Just days after teasing both films at their D23 convention in Anaheim, Disney has announced the official release dates for Frozen III and Hoppers. The two films represent two totally different aspects of Disney’s animation plans for the coming years, with Frozen III being a sequel to a Walt Disney Animation Studios movie and Hoppers being a new, original story from the folks over at Pixar. Disney announced today that Hoppers is opening on March 6th, 2026, while Frozen III will take the Thanksgiving weekend slot the next year, landing on November 24th, 2027. that date is about a year later than when it had been widely assumed Frozen III would drop.
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Speaking to the audience tonight at the Anaheim Covention Center, Frozen III producer Jennifer Lee teased an epic story that sprawled into two parts while it was being developed, confirming something she has been teasing for almost a year. There is no word yet on when Frozen IV will be released, but it’s probably safe to assume that it won’t be eight years between the next two installments, which is the timeline separating Frozen II from the third installment.
Deadline first broke the news of the dates.
Hoppers will star Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, and Jon Hamm and has a sci-fi high concept. Set for release in early 2026, Hoppers centers on Mabel, an animal lover who transfers her consciousness into a robot beaver. She befriends a (real) royal Beaver named King George and helps him and his friends fend off a real estate developer.
The title “Hoppers” feels a little strange — it evokes Hop, and will likely be a source of some confusion at first, especially with little critters showing up on the poster. It’s the terminology that movie will use to “hop” into the robots, though, so in context it makes sense (kind of like Flatliners).
Hoppers will follow Elio in the tradition of Pixar originals. Meanwhile, the studio has sequels planned for The Incredibles, Toy Story, and a TV spinoff from Inside Out (the sequel to that movie recently became the studio’s highest-grossing movie ever). Elio also has a pretty sci-fi concept, centering on a boy who is abducted by aliens, mistaken for the world’s ruler, and forced to stand trial for Earth’s crimes. At D23, fans learned that Elio’s mother (played by America Ferrera) will be replaced by his aunt (played by Zoe Saldana) in the film, due to scheduling conflicts with Ferrera. Director Adrian Molina is moving on to his next project, with Turning Red‘s Domee Shi and Burrow‘s Madeline Sharafian taking over to get Elio across the finish line.
