YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A recent documentary short details a research trip by Pixar movie makers to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) as they gather facts and inspiration for the March 2026 film Hoppers.
The short film about the trip was shared by YouTube account FirstExtras last month and includes footage of the Hoppers Pixar crew watching wildlife in the park and checking out an abandoned beaver lodge. The five-day trip was put on by Yellowstone Forever and guided by naturalist, artist and educator George Bumann. According to the behind-the-scenes documentary, the experience allowed the filmmakers to immerse themselves in nature in order to create a movie from the perspective of wildlife.
“Going to Yellowstone, getting to be in nature, being among the animals was very crucial in how we made this movie and how we approached it,” Director Daniel Chong said in the short film.
The film also included interviews with the team that traveled to YNP, which included Producer Nicole Paradis Grindle, Editor Axel Geddes, Production Designer Bryn Imagire, Development Executive Megan Alderson, Pixar Research Librarian Carol Moen Wing, and Story Supervisor John Cody Kim. In an interview with Geeks of Color, Grindle said that the team made the research trip in September of 2021.
“Whenever we do these research trips, the idea is to bring a reality to our characters and our subject matter that we can then intensify,” Geddes said in the short film.
For the animated movie, the team drew from real-world wild sights, sounds and movement within the national park. The crew witnessed wolves and coyotes feasting on a bison carcass, bison herds, elk herds and more. Those on the trip said the experience brought them closer to the animals they were attempting to depict in Hoppers.
“For our film, having everyone experience the outdoors and build empathy for animals is so important for the story that we’re telling,” Grindle said.
