“HOP” | Bunny tale
PG. 1 hour, 34 minutes. Russell Brand, James Marsden. At area theaters.
“Hop” has one of the cutest bunnies you’ll ever see and plenty of other eye candy among its computer-generated visuals, yet there’s not much bounce to the story behind this interspecies buddy comedy.
Letting bad-boy Russell Brand supply the voice of the Easter bunny sounds like a promising way to add spice to a warm and fuzzy family flick. Too bad the movie winds up about as bland as carrot-flavored jelly beans, and its gooey sentiment and hare-brained gags are likely to appeal only to very young kids.
Directed by Tim Hill, a veteran at blending live action and digital animation on “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties,” “Hop” skips and jumps between the fantasy land beneath Easter Island, where rabbits and chicks manufacture holiday candy, and the human world of Fred O’Hare (clever character name, huh?).
Fred (James Marsden) is a grown-up slacker living with his parents, who hound him to get a job and move out. Down under Easter Island, young Easter Bunny (voiced by Brand) is about to take over the family business from his dad, but dreams of becoming a rock ‘n’ roll drummer.
Written by the “Despicable Me” team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, along with Brian Lynch, “Hop” mostly is a lot of slapstick adventures between the bunny and Fred. They gradually form a kinship, find common ground and go through all the other usual things that arise when man befriends rabbit.
The animation is the movie’s strong point, presenting a rainbow-colored world that should satisfy young children’s cinematic sweet tooth.
