In an early press day interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act, Hoppers director Daniel Chong and producer Nicole Grindle discussed the making of the Disney’s Pixar film, the late Isiah Whitlock Jr.’s performance and how the project balances Pixar tradition with Chong’s sensibility.

During the conversation, we suggested the idea of a Diane-focused prequel exploring the character’s backstory.

“I love that, OK!” Chong said.

“We used to always do short films out of the feature film,” Grindle added. “That would be the one, right? Right?”

“Diane’s backstory would be great,” Grindle said.

Remembering Isiah Whitlock’s performance

One of the film’s notable performances comes from the late Isiah Whitlock, who voices the Bird King. When asked what it means that one of his final roles was in Hoppers, Grindle referenced one of his standout lines.

“Yeah, that we made him say, ‘Flap around and find out,’” she said.

“I wish that he could have seen how people will respond to that,” she added.

Chong recalled Whitlock’s reaction to the line during recording.

“He loved that line so much,” Chong said.

“He loved it. He laughed so hard and I think people are going to love it so much,” Grindle said. “And it’s a funny way to be remembered given his body of work.”

“That is a funny thing to be left, but in some ways it’s appropriate, right?” she continued.

Chong described Whitlock’s ability to shift between his natural demeanor and the Bird King’s heightened energy.

“He was a really sweet guy when he came in and very understated and very cool,” Chong said. “And then when he acted, obviously the Bird King, one way that we always described him and how I described him to Isiah is he is the most anxious and the most paranoid. And that’s why he’s constantly doing that.”

“And Isiah switched and he could turn that on and then go back to his calm self,” Chong added. “And I just had the most lovely experience. We had the most lovely experience working with him. And yeah, he was really great.”

Balancing Pixar tradition with Daniel Chong’s sensibility

Grindle said that at its core, Hoppers retains the character-driven foundation associated with Pixar.

“Well, what I think makes a Pixar film is strong characters, and that’s where the humor comes from,” she said. “If they’re really strong character, you enjoy that and also the emotional arc. So we have those elements that make it a Pixar film.”

She also noted that Chong’s approach shifts certain structural expectations.

“Pixar films traditionally have always relied upon a story logic and a physics logic, truth and materials, and Daniel throws that all out the window,” Grindle said. “I mean, they wear crowns, why do they wear crowns? And that is your sensibility. That is your superpower, that you have a way of this random humor that people really love. And I think that’s what makes it different.”

Chong said his creative influences include films that blend genres in unexpected ways.

“For me, the movies that I loved growing up with were movies that were very hard to define what their genre was, that they’re maybe a splice of three or four different genres,” he said.

He also referenced his background in television.

“Especially making a TV show and doing 140 episodes, you end up parodying a lot of genres and going into different places that have different tones,” Chong said. “And I think that’s one thing I definitely wanted to bring to this movie, was how do I bring in overlapping weird tones that don’t feel like they belong, but somehow make that a part of this movie?”

“And hopefully that’s one of the unique things people pick up when they watch it,” he added.

Hoppers is in theaters on March 6.