New Pixar Movie Has Already Gone Viral Before Even Being Released

You've undoubtedly encountered the viral “lizard…lizard…lizard…” meme that is taking the internet by storm, but you may not have realized that this clip is a promotion for an upcoming Disney-Pixar film! This new animated comedy, called Hoppers, will soon be coming to theaters.

We now have the release date and trailer for this new film featuring a fun, family-friendly storyline. Interestingly, as jokingly referenced in the trailer, the premise of the story is actually comparable to one of the highest-grossing films in Disney's library. Keep reading for everything we know right now about the new film!

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New Disney Pixar Film Hits Theaters Soon

In Disney and Pixar's new film Hoppers, scientists have found a way to “hop” human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals. As the animal-loving protagonist Mabel succinctly puts it in the teaser trailer: “So let me get this straight. You created a fake animal, which makes the other animals think you're an animal. Guys, this is like Avatar!” Using the new technology, Mabel embarks on an adventure to uncover the mysteries of the animal world.

The Avatar reference serves as both a humorous nod to one of the highest-grossing films in Disney's library and sets us up to understand the premise of this new story from a familiar lens. It does make us wonder what the main conflict of the story will be. Perhaps, the tension of living in the animal world as an “imposter” will ultimately come back and bite Mabel, as it does to Jake in the Avatar films.

The director of the film, Pixar's Daniel Chong, shared, “In Hoppers, the question we’re answering is: ‘What if we could understand and communicate with the animal world? Our main character, Mabel, gets to discover the animal kingdom as an animal, which can be weird and often hilarious. Mabel undercover in the animal world leads to a wild, roller coaster ride of a movie, with all the heart you expect from a classic Pixar film. It’s going to be so much fun to watch in the theater; I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Hoppers, produced by Nicole Paradis Grindle, features the voice of Piper Curda as protagonist Mabel, as well as the voices of Bobby Moynihan and Jon Hamm. It is set to release in theaters on March 6, 2026.

When revealing the release date of the film during the Destination D23 fan event, Disney wove the viral “lizard…lizard…lizard” clip into their announcement. The clip, featuring a lizard repeatedly hitting a button that triggers an automated voice saying “lizard,” was released as a promotion for Hoppers in a post-credits scene of the new Disney-Pixar film, Elio. It has since become a viral meme. Disney also made some other major announcements during the Destination D23 event about theme parks and new movies that you can check out here. 

Teaser Trailer for “Hoppers”

In the teaser trailer recently released for the film, Mabel uses the technology against the warnings of the scientists, waking up as a robotic beaver. She then encounters several funny moments in the animal world, including a tree full of flirting birds, gossiping deer, and a beaver who is surprisingly extremely nonplussed at getting caught by a bear—an incident that Mabel vehemently puts an end to. After both the bear and the beaver appear equally confused at Mabel's intervention, the beaver explains that he was okay with getting caught and eaten because of “pond rules.” The beaver says, “I mean, she's gotta eat someone.” This hints at some of the potential conflict we may see as Mabel discovers the mysteries of the animal world.

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At the end of the trailer, we see the scientists warn Mabel not to use hopping technology to upset the natural order, only for Mabel to press a button on her head that sends her offline.

You can see the full trailer released by Pixar below.

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