One Of Hoppers’ Best Scenes Isn’t In The Movie

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One of the most beautiful images associated with the movie Hoppers isn’t actually in the film – it’s a special piece of content released separately. Hoppers is off to a great start, earning an impressive $88 million worldwide in its first few days thanks to its appealing story and visuals.

With earnings of $88 million, Hoppers has become one of Pixar’s biggest hits since Coco in 2017, indicating a bright future for the film. Critics have praised its impressive animation, and it’s interesting to note that one of the most visually striking scenes created for the movie didn’t actually make the final cut.

Hoppers’ Unused 2D Animation Test Makes You Almost Wish The Entire Movie Looked Like It

To celebrate the release of Hoppers, director Daniel Chong shared an early 2D animation test created by Lorenzo Fresta in 2020. The test shows initial designs of the character Mabel in her robotic ‘hopper’ form, swimming alongside King George. This appears to be an alternate take on a scene that later appeared in the final film, but was ultimately created using 3D animation.

The 3D animation in Hoppers effectively captures the film’s lively spirit and characters. It’s a visually appealing style that feels reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, beautifully highlighting the story’s magical qualities and its celebration of nature. The animal characters are particularly charming and engaging.

Lots of viewers loved this short animated clip, with many wishing the whole movie had looked like it. Sadly, the final film ended up being different, which is why this specific scene wasn’t included. Still, Hoppers is still a visually appealing and engaging movie overall.

Hoppers Being In 3D Makes It Impossible To Use The 2D Animation Test

While Hoppers creatively changes its visual style – for example, giving animal characters different appearances depending on whether they’re interacting with other animals or humans, and to show when humans can’t understand them – it doesn’t go as far as incorporating drastically different techniques like 2D animation.

Including the 2D animation test directly in the movie would have likely looked out of place, unless it was added to the end credits. However, even then it would have been difficult, as Hoppers already has a post-credits scene and a 3D animated sequence in the credits where the test would need to fit.

Although it makes sense that this particular scene wasn’t included directly in the movie, it’s a shame because it’s a really memorable and impressive piece of artwork connected to the film. Hopefully, those who explore the movie’s background before or after watching will still be able to appreciate it.

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2026-03-10 15:10