Hop – movie review

When it comes to holiday-themed movies, there aren’t really that many about the Easter Bunny, which I always thought was a shame because the Easter Bunny is one of my all-time favorite holiday characters. When I was a kid, I used to write him letters to tell him what candy I wanted for Easter. This history was the whole reason I wanted to see Hop, which turned out to be a cute movie that put magic back in Easter.

The very first thing I have to talk about is Easter Island. We all know Easter Island and those giant heads, but in the world of Hop, that’s not all there is. Inside of one of those heads is the Easter candy factory, where the candy for all the Easter baskets in the world is made. This setting mixes all the magic and wonder of Santa’s workshop with the wonder of seeing all the candy in Willy Wonka’s factory. The Easter Bunny even has a sled powered by chicks. Right away, this movie made Easter one of the magical holidays that every child should look forward to.

Hop had a fun soundtrack, and it almost had to since EB drummed to most of the songs. It also had funny moments based completely on the fact that EB was a talking rabbit. The best of these moments occurred when EB wanted to know why David Hasselhoff wasn’t at all concerned that EB was a talking rabbit, and The Hoff casually mentioned that his best friend was a talking car. Speaking of David Hasselhoff, he didn’t have much screen time, but when he was on screen, he stole the show.

Russel Brand played EB. EB was just absolutely funny. He wants to be a drummer instead of the next Easter Bunny. He guilts Fred into giving him a place to live for a while and finds ways to take advantage of whatever situation he’s in. EB and Fred have good chemistry together. Russel Brand really brings EB to life, and the fact that he’s a real-life comedian showed, as EB was quick to deliver one-liners.

James Marsden played Fred. Fred is a human who decides that he wants to be the Easter Bunny. He doesn’t decide this overnight, but it does become his career goal. Fred is funny just because things seem to be more obvious to him than other people, whether it be that talking rabbits are weird or you can eat through black licorice. It’s not the best role Marsden has ever had, but Fred is still a likable character.

Hugh Laurie was EB’s dad, the current Easter Bunny. The fact that Hugh Laurie was British in the movie was automatically awesome. The Easter Bunny is a typical career-minded dad who only sees the error of his ways after his son runs away, and you can feel the care that the bunny has for his son. EB’s dad is my second favorite character in the entire movie.

Hank Azaria was Carlos, an evil chick who wanted to take over Easter. Carlos was just funny to watch when he tried to get the role of Easter Bunny legitimately, but somehow got funnier as he turned full-on evil. His Easter Bunny training parallels that of Fred, and it’s a very fun sequence to watch.

Overall, Hop is a very adorable Easter movie that families can enjoy together. It’s really cute, it’s pretty funny, and it adds a magic to the holiday that was previously only held by Christmas. I already look forward to watching it again before Easter is officially here.