Hop
Rating: 4/10
Cast: Russell Brand, James Marsden, Hugh Laurie, Gary Cole, Kaley Cuoco, Hank Azaria, The Hoff
Director: Tim Hill
As school holidays lurk around the corner, along with Easter, then it's time to roll out the animated fare at the cinema.
Hop is a part live action, part animated film, starring the vocal talent of Russell Brand, as EB.
A descendant of the Easter Bunny line from Easter Island, EB has a destiny to fulfil - he gets to become the Easter Bunny.
But selfish bunny two shoes EB doesn't want that - like any rebellious kid, he's got his own future marked out - as a drummer.
So running away from Easter Island to Hollywood via a portal, EB runs into Frank O'Hare (Marsden) a no hoper whose continual disappointment to his family has led to them intervening in his life to try and get it on track.
The pair accidentally meet - and EB throws himself into Frank's life - despite Frank's protestations to the contrary.
However, while EB is away, back at the Easter Island factory where the holiday season becomes real, the number two in charge, The Easter Chick, Carlos (voiced by Hank Azaria) is plotting a chicken coup d'etat...(That's not a MasterChef dish or recipe by the way)
Hop is a disappointment.
With a script that hardly packs in many laughs early on, it tries to get by on the charm and roguish caddish ways of Russell Brand and early jokes about the Playboy mansion (just think about the inhabitants if you're struggling).
The animation is charming enough (from the creators of Despicable Me, you'd expect that) but the live action scenes don't really gel. Russell Brand is typically Russell Brand and you can tell the creators have played to his strengths; James Marsden seems a little lost and brings only goofiness to the role.
Don't get me wrong; there are some moments when the comedy comes to the fore and finally reaps the rewards - including a scene halfway in where EB acts like a stuffed toy to get a cuddle from Frank's sister (The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco).
But with laugh out loud moments few and far between in an
average script, this Easter "funny" will play better to the
young.
Even with a cameo from the Hoff (which has more cheese on it than
he likes on his burgers), it's one which the parents may find a
little difficult to sit through. The kids however, will love
it.
Watch the trailer for Hop here.
