What I look for in animated films are quality visuals, a sense of humor and plenty of imagination. Anything more than that is just an added bonus to me. While Hop — out this Fri., March 23 on Blu-ray and DVD — lacks that something extra, it does makes good on all three of the aforementioned qualities.
Hop crosses an animated world with live action planet earth, although earth and any semblance of reality seem to remain mutually exclusive for the 95 minute runtime. The story goes that Fred O’ Hare (James Marsden, human form), a young man suffering from failure to launch syndrome, became the first human to hold the position of Easter bunny. A variety of absurdly convenient plot points leads to Fred meeting E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the furry little son of the Easter Bunny (Hugh Laurie) who has fled his home and Willy Wonka-like candy egg factory back on the animated Easter Island because he is not yet ready to take the job from his father.
Instead, E.B. wishes to pursue a career as a drummer, and makes way to Hollywood in search of musical stardom. After an ill-fated attempt to take up residence with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion (E.B. is a bunny, after all), the little guy finds himself crossing paths with Fred, who happens to be down the road mansion-sitting for his sister’s (Kaley Cuoco from Big Bang Theory) boss.
Man and bunny bond over their daddy issues and the fact that they both haven’t lived up to their full potential. Meanwhile back on Easter Island, as the Easter Bunny tries to locate his son in time for the holiday (by sending out a team of female militant bunnies cleverly called “The Pink Berets”), he is meticulously being undermined by his right-hand man, a fat chick named Carlos (a Spanish accented Hank Azaria).
Hop’s premise and plot are preposterous (read: imaginative) of course, but they also happen to be very funny. There’s quite a bit here that appeals regardless of age, as I found myself genuinely laughing more during Hop than I have at some straight comedies in recent memory. Aside from the humor, Hop’s likeability largely depends on the team of Marsden and Brand. Marsden dials up the hammy performance to a perfect level, and Brand, keeping his voice basically the same though slightly more childish, brings E.B. to life as a reasonably annoying yet endearing character. The God-given vocal talents of Laurie and Azaria utilized in supporting roles (Azaria voices two roles, actually) go a long way, too.
Critics flicked rabbit pellets at Hop upon its theatrical release back in April 2011, but it grossed more than $100 million in theaters and was no bomb at the box office. It’s difficult to pinpoint just one reason for its lack of success among critics. A great animated film can be funny and entertaining while also getting me teary-eyed by the finale, and Hop certainly misses the mark on pulling at the heartstrings like a Toy Story, Wall-E or even Despicable Me. But I found that it does most everything else right, and that to not find any enjoyment or entertainment out of a talking, drumming bunny with a voice of Russell Brand is a difficult thing to do.
The Blu-ray picture quality is superb, and the included special features are almost as enjoyable as the movie. The extras include traditional features like character analysis and mini-games that can be played individually or with a partner (a common feature among animated films new to Blu-Ray), to relatively fresh ideas, including a “talk show” where Brand and Cuoco interview youngsters about their thoughts on the movie and a breakdown of the film from the perspective of Carlos and Phil, two character both voiced by Azaria. There’s quite a bit more content included, the best part about them being that each one is kept short. I sometimes have the attention span of a child (who doesn’t?), so keeping extras concise is a thing to be appreciated.
In the end, your money could be spent on worse things than Hop on Blu-Ray.
This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2012.