Hoppers director reveals original 2D concept art – and fans wish it was the real thing

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.

In a recent X post, Daniel Chong shared the animated short, writing, "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)." The short clip features a serene, watercolour-esque scene of two beavers (presumably Mabel and King George) floating down a river. Thanks to its dreamy art style, many fans were enamoured by the stripped-back style and ultra-cute character design.

If you're a classic animation fan, you probably thought the same thing as me – it's giving Studio Ghibli. Fans were head over heels for the beautiful animation, with one writing, "The 2D look for Hoppers is absolutely stunning! Daniel Chong and Lorenzo Fresta really captured something special with this early test." Another added, "I say this with all sincerity. This movie already looks great, but it would have looked absolutely amazing in 2D We need large-scale 2D animations back in cinemas."

For more movie news, check out why Hoppers looks so different from other Pixar movies or take a look at why Pixar's rules of storytelling are as relevant in 2026 as they were 15 years ago.