Is the Spiritual Successor to 'We Bare Bears'

Between We Bare Bears: The Movie and Hoppers, viewers can find comparable themes, ideas, and motifs. Note that the world of We Bare Bears features talking anthropomorphized animals who can speak and interact with humans. In contrast, Hoppers depicts humans as needing the Hopper technology developed by Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy) to facilitate interspecies communication. Most of the animals in We Bare Bears have human-level intelligence, speech, and awareness. But in re-watching We Bare Bears: The Movie, it's interesting to see how the two movies share similar climaxes, as both storylines culminate in a terrifying forest fire, where the animals must work together even though they function differently.

In We Bare Bears: The Movie, the bears work together to escape a deadly forest fire. In Hoppers, the animals band together to stop a forest fire that threatens not only to engulf their forest, but the entire town of Beaverton. Chong also clearly possesses a fondness for beavers, as they recur in multiple gags throughout We Bare Bears: The Movie, and the adorable creatures take center stage in Hoppers. Additionally, whenever the beaver characters make their normal noises and squeaks, it's Chong who voices the beaver sound effects, reinforcing his affinity for the cute animals.

Both Movies Explore Similar Themes in Different Ways

Mabel smiles next to King George, who was holding a stick and wearing a crown.

Regarding parallel themes, Hoppers and We Bare Bears use animal stand-ins to explore human prejudices and social biases. Agent Trout embodies humanity's fear of those who are different, as he seeks to isolate the bears from integrating into human society. Hoppers is a bit more subtle in its messaging, but the plot affords the human antagonist, Mayor Jerry Gennerazzo (Jon Hamm), a genuine redemption arc and a chance to atone for his past mistakes after he attempts to drive the animals away from their home.

Additionally, both movies explore themes of peaceful coexistence between humans and the animal kingdom, a metaphor for peaceful coexistence between people of different races and backgrounds. Much like the bears in We Bare Bears, King George (Moynihan, who reunites with Chong) respects humans and wants to live alongside them, since he views them as mammals and part of the animal kingdom. However, whereas We Bare Bears: The Movie uses the bear siblings to explore human fears and prejudices, Hoppers takes a more pro-environmental approach through Mabel's character arc.

Nevertheless, themes of racial harmony and coexistence can still be found in Hoppers, just as the pro-environmental messaging — a response to the 2018 California Wildfires — surfaces in the forest fire near the end of We Bare Bears: The Movie. In both movies, human technology and interference damage the animals' natural homes, but it's ultimately the animals who must band together to save the day in their respective climaxes. It's a profound experience watching We Bare Bears: The Movie and seeing how Daniel Chong builds on his past ideas with an even bigger budget and theatrical scope that have paid off for Pixar.

We Bare Bears: The Movie is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.