Directed by Tim Hill. (3/5).
In hindsight, Hop was perhaps the most ridiculous movie I’ve ever been to. Don’t get me wrong; it made for an enthralling and delightful 90 minutes. But it’s hard to take something seriously that has, as its premise, the idea that unbeknownst to all anthropologists, under the great and mysterious moai of Easter Island (duh) lives the Easter Bunny and his splendiferous egg/candy/all-things-bright-and-beautiful factory, which pumps out all the gastronomic delights enjoyed by children the world over come Easter Sunday.
However, what seems at first like lollipops and rainbows soon descends into chaos, as the unimaginatively named “EB” (voiced by Russell Brand, who also makes a cameo appearance later in the film) who is heir to the Easter Bunny role and realm decides that, really, he’d rather be a rockstar instead. On the eve of his coronation he absconds to Hollywood via a nifty rabbit tunnel where he gets into all sorts of mischief. First of all he is rejected by Hugh Hefner, who doesn’t consider him sexy enough for the House, then he bumps into Fred (played by James Marsden, who has impossibly perfect teeth), an unemployed no-hoper looking for an epiphany.
But that’s not all. In a deep and symbolic parallel plot, we discover that all is not well in the Easter Island factory. Carlos, the Hispanic second-in-charge to EB’s dad (the incumbent Easter Bunny) has ambitions beyond his station. He sows a seed of malcontent among his fellow chicken workers, ultimately attempting a coup d’état towards the end of the film.
But of course, this movie isn’t rated PG for nothing – the goodies win out in the end. In fact, everyone ends up so happy it all looks a bit convenient. But I can’t deny that there was a lot of surprisingly legitimate humour, an entertaining guest appearance by David Hasselhoff, and a drumming-bunny rendition of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” which made me want to throw my hands up in the air. It certainly got me in the Easter mood and frankly the whole experience just left me feeling hungry.
Hop
