"Hop" has one of the cutest bunnies you'll ever see and plenty of other eye candy among its computer-generated visuals, yet there's not much bounce to the story behind this interspecies buddy comedy.
Letting Russell Brand supply the voice of the Easter bunny sounds promising. Too bad the movie winds up about as bland as carrot-flavored jelly beans.
Its gooey sentiment and hare-brained gags are likely to appeal only to very young kids. The filmmakers trip up on their scattered attempts to inject some hipness to "Hop" for older children and parents .
Directed by Tim Hill, a veteran at blending live action and digital animation on "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties," "Hop" skips and jumps between the fantasy land beneath Easter Island - where rabbits and chicks manufacture holiday candy - and the human world of Fred O'Hare .
Fred (James Marsden) is a grown-up slacker living with his parents, who hound him to get a job and move out. As a boy, Fred caught a forbidden glimpse of the Easter bunny making his rounds, and his destiny seems tied to the rabbit realm.
He's not the only disappointment to his parents. Down under Easter Island, young E.B. (voiced by Brand) is about to take over the family business from his dad, the Easter bunny (Hugh Laurie). But E.B. dreams of becoming a rock 'n' roll drummer and runs away to Hollywood.
E.B. just happens to come across Fred at a mansion where he's house-sitting. Let's see, mischievous, screwy rabbit, fridge full of carrots, rooms loaded with plush, pricey bedding. Inevitably, E.B. unleashes mayhem on Fred, who seems to be the only person surprised that a talking rabbit is running loose in Hollywood .
Written by the "Despicable Me" team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, along with Brian Lynch, "Hop" mostly is a lot of slapstick adventures between E.B. and Fred. They gradually form a kinship, find common ground and go through all the other usual things that arise when man befriends rabbit, including taking on scheming chick Carlos (voiced by Hank Azaria), who wants to turn Easter into a poultry-run holiday.
The animation is the movie's strong point, presenting a rainbow-colored world that should satisfy young children's cinematic sweet tooth. But Carlos' legion of chicks look like downy replicas of the minions of "Despicable Me," while a trio of commando rabbits known as the Pink Berets are really annoying, down to their own dreadful theme song.
"Hop"
Our grade: C
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 95 min
MPAA rating: PG
Release Date: Apr 1, 2011
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