Hop (2011) Review

            It’s the middle of spring, and you know what that means!  It’s time for the flood of Easter movies to hit the theaters near you!

Or maybe not.  Easter is a holiday that is just not as celebrated in Hollywood as other days of the year, such as Christmas.  The only notable Easter story that can be told on the big screen, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, has already been done multiple times before (The Last Temptation of Christ, The Passion of the Christ, etc.).  Also, the mythos of the Easter Bunny is just not developed enough to produce many film-worthy narratives.  Hop, the newest movie from director Tim Hill, attempts to overcome the latter hurdle by becoming the quintessential Easter movie of our age, and without referencing Jesus Christ once!

The legacy of the Easter Bunny that Hop establishes is…familiar, to say the least.  In fact, I bet that the script for Hop was finished after some guy took a script for an upcoming Christmas family comedy and replaced each “Santa Claus” with “The Easter Bunny”.  You got the magical, jovial gift-bringer, the yearly event that brings joy to millions of kids worldwide, and the villain who seeks to usurp this beloved character from his yearly duty.  For God’s sake, the Easter Bunny even has a sleigh in this movie.  A SLEIGH!

This is just one way in which this film feels contrived.  Tim Hill has definitely done this type of movie before, after directing Alvin and the Chipmunks and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.  If you have seen either of those two movies, you know exactly what to expect with Hop.  The cute, computer-generated critter (E.B., voiced by Russell Brand) enters the life of a shiftless, unsuccessful human (Fred O’Hare, played by James Marsden), initially causes havoc, and then helps the human overcome his tragic flaw.  You can call almost every joke and plot point in this movie before it happens.

That isn’t to say that there isn’t anything to like about Hop.  What really saved the story are the energetic, solid performances from the two leads.  James Marsden, from the X-Men trilogy and from Enchanted, shines in this movie through his likable, enthusiastic personality and his fearless physicality, though the character he has to work with is not very interesting.  Also, Russell Brand, from Get Him to the Greek and Arthur, provides E.B. with a voice that flows with humor and playfulness as the bunny hops into his crazy shenanigans.  Together, the two actors put a lot of effort into their roles and really have fun with their performances, which is especially important for a children’s movie.

Besides those two, we have House’s Hugh Laurie as the beloved Easter Bunny, The Simpsons’ Hank Azaria as the conniving second-in-command Carlos, The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco as Fred’s sister, Sam, and Office Space’s Gary Cole as Fred’s father, Henry.  The rest of the cast are not as memorable as the two leads, but you can tell that they are not simply collecting their paychecks for this movie.  They all do competent work and make this movie worth watching.

I was pretty impressed with the computer effects with this movie.  The combination of computer animation and live-action usually does not translate well on the big screen in most family films.  However, the interaction between the Easter characters and the humans in Hop is very believable, and bunnies and the chicks are animated smoothly and energetically.  Also, the sight of the Easter factory will amaze both child and adult alike.

Hop does suffer quite a bit from poor writing and lack of innovation.  However, I would still recommend this movie for a harmless, family-friendly Easter activity to do with young kids.  The children will love this movie for its bright colors and playful energy.  The adults will like the nuanced bits of humor and the clever use of computer effects.  Since it is after Easter, I would only recommend renting this movie when it comes out on DVD.  It’s a good film to watch once on Easter, but there is no guarantee that you or your family would want to make it a yearly tradition.

Rating: 3 Stars

Studio: Universal Pictures

Production Company: Illumination Entertainment

Running time: 95 minutes