What if the Easter Bunny did not want to be the Easter Bunny? That is the premise of the new holiday film Hop.

Instead of following his destiny in taking his spot as the Easter Bunny from his father, EB (voiced by Russell Brand) decides to run away to Hollywood in search of his big break as a drummer in the music industry. Once there, EB meets Fred O’Hare (played by James Marsden). Fred is aimless in his future and is searching for something big, but doesn’t know what yet. The two become friends and roommates, and help each other discover their purpose in life.

Hop is from the filmmakers that brought us instant classics such as Garfield : A Tale of Two Kitties and Alvin and the Chipmunks, and you are correct if you sense sarcasm. The animation is bright and done well and somehow they populated the movie with very capable actors in Hugh Laurie, Elizabeth Perkins and Hank Azaria. James Marsden and Russell Brand do their very best with what they’ve got too. However the movie is just plain lazy when it comes to its story.

The movie wasted a lot of its time on boring and senseless scenes that really don't propel the story anywhere. Hop also counted on obscure guest appearance to generate laughs, like David Hasslehoff (whose guest appearance in the Spongebob Squarepants movie was leagues funnier). Even the end that involves battling an evil chick hellbent on taking over Easter is a snooze with absolutely zero imagination. And the worst part is the Easter magic is based off old Christmas movies including the Easter Bunny flying a sleigh and having the chicks work like elves and act like reindeer.
 

Ultimately the movie is not made for adults, but for kids; so the real question is will kids like it? The answer is yes, but I don’t think they will love it. It will be mildly amusing to children under 11, but like their parents, they will forget most of the movie about an hour later. It’s unfortunate too because the premise of Hop is not bad and it’s not like there is a huge glut of Easter movies available unlike Christmas. It would have been interesting to see what Hop could have been if it were made by a more creative team like Pixar or Dreamworks Animation. In its current state, adults will sleep through the movie and kids will be mildly amused at best. Too bad.

FILMS LIKE HOP – Alvin and the Chipmunks, Yogi Bear, G-Force and Tooth Fairy

Justin Buettner is Style's resident movie dude! How did he get this role? Well, he graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Arts in film Production and a duel minor in Animation and Business with an emphasis in the entertainment field. He later went on to work on several independent films in various key roles including writer and later worked in the special effects field as a motion capture artist. He has since relocated to the Sacramento area with his family and continues writing for small independent films in addition to his movie reviews for Style Magazine.