Hoppers References The Wildest Pixar Theory Ever

Pixar's funniest movie in years is finally here, and "Hoppers" is a worthy addition to Pixar's library of classics. Directed by "We Bare Bears" creator Daniel Chong, this is a hilarious movie full of slapstick physical comedy, chaotic bliss, and a fervent pro-environmentalist theme that would make James Cameron proud.

The film follows a long and proud Pixar tradition of including Easter eggs in other films made by the studio. This goes all the way back to Pixar's second film, "A Bug's Life," which included an Easter egg to "Toy Story." Ever since then, every Pixar movie has at least one reference to the studio's history (often the "Toy Story" Pizza Planet truck) or to the studio's next film. When it comes to "Hoppers," the film takes this tradition to the next level.

At the end of the movie, Piper Curda's Mabel talks to her biology professor, Dr. Sam Fairfax (Kathy Najimy), and her colleague, Nisha (Aparna Nancherla), who shows Mabel some ideas for new experiments. In a sketchboard behind Dr. Sam, we see plans for technology that can allow dogs to talk (with a sketch of it resembling Dug from "Up"), one about an artificial cat companion (like Sox from "Lightyear"), a cleaning robot that looks like Wall-E, a sketch about turning screams into energy (like in "Monsters Inc.") and even a sketch for an idea of transferring human consciousness into cars ("Cars," obviously).

These are not just fun references to past Pixar movies like the dentist's office in "Finding Nemo." Specifically, these Easter eggs reference the wildest theory Pixar fans have ever come up with — the Unified Pixar Theory.

The Unified Pixar Theory was proposed by Jon Negroni back in 2013, claiming that every Pixar movie coexists in a shared universe. Starting with "The Good Dinosaur" and "Brave," the timeline of Pixar movies is a wild saga wherein humans destroy the planet, then escape into space. At the same time, highly intelligent animals evolve on a post-apocalyptic Earth, while artificial intelligence takes over vehicles, creating sentient cars that try to recreate the old world. Oh, and at one point, mutant monsters create energy companies, and they use time travel to open doors to the past in order to scare kids to produce energy.

It's an admittedly silly, ridiculous theory that fans have somehow latched onto for years, adapting it to include every new Pixar movie. When it comes to "Hoppers," the inclusion of Easter eggs for movies like "Cars" and "Monsters Inc." could simply be a funny way of referencing past Pixar films. It could just be a treat for eagle-eyed fans. But what if it isn't?

A big part of "Hoppers" is that the protagonist, Mabel, constantly refuses to think of consequences. At every turn, she makes the wrong choice, making the situation around her much worse. What if the scientists who are technically responsible for the whole thing, by creating the hopping technology, end up causing the fabric of Pixar reality to collapse with their inventions? What if this is the nexus point where the Pixar timeline diverges from ours, becoming a post-apocalyptic hellscape with sentient cars, monsters, and a Wall-E? "Hoppers" is already the funniest Pixar movie in years, but this would make it the most bonkers animated movie in a long time.