Daniel Chong, the creator of the popular series We Bare Bears, is moving into the director’s chair at Pixar with his first feature film, Hoppers. The movie introduces a young animal lover named Mabel who uses new technology to “hop” her consciousness into a robotic beaver. This allows her to live among real beavers, learn their “pond rules,” and eventually protect their habitat from a mayor—voiced by Jon Hamm—who wants to destroy it.
While Hoppers is a Pixar production, its roots are more eclectic than one might expect. Chong looked toward the practical effects and slightly chaotic energy of eighties classics.
“I looked at movies like Gremlins and Beetlejuice,” Chong said. “We wanted that sense of something being a little bit off, a little bit weird, but still having a lot of heart.” He even cited the high-stakes momentum of Mad Max: Fury Road as an inspiration for the film’s energy. The result is a story that explores the mystery of what animals actually think of humans.
Lessons from Singaporean Parents
Chong was born in North Dakota and raised in Southern California, but his perspective was shaped by his parents, who emigrated from Singapore. His father was an engineer turned professor, and his mother was a nurse. Like many immigrant families, they prioritized stability over the arts.
“They were very strict with me and understandably so,” Chong recalled. “They didn’t quite know what it meant to have an art career, although that was something I kind of wanted pretty young.” He noted that his household “pond rules” were clear: “Focus on studies, make sure you play your piano and do all the prerequisites before you do the fun stuff like drawing.”
Navigating Racism in America
Growing up in the Midwest and California as the son of Asian immigrants brought challenges that eventually informed his work. In the past, Chong has been open about the casual, pervasive racism he encountered as a child.
“People bowed and made kung fu noises, I let that become my identity even though it is not,” he said. “I look back at it and it saddens me that it was put on me without even knowing it was racist.”
Instead of letting those stereotypes define him, he turned to his sketchpad. “I love drawing, and I did everything I could to make that my identity,” he said. “Slowly, my actions changed people’s perception of me.” These experiences eventually led to We Bare Bears, a show many viewers saw as a metaphor for the minority experience—three outsiders trying to find their place in a world that doesn’t always want them.
Chong spent years in the trenches of the animation industry, working as a storyboard artist for Disney, Illumination, and Pixar on films like Inside Out and Bolt. Those years taught him that the process is rarely a straight line.
“If you make a mistake in the story early on, the plot doesn’t connect, so you need to be very flexible in your process in anticipation of mistakes,” Chong said. This flexibility proved useful when rumors surfaced that the environmental message of Hoppers had been dampened. Chong dismissed those claims, noting that while the movie evolved, the core remained intact. “I’m very happy with how the movie came out and nothing got toned down, nor were we ever told to.”
