Hop Review

I swear, if Hop could have just been 90 minutes of the bunny, E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand) crapping jellybeans followed by the shot of Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco eating, unknowingly, one of his candied droppings, my kids would have loved it. In fact, they probably would have loved the movie even more. That scene, both the set-up and the payoff, was so popular with the elementary school set heading into this film that it was almost like a junior, viral meme. Every commercial had that scene. Actually, some commercials just had that scene. And then all the kids couldn't wait to simply...go see it all unfold on the big screen exactly like they had seen on the TV.

Hop isn't charmless, but it is inert. It just sits. The stakes are barely there. The main human character, Fred (James Marsden), is a listless slacker whose only predicament in the film is that he needs to find a job. Like, he really needs a job or his father (Gary Cole) will be more disappointed. That's it. But don't worry, because his ultimate character flaw – the fact that he's lazy and turns down good-paying jobs because he just doesn't want to be an active member of society – is totally vindicated because essentially all one has to do is be a bum until the day to "fail up" into a supernatural dream gig arrives.

Watch the Hop Trailer

The bunny, E.B., also dreams of doing something big with his life. He doesn't want to inherit his father's role as the official Easter Bunny because he doesn't enjoy the daily grind of hard labor. Together, Fred and E.B. support each other in their resolution to remain "dreamers." And that's fine. Teach kids that you can dream big. But Hop treats its characters' desires to remain unique and detached from society as admirable even when neither of them are particularly likable.

Ultimately, Hop is another film where a human male character screams at a smaller, cutesy animated character because they're unapologetic, intrusive and cause giant messes. Yes, it's better than the Chipmunks films and Marmaduke, but that's faint praise. Aside from the fact that the movie gives away the ending within the first 30 seconds, the underlying dilemma of the piece doesn't even kick in until the third act. So the rest of the movie involves Fred trying to "get away from"/"hide the existence of" E.B. Only to then discover that everyone who eventually runs into E.B. doesn't even bat an eye at the fact that he's an animated character.


It's also a bit odd that Fred doesn't have a love interest in this movie. It's not a bad thing, it's just a curious choice. Usually, in flicks like this, the main dude likes a girl and the little CGI character helps him impress her or helps him gain the confidence to ask her out. I'm sure many of us (I know I did) though that Kaley Cuoco would be that love interest, but she just plays Fred's sister, Sam.

Also, there are parts of Hop that play out like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, as E.B. actually hails from an animated world; the giant candy factory that sits underneath - duh! - Easter Island. When Fred and E.B. have to thwart the nefarious yellow chick efforts of candy factory foreman Carlos (Hank Azaria), Fred actually fully interacts with the cartoon world of the Easter characters. Again, strange choice. As is the choice to include the bleary-eyed, slurred speech of David Hasselhoff. Unfortunately, it all just comes off as boring. Russell Brand's E.B. has a few inspired moments, but mostly those involve Brand venturing away from being a straight-up kid's movie character and channeling...Russell Brand.

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