Hop

Running Time: 95 minutes.
Media: DVD.

Be warned, I did give this movie 2 stars. Why? I mean sure, it's got cute little bunnies, cute little chicks, well... a whole heap of cute little chicks and one larger Spanish speaking chick; and Kaley Cuoco... but it kinda screws up within the first minute of it playing.

James Marsden does a little narration, only to throw in the biggest spoiler of the movie some thirty seconds into the movie. To me, it sounds like a bit of a dig. Why give it away? I don't know why Universal Pictures thought this was a good idea... After all, the focus, according to the previews of this movie that  had seen was all about our furry friend here, E.B., played by Russell Brand. It eventually gets turned around to be a stronger focus on Marsden's character of Fred O'Hare, a slacker in Hollywood who lives with his parents, Gary Cole and Elizabeth Perkins.

Now, I was under the impression that this movie was meant to detail E.B.'s strain with his father, a real square, and the Easter Bunny, played by a very not-so-square Hugh Laurie, who wants to pass the torch down to E.B. and make him the Easter Bunny Elect so to speak. E.B. is not so happy with the idea, wanting to be a famous drummer. And dammit, there's only one way he can do it, by leaving Easter Island (what a brilliant location for the Easter Bunny and his son!) and going to Hollywood to make his dreams come true.

E.B. meets up with Fred and causes a little chaos for him, only for Fred to still help him with getting onto Hoff Knows Talent, a talent show in which it seems David Hasselhoff has stripped away possible co-hosts and plans on doing the job himself. And speaking of which, Carlos, the second in command to the Easter Bunny, wants the head job himself... only to really do away with sending kids chocolate eggs and candy, only to replace it with bird seed, dried crickets and worms... Now, while I appreciate Carlos' thoughts on nutrition, and I admit, crickets are nicer when they're deep fried (they taste like chicken), I'd rather have the chocolate. E.B. and Fred do what they can to stop Carlos' reign of error (that's no typo, it actually says "error", play on words), only for both E.B. and Fred both being given the title of co-Easter Bunnies... Trust me, I'm not spoiling it for anyone here, Marsden gave it away at the beginning of the film. I'm actually surprised to see it come to bear fruit at the end of the film.

Where to begin, where to begin... Okay, good points... Number one, Russell Brand's portrayal of E.B., brilliant choice in casting, I wouldn't have picked anyone else... but the funny thing is, I didn't really think it as Russell's voice, it was just a beautiful meld of fur and funny... Russell Brand is pretty much the rock star of the comedy world; and E.B. is the rock star of the bunny world. It's a nice smush of characteristics and it goes so well... like... fried eggs and Tabasco sauce...

Number two, Kaley Cuoco, she's cute, and she's got a lot of promise, and in this film she's Fred's sister... But sadly, she's not in the film as much as I would have thought... the film does focus on Fred and E.B. a lot but not much on the supplementary characters... a bit of a disappointment, but it's nice to see Cuoco in something other than The Big Bang Theory...

Number three, Hugh Laurie as the Easter Bunny... He's regal, majestic and carries the fate of Easter on his ears... I mean, shoulders... And yet he can put a brilliant spin on a role as equivocal as that of the Easter Bunny... Just as good as Mr. Bunny as he was as Dr. Cockroach, PhD in Monsters vs. Aliens.

Bad points... Gary Cole and Elizabeth Perkins, it's great they've been portrayed as parents, but it all seems so damn bubblegum... it honestly made me want to go back in time to the 1980's and barf... A movie like this... no, but I could honestly see these two being recast as Ward and June Cleaver in a new Leave it to Beaver movie.

Next bad point, Tiffany Espenson as Alex O'Hare, Fred's adopted younger sister... nice idea, but no... She's meant to be cute, adorable and more cute and more adorable... Please cue the puke noises again... I understand that she was there to add further character development to Fred because she was only there because of some play where she plays "Peter Cottontail" with tone deafness, but that's all she is, padding...

Next bad point, Fred wants to be the Easter Bunny? He wants that job?? The logic of this is kinda sick... inclusive of him hanging onto a twenty year-old chocolate bunny that was given to him upon seeing E.B.'s dad when he was like, six or something... Twenty year old chocolate... honestly? Who does that?

Final bad point, and this kinda poops on the whole concept of Easter,  and Christmas in the one go... more so than E.B.'s ability to poop candy jellybeans... The Easter Bunny drives a sleigh, at night, pulled by a bunch of magical flying yellow chicks... I can only shake my head at this in disappointment in response.

Hop runs for 95 minutes, which tends to put it in the children's maximum enjoyment level before they want to go play outside or before they ask mommy for a McHappy meal. I actually liked parts of it, but not all of it... the only real stars in this were Brand and Laurie; everyone else kinda brought it down several levels. Granted the animation is fantastic, as is the interaction between Marsden and a cartoon bunny, but that's as far as the enjoyment goes... As a result, and as much as I want to poop on a movie starring both Hugh Laurie and Russell Brand, Hop gets a two star rating.