You may not have noticed, or even care, but the Easter Bunny hasn’t received the best treatment in the history of the movies. Depending on your point of view, Easter is either the first or second most significant holiday in the Christian calendar. It stands to reason that its metaphorical representative should be in as many films as a certain jolly fat man in a red suit.
The makers of Hop try to redress this situation with a film about the inner workings of the Bunny’s operation. Unfortunately, it’s a lifeless film that might pull a few laughs out of the kids, but will leave parents checking their watches.
E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand) is the son of the current Easter Bunny (voiced by Hugh Laurie). His father constantly reminds E.B. of the grand tradition he will join someday, and how important perfection is in all aspects of the Easter celebration. But all E.B. wants to do is play the drums and enjoy life, and as the day of his dad’s retirement approaches, the pressure becomes too much. He packs his drumsticks and runs away. To Hollywood, as one does.
Wandering the streets, E.B. runs into, or rather is run over by, Fred O’Hare (James Marsden). Fred is a nice guy, but he’s jobless and lives with his parents, who are eager to get him out of the house. His sister Sam (Kaley Cuoco) has offered him a house-sitting job, so Fred takes in the talking bunny, who quickly makes his life more complicated.
The real problem with Hop is its almost steadfast refusal to take risks. The visual effects and CGI animation are first-rate – animated characters and scenes of the Bunny’s workshop are lifelike and gorgeous – but there’s nothing interesting in the ideas. Here’s what we learn about the Easter operation: the Bunny runs a gigantic candy workshop on Easter Island, staffed by a horde of baby chicks. He travels the world in a giant egg-sleigh pulled by hundreds of the same chicks. Child-labour concerns notwithstanding, these are only mildly amusing tweaks of the Santa Claus legend. Director Tim Hill and his team of writers had an opportunity here to give us a completely different take on the giving-gifts-to-every-child-in-the-world-in-one-night concept, but they didn’t apply themselves.
The rest of the story doesn’t fare much better. The movie fills time with subplots about E.B. getting his shot on a TV talent show run by David Hasselhoff, and Fred’s quest for the Easter Bunny job. It isn’t until very late in the proceedings that we get any movement, when a coup mounted by head chick Carlos (voiced by Hank Azaria) brings all the characters together to save the day.
It’s hard to fault the performers here. There is a lot of talent on display, doing their best with what they have. Marsden in particular deserves a medal for effort in acting to characters that were inserted later on. But the world will have to go on waiting for its first great Easter Bunny film. Hop simply doesn’t.
Tags: movie review
About the author: David Raitt
David Raitt is a writer and lover of pop culture. He lives in Oakville. He has also worked as an actor for The Second City, and has written, produced and performed his own sketch comedy, including the Canadian Comedy Award-nominated ALL THE RAGE. Semi-retired from performing, he still teaches improv and communications skills to students and corporate groups through his association with The Second City. Check out Dave's website at http://davidraitt.com
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