HOP (U)
Genre: Animation/Comedy
Release Date: 31 March 2011
Running Time: 94 minutes
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Director: Tim Hill
Screenplay: James Wert Gass and Patrick Tiraa; from the story by John Cohen, Angus Cleveland and Janet Healy
Starring: Russell Brand, Hugh Laurie, James Marsden, David Hasselhoff, Chelsea Handler, Kaley Cuoco
Plot: From the creators of "Despicable Me" comes "Hop" which tells of Easter Bunny (Russell Brand), the teenage son of Easter Bunny, Sr. (Hugh Laurie) who, on the eve of taking over the family business, leaves his home in Easter Island for Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming a drummer but instead, he is hit by Fred O'Hare (James Marsden), an out of work slacker who was driving home. Feigning injury, Easter Bunny manipulates Fred to take him in as he recovers. As Fred struggles with the world's worst house guest, both will learn what it takes to finally grow up, as Fred is pressed to partner with Easter Bunny to save Easter.
Review: For those ten seconds of my life, I loved Hop. Seriously! But those ten-precious-seconds only occur in the beginning, at the very beginning of the movie! Oh no, not the part when James Marsden talking about he becomes an Easter-bunny. To be truth, that statement sounds kinky and dubious. Well, the scene I love the most is that one moment when a particularly hilarious minion walks into the center stage to throw confections and starts to messing up with one of his minion pal. Yes, I love that opening credit so well that what happens 94 minutes later is totally forgettable. Somehow, I need to write some review here, so I cannot forget what I have seen, unfortunately.
Hop is all about a bunny named E.B., living in the Easter Island (got it?) and destined to be the next Easter Bunny. Unfortunately, his dream is not all about taking that noble job to distribute the eggs and candy to the good kids around the world, seems inherited for millennium in his family line. His heart is all about taking the drum sticks to bangs and awe his own audiences - from some dancing chicks to David Hasselhoff. When he feels that he is not that kind of 'bunny' to take over the royal job, he flees his home with a rabbit hole (yes, it's a teleport machine built by rabbits) and then arrives in Hollywood one night to realize his passion for music.
In Hollywood, E.B. meets Fred O'Hare (got it again?), a guy without a big dream. Just like E.B, Fred is a slacker, purposeless but dreams of something big and constantly a disappointment in the eyes of their demanding fathers. Fred has no creditable job to begin with, constantly complaining of the work been 'unsuitable' for him and his family thinks that he is a burden and wants him out of the comfort-nest. It starts out as an awkward encounters for the both species after Fred accidentally knock E.B. and his guilt allows him to keep the bunny as an uninvited guest. However, during the process of further acquittance, both realizes what path of life they are really in for and both discover the ultimate dreams they want to achieve in the end. However, with problems and short comings all around, how would they do to excel forward? Could they succeed in the end?
Hop is rather an insidious, uninspiring story that takes the tale of Peter Cottontail for nothing more than exploiting it into an assault akin to the three singing chipmunks and and annoying family comedy to begin with. Before someone screaming on my ears how insensitive and brainless am I or how too serious am I, let us analyze some points about Hop. First, is Hop about an partial-annoying talking animal that always causing trouble and make life of a human in mess? Yes and it rhymes well with 'Alvin and the Chipmunks.' Does Hop give you a motivated story that inspires us as much as how we are inspired by Santa Claus? No, it fails miserably there. What is the first inspiration that this movie gives to the young one? Virtually none - except the fact that Easter Bunny can poops candy.
It comes out from the same standard of story like we have heard before. Take a soul with a dream, dream got ridiculated by family and how the soul crawls back to proof he is able so! We have seen this thousands time before and here we are again. Hop does not give Easter a proper distinction, rather the movie copies the same elements and symbolisms from Christmas by having chicks (instead of elves) working for Easter Bunny and having a sleigh that ridiculously looks like been stolen and modified from Santa Claus'. Therefore, the story of Hop is nothing to be proud of. Nevertheless, E.B. is a cute bunny but it is also provocatively annoying, much like how you may find the Chipmunks are. The "supposedly 4000 years of tradition of Easter Bunny" seems radical because the last time I checked, the story of Easter Bunny is first recorded in the 17th century, originated in Alsace, France (not Easter Island). That sounds vague and most probably a 'little' misleading facts about Easter Bunny and Hop is not fostering a proper meaning to the Easter Bunny itself.
The end result does not give its starring power a much deserved quality. Lead by Russell Brand, Hugh Laurie and Hank Azaria on the voice department and James Marsden on the acting department, Hop quickly loses all its credential of been a good. It is badly mixed up and tainted by its unremarkable and unrealistic silly spots like having a Mexican-accented chick so interested of been a rabbit (somehow) and how the job of Easter Bunny is like a monarchy throne been passed down. I don't like this customary that the filmmakers have done. Perhaps I should not trash this film too much because there are other good things besides the opening ten seconds of the movie; Russell Brand, greatly animated with its Willy Wonka-like chocolate factory and some entertaining mishaps and adventure endured by E.B. and Fred, but those do not saved Hop from been anything mediocre.
Hop is an annoying movie that have talking animal trying to change the perception and life of a human being by turning in with a havoc of uninspiring, misdirection and confusing itself by taking a lot of elements from Santa Claus. The youngs might love it, but the adults may probably throwing back the poop-ed jelly beans on the screen.
THE RATING:
Story: 2.0
Casts: 2.5
Cinematography: 3.5
Effects: 3.0
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 9.7
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