Beaverton is home to a thriving colony of the furry, wood-chewing creatures. The mayor, however, doesn't give a dam: he decides their forest habitat should be dislodged to make room for a freeway. Mabel, a teenage environmental activist, is outraged by these plans but faces apathy from the locals. After she discovers an experimental science project—one that allows her to "hop" her consciousness from her body into that of a robotic beaver—she befriends the animals and galvanises them to fight tooth and claw.

比弗顿生活着一群蓬勃繁衍的毛茸茸、爱啃木头的家伙。 然而，市长却毫不在意：他决定铲除这些动物的森林栖息地，为修建高速公路腾出空间。 少女环保主义者梅布尔对这些计划感到愤怒，但当地人却对此漠不关心。 后来，她发现了一个实验性科学项目—— 该项目能让她将自己的意识“跳跃”到一只机器海狸的身体里。借助这一项目，她与动物们结为朋友，并激励它们拼尽全力反抗。

This is the zany premise of "Hoppers", a new film, which is released on March 6th. It is one of a string of highly anticipated animated movies coming soon to cinemas: indeed, an unlikely coalition of beasts, toys and Italian plumbers may make 2026 the genre's best-ever year. This summer there will be new instalments in the lucrative "Despicable Me" and "Paw Patrol" franchises, not to mention "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and "Toy Story 5" (both of which are expected to exceed $1bn in ticket sales). "Goat", which imagines what would happen if various hoofed animals were allowed to play professional sport, has made $130m since its release in February, making it the second-highest-grossing film of the year so far.

这就是新片《跳跃者》的疯狂设定，该片将于3月6日上映。 它是即将登陆影院的一系列备受期待的动画电影之一：事实上，一群看似不搭界的动物、 玩具和意大利水管工或将使2026年成为动画电影史上最辉煌的一年。 今年夏天，利润丰厚的《神偷奶爸》和《汪汪队立大功》系列将推出新作，更不用说《超级马里奥银河大电影》 和《玩具总动员5》（这两部电影的票房预计都将超过10亿美元）。 《山羊》自2月上映以来已收获1.3亿美元票房，成为今年迄今为止票房第二高的电影。 该片想象了如果各种有蹄类动物被允许参加职业体育赛事会发生什么。

Animated films are typically aimed at small children, but they are mighty popular with audiences of all ages. In 1995 animated films made up just 2.8% of the film market in America and Canada; in 2024 they accounted for 23.9%. That year "Inside Out 2" became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, taking $1.7bn at the global box office. In early 2025 it was eclipsed by "Ne Zha 2", a Chinese animated fantasy which has now earned over $2bn. (Only six other films have surpassed the $2bn mark.) "Ne Zha 2" may soon be beaten by "Zootopia 2", released in November, which has made $1.9bn. How did animation become such a draw?

动画电影通常以低龄儿童为目标受众，但却深受各年龄段观众的喜爱。 1995年，动画电影在美国和加拿大电影市场中的占比仅为2.8%；到2024年，这一比例已升至23.9%。 同年，《头脑特工队2》成为有史以来票房最高的动画电影，全球票房达17亿美元。 2025年初，这一纪录被中国动画奇幻电影《哪吒2》打破，该片目前票房已超过20亿美元。 （只有另外六部电影的票房超过了20亿美元。）《哪吒2》的纪录可能很快将被11月上映的《疯狂动物城2》打破，该片目前已收获19亿美元票房。 动画电影为何如此吸引人？

First, storytellers have aimed for broad appeal. Many animated films touch on universal themes—the struggles of growing up or the experience of losing a loved one—rather than delving into politics. The best movies heed the "22 Rules for Storytelling" devised in 2011 by Emma Coats, then a storyboard artist at Pixar, a pioneering animation studio owned by Disney. She advised film-makers to focus on character and emotion. Viewers "admire a character for trying more than for their successes," she reckoned. For impact, "stack the odds against" the protagonist.

首先，故事创作者力求广泛吸引观众。 许多动画电影探讨的是普世主题——成长的烦恼或失去亲人的经历——而非深入探讨政治议题。 最优秀的电影遵循艾玛·科茨2011年提出的“22条故事创作法则”。 科茨当时是皮克斯动画工作室（Pixar，一家由迪士尼旗下的先锋动画工作室）的故事板艺术家。 她建议电影制作人关注角色和情感。 她认为，观众“更钦佩一个努力尝试的角色，而非一个总是成功的角色”。 为了产生冲击力，“让主角面临重重困难”。

Although the rules weren't company dogma, the dictums are evident in Pixar's most popular tales, from "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo" to "Inside Out". (So evident is Pixar's formula that it has inspired an internet meme: "What if toys had feelings? What if fish had feelings? WHAT IF FEELINGS HAD FEELINGS?")

尽管这些法则并非公司教条，但在皮克斯最受欢迎的故事中，这些法则显而易见，从《玩具总动员》和《海底总动员》到《头脑特工队》皆是如此。 （皮克斯的公式如此明显，以至于催生了一个网络迷因：“如果玩具有感情会怎样？ 如果鱼有感情会怎样？ 如果感情有感情会怎样？”）

Second, animation has global reach. It is not simply that, being made for children, such films generally avoid risque content and are therefore less likely to anger overzealous censors than other Hollywood fare. It is also that animation translates well across boundaries. The most successful stories have simple premises or fantastical settings that are not culturally specific. Characters' faces are stylised and expressive: think of Remy's wide-eyed wonder in "Ratatouille" or the taciturn yet emotive robots in "Wall-E".

其次，动画电影具有全球影响力。 这不仅是因为这类电影面向儿童， 通常避免涉及露骨内容，因此比其他好莱坞电影更不容易惹恼过于热心的审查机构； 还因为动画电影能够很好地跨越文化界限。 最成功的故事往往设定简单或背景奇幻，不具有特定文化属性。 角色的面部经过风格化处理，表情丰富：想想《美食总动员》中小老鼠雷米瞪大的眼睛中流露出的惊奇，或是《机器人总动员》中沉默寡言却情感丰富的机器人。

Third, distributors have been canny about timing. The biggest animated films are released during school holidays, be it Thanksgiving, the Lunar New Year or the summer break. In 2022, 44% of the animated films released by the top American film studios went straight to streaming services; in 2025 just 8% did. "A trip to the cinema is an easy win for parents looking to get their children out of the house and entertained for a few hours", says Olivia Deane of Ampere, a media-analytics firm.

第三，发行商在时机选择上十分精明。 最大的动画电影通常在学校假期上映，无论是感恩节、农历新年还是暑假。 2022年，美国顶级电影公司发行的动画电影中有44%直接上线流媒体平台；到2025年，这一比例仅为8%。 媒体分析公司安培分析的奥利维亚·迪恩表示：“对于希望带孩子出门娱乐几个小时的家长来说， 去电影院是个轻松的选择。”

Clever scriptwriters include jokes for adults to enjoy—with or without kids in tow. When Shrek sees Lord Farquaad's castle, he wonders: "Do you think maybe he's compensating for something?" "Zootopia 2" includes nods to "Pulp Fiction" and "The Shining". Film franchises tap into nostalgia, too. "Toy Story 5" will be watched by more than a few adults who saw "Toy Story" as youngsters 31 years ago.

聪明的编剧会在电影中加入供成年人欣赏的笑话——无论是否有孩子陪同。 当史莱克看到法夸德国王的城堡时，他问道：“你觉得他是不是在补偿什么？”《疯狂动物城2》中则出现了对《低俗小说》和《闪灵》的致敬。 电影系列还利用了观众的怀旧情绪。 《玩具总动员5》的观众中，肯定有不少是31年前看《玩具总动员》时还是孩子的成年人。

Audiences become less animated when studios stray too far from these tenets. It does not bode well for "Hoppers", with its tricky conceit and glaringly obvious ecological message; the beavers' tale will almost certainly have less heft than other films released this year. (Like "Bambi", its darkness may prove offputting: the third act features a murderous humanoid robot getting its face ripped off and a horribly realistic depiction of a wildfire.) But the genre's overall success contradicts a longstanding Hollywood tenet. It's a great idea to work with animals and children.

当电影公司偏离这些原则时，观众就不那么买账了。 《跳跃者》的设定复杂，生态环保主题过于明显，前景不容乐观； 与今年上映的其他电影相比，海狸的故事几乎肯定缺乏分量。 （和《小鹿斑比》一样，其黑暗元素可能会让观众望而却步： 第三幕中，一个杀人机器人的脸被撕掉，还有一场极其逼真的野火场景。）但动画电影的整体成功却反驳了好莱坞的一条长期信条。 与动物和孩子合作是个绝妙的主意。