Hop Along

I wanted to write a review of Hop this weekend. I had it all planned out too. My tickets were bought and my favorite movie companion was by my side. But as we munched our popcorn, the Bean got a little spooked and we had to bail after a half-hour. That’s not to say the movie was scary or bad. The portion I saw was neither. But as we parents know, sometimes kids will react in unexpected ways and we must adapt.

A lesser blogger might allow these dashed plans to completely derail a post. But not me. I’ve decided to write a review of the one-third I saw of Hop.

I was excited for Hop for a few reasons, the biggest being that it comes from producer Chris Meledandri who last year gave us Despicable Me, a flick that I adored. Outside of Pixar, there are very few studios that turn out consistent quality animated movies. Dreamworks Animation is the most prolific, but they too often cram their movies with unnecessary pop culture references over solid storytelling. Meledandri knows that movies need to have equal parts heart, character and cuteness. Hop had cuteness in spades. Upon seeing the young bunny, E.B., for the first time on screen, a little girl behind me cooed out loud, “awww, he’s so cuuuute!”

Before I go on, I should tell you this—I’m not a big fan of rabbits. Ever since an ex-girlfriend of mine had a horrible pet rabbit, I’ve been leery of the mammals. To put it bluntly, this bunny was an asshole. It would rattle its cage, demanding to be fed. And when it was given fresh food, it would purposely overturn it’s bowl and start rattling its cage again. My list of grievances goes on, but for the sake of this review, let’s just say that in the wake of my relationship with this woman the only bunny I retained any love for was Bugs.

That said, I have to hand it to Hop. E.B. is really cute with his big anime eyes, twitchy nose and beautifully rendered fur that actually looks silky soft on the screen. It also helps that he is voiced by comedian Russell Brand, who has a way of conveying charm and empathy in even the most unlikable of characters.

Hop is a live-action/animation hybrid and more than a few times I’ve seen it put in the same category as the Chipmunks or Garfield movies. Thankfully, I think this is an unfair comparison. While a lot of the movie does involve cartoons interacting with humans, the world of Easter Island is totally animated and is as original as it is stunning. The Easter Bunny’s colorful candy factory rivals anything Willy Wonka could dream up. While the story of Hop is fairly traditional, it’s touches like these, in addition to funny side characters like the chicks and the Pink Berets, which keep the movie feeling fresh. At least in the third that I saw.

Making good on the comedic promise he’s shown in movies like Enchanted, James Marsden serves up a goofy charm and although The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuaco doesn’t factor much into the first act of the movie, she’s a welcome presence. Based on the trailer, I assume that she plays a bigger role in later in the movie and I bet her scenes with E.B. are a lot of fun.

I guess the best thing I can say about the first 30 minutes of Hop is that I want to see the rest of the movie. While it may not be as clever as some family fare out there, it succeeds in all the right places. Someday I’ll catch the rest of it.