In case you can’t tell, we love Hoppers! We love the cast! We love the crew! And we love the filmmakers who brought it to life. We had the pleasure of meeting with director Daniel Chong and producer Nicole Grindle twice this year.
We recently brought you the wonderful interview we had with them during the film’s early press day. However, there was so much more to unpack, we had to meet with them one more time at the film’s press junket.
While the first time we met with the duo was during our visit to Pixar Animation Studios earlier this year, we were given the opportunity to chat with them at the Hoppers press junket about a month later, alongside stars Piper Curda and Bobby Moynihan. Given we had so many questions and so little time, it was incredible to be able to continue the conversation we had with Chong and Grindle at this event:
GoC: I can’t I gush about this movie enough. And now more people have seen it, and you know what? They’re gushing as much as I am, because you guys just really knocked it out of the park this time! You always knock it out of the park, but this time feels very special.
So, Daniel, if I could start with you – you started earlier in your career at Pixar. You left to do We Bare Bears, and then you came back for Hoppers. Between the “pre-Hoppers” Pixar timeframe and the “post-Hoppers” Pixar timeframe, what did you feel was different for you? And did your time on We Bare Bears really influence everything that you learned and brought to Hoppers?
Chong: I definitely could not have made this movie without that experience – making We Bare Bears. For a couple of reasons. One is, well, first of all, I hadn’t made anything at that point. And to jump into a Pixar movie as your first thing…I always think about Domee Shi. It’s like, I don’t know how you do that, you know? It just takes so much to navigate the scale of the amount of people you have to deal with. It’s a really daunting thing. And I think getting to step through leadership in making my own thing, through a TV show that was very low stakes – we weren’t getting a lot of notes, and we got to just make things – it’s almost like doing reps, you know? You just learn how to get buffer and better at the thing you’re making.
GoC: It brought so much confidence to this movie. This is a movie that knows exactly what it is…Nicole, for you, you are one of the most prolific producers – I won’t even just say just in Pixar or just an animation – but in the industry today? You’ve made some of the greatest films I think of all time, and I don’t care if they’re animated or not. They are some of the greatest films of all time.
I think right now we’re at a point in the industry where we’re seeing an influx of sequels and an influx of franchises. But then once in a while, we’ll have a wonderful movie like Hoppers, which is just so original and so out there, and not based on anything specific. Can you talk about the importance of really fostering and believing in original ideas, especially in this industry today?
Grindle: Oh, absolutely. I think everybody needs to hear stories that are contemporary. And certainly sequels can tell contemporary stories as well. And that’s something that Pixar’s always been committed to. But we need something fresh and new. And I just want to say that working with Daniel has been such an honor.
You know, Daniel does have a very strong vision, and he does have a sensibility and a taste that he had to fight for, because, I think it’s easy for the car to go off the road. Especially with a new director. But I think we need characters that reflect the times that we’re living in, we need themes that relate to the world. Right now, beavers represent something that we need more of: building an environment that helps sustain life for others.
GCo: Thank you so much for everything. Wonderful movie, I can’t wait for everyone to see this and fall in love with it the way that I did.