Hop is the story of EB (voiced with an undeniable charm by Russel Brand), the son of The Easter Bunny (Voiced by Hugh Laurie). He lives on Easter Island in a huge candy factory with his dad, some bunnies and a workforce of cute chicks (as in the fowl variety, not the girl variety) led by Carlos (Voiced by Hank Azaria), the main chick in charge of operations who dreams of becoming the Easter Bunny. Among the cute chicks one stands out, an over enthusiastic one named Phil (also voiced by Hank Azaria) that has a passion for music and dancing (he was one of my favorite characters). EB is the next in line to become the new Easter Bunny, a fate he is not too thrilled about. You see, EB's passion is drumming, and he's SUPER good at it and thus has bigger plans for his life that include more than just hopping around the world one night and delivering Easter baskets. On the eve of his coronation as the new Easter Bunny, EB flees Easter Island and travels to Hollywood to achieve his dream of becoming an all star drummer. Shortly after arriving though, his face has a nasty run in with the front of a car being driven by aimless slacker Fred O'Hare (James Marsden). After several hi-jinx he decides to help EB achieve his dream (if no other reason that it will get EB out of his life) and together they form an unlikely duo.
Russel Brand is great as the cute little bunny that effectively turns Fred's life upside down. He voices the character of EB with a good dose of charm, mischievousness, and innocence. James Marsden also does a good job with the character of Fred O'Hare. While he isn;t exactly sympathetic (I actually took the dads side, this dude needs to get his act together) he's still easy to root for and is a joy to watch on the big screen. His on-screen interactions with EB are believable and fun to watch (I'm a big fan of humans interacting with animated characters so I'm a tad bit biased), Marsden's reactions ranging from exasperation to anger to annoyed acceptance of his new unwelcome guest. At first Fred thinks he's finally cracked when he runs into the talking bunny, and he panics but as the days move on and the bunny fails to dissapear he grows to accept the fact that EB may indeed be real and not a figment of his imagination. Their antics together include EB creating mayhem during a job interview, performing for the Hoff, and evading the Pink Berets (The Easter Bunny's special guard who have been shipped out to find EB and bring him home).
While overall the film is cute and cuddly, there are some parts that detract from the overall experience. For one, the Hoff was not enjoyable at all in the film. I think they could have found another big name actor to throw in here that would not have acted like fingernails on a chalkboard. here he not only acts as a talent scout, he also doubles as a dispenser of wisdom near the end of the film (Please kill me). Another confusing thing in the film is that for a good while Fred tries to hide the fact that EB can talk (there is a clever ventriloquist scene that comes out of this), but eventually he gives up on this task. What's even more confusing is that no one seems startled to find a talking rabbit. Most's reactions to EB is essentially a shrug of their shoulders....it doesn't really make sense but if you spend too much time thinking about it you'll just get angry, so roll with it. Carlos as the films villain is sadly underdeveloped, and is given little screen time and the whole "WE'VE GOT TO SAVE EASTER" plot was met by myself with a shrug of my shoulders. Since I'm 20, Easter doesn't really excite me like it used to when I was younger, so the Easter elements didn't really do much for me. It was nice to have them in the film, but I'm just not a huge Easter fan (I must admit, I do enjoy the endless amount of candy consumed on that day though). Another problem with the film is that it kinda lags during it's second half when Fred and EB are together for most of the time. The hijinx helped to fill the gap and gave the film the feeling of an old school Warner Bros. cartoon, but for most of this part not much was really going on in the film.
The CGI found in the film is pretty superb. The candy factory where EB lives is fantastic and sure to drop any kids jaw. EB himself is absolutely adorable, even though he has a few human qualities he still acts like a rabbit should most of the time (Sniffing in new environments, etc). The human actors also do a good job here as well, and honestly I don't think the film would have the same spirit if they chose to make it purely CGI. I always welcome new CGI/Live Action films and Hop is no exception. It follows in the footprints of its predecessors while at the same time trying to learn from their mistakes (and it does a pretty damn good job). As a Human/CGI character buddy film I would put this above Looney Tunes Back In Action but below Who Framed Roger Rabbit, make of that what you will.
Hop also boasts a killer soundtrack that helps to make that film that much more enjoyable, with hits like I Want Candy, Dynamite, and The Anthem sprinkled throughout the film it's just about impossible not to enjoy the music selection found here (I even found myself staying after the credits to hear a short rendition of I Want Candy).
Hop tries to fill the gap left by the lack of any real enjoyable Easter films, and for the most part it succeeds. While there are a few bumps on the bunny trail, there's still enough to enjoy here that it's pretty hard not to be satisfied by Hop. There's really no reason to see the film in theaters if you're over the age of seven, so I'd say feel free to wait for it on DVD . Hop may not be the Easter classic it so badly wants to be, but it's still a damn good film nontheless.
3/5 Stars
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