Hop Movie Review (2011) – A mildly funny, predictable and strange film that is an obvious combination of Willy Wonka and Santa Clause!

The last film for this month is a doozy of a film called “Hop”. It is an odd amalgamation of Tim Allen’s Santa Clause and Willy Wonka…but make it Easter and give it an incredibly weird antagonist. This one is not great by any means, but it did have a few jokes that landed and some decent acting!

Overall, not the worst film we have watched this month, but not exactly great either. This is a strange one that left us feeling mildly bored, and mildly amused.

We will do everything we can to not give too many spoilers in this review but there are likely to be some, so please take that into consideration and read cautiously.

Let us begin!

The film begins with a montage of oil paintings depicting different Easter bunnies from different time periods. Then we get a voice over from one of our main characters, discussing the Easter Bunny and the Easter traditions of eggs, baskets, candy, etc.

There is a sense that they are trying to make the Easter Bunny seem like a noble creature with a very noble cause. We think we can all agree that candy is awesome and Easter/Ostara/Spring Equinox is a fun holiday to celebrate. But it felt silly trying to give the Easter Bunny so much gravitas.

We learn through the voice over that one of the main characters, Fred O’Hare, (James Marsden), (yes, they really did give him that last name), is the first ever human Easter Bunny. We see his portrait, it fades and is replaced with the name of the movie, HOP.

Next we are rushing over open ocean water towards Rapa Nui, Easter Island. There is a drum beat playing in the background as we zoom in on a little rabbit playing bongo drum on top of a statue.

He is adorable and completely into playing his drums. His father, Easter Bunny Senior, (Hugh Laurie), calls to the little bunny. “E.B.!”

Young E.B. (Django Marsh), leaps off of the statue into his father’s loving arms. E.B. Senior offers to allow E.B. to go to work with him. E.B. eagerly agrees! They take an elevator down into the secret Easter Bunny factory.

The factory is filled with chicks as workers, and looks like a combination of Willy Wonka’s factory and the Santa Clause workshop. They even have a candy river, candy trees, etc. It was a bit hard not to see it.

We get a montage of candy being made, and E.B. is beside himself with joy watching the factory run. There is a distinctly classist feel to the film, the chicks do a lot of the menial work while the other bunnies that work the factory appear to be higher up in operations.

 We do want to acknowledge the animators that worked so hard on this film. While the film itself is not a favorite of ours at all, the animation is very good especially for the time that it came out.

When we are FINALLY done with the candy and factory montage, E.B. Senior tells E.B. that the whole factory is going to be his one day! He is going to take up the mantle as Easter Bunny one day!

E.B. is thrilled and they go on a tour of the factory. While on the factory tour E.B. gets sidetracked by the marshmallow candies. He starts grabbing them off of the machinery and eating them.

An angry chick comes up to correct E.B. explaining to him that we do not eat the candy, we merely make it. E.B. is flustered and taken aback with an armload of marshmallow’s he is backing away from the frustrated chick.

E.B. Senior comes to the rescue, apparently the chick is named Carlos (Hank Azaria), and E.B. Senior considers him to be his right hand man. E.B. Senior explains that E.B. is only taste testing the candy. He proceeds to take one of the candies from E.B. and eats it.

He finds the candy not up to snuff and tells Carlos he needs to fix it. He turns to E.B. and tells him that they, “can’t make mistakes.” This is not great messaging for anyone, much less a child. This makes E.B. very nervous, but his dad is dismissive and they continue on with the tour.

While they continue on the tour Carlos makes his resentment towards E.B. obvious by glaring at them walking away, and muttering sinisterly under his breath. “Little bunny…”

Cut to a shot of the night sky and a large full moon. We are in Van Nuys California, and see a shooting “star” go across the night’s sky.

The camera pans over a neighborhood and focuses on a house, with O’Hare on the mailbox. We then see a little boy sleeping in his bed only to be woken up by some noises coming from outside.

Getting out of bed, the little boy goes to his bedroom window and watches an egg shaped sleigh…yes a sleigh, like for winter… there’s no snow…anyway, the sleigh is being pulled by a bunch of magical chicks…not chickens, chicks.

This was such a blunt rip off from Santa Claus. It is odd to see an Easter sleigh…it makes no damn sense. But we digress!

We see E.B. Senior hop out of the sleigh, open the sleigh, and collect eggs to hide around the yard. The little boy in the window is amazed and spellbound. He rushes down to the backyard only to find nothing…everything is gone!

Everything except, a couple of Easter baskets, a chocolate bunny, and eggs hidden throughout the yard…back to the mailbox and house…but it is now 20 years later.

We see a family at a dinner table, the parents, 2 adult children, and a little girl. The dad, Henry, (Gary Cole) is asking some basic questions about how everyone is doing. The little girl, Alex, (Tiffany Espensen) and the older sister Sam, (Kaley Cuoco), both have some exciting but normal things happening for them in their lives.

The dad then proceeds to say passive aggressively, “Good to hear that two of my kids are working so hard.”

The eldest son, Fred (James Marsden), picks up on this but pushes past it and continues to eat his dinner. His father then pointedly asks Fred about a job interview that he went on. Fred speaks honestly about how the job was not what he is looking for.

His father then tells him that the only thing that matters is if the job pays. Fred is clearly just trying to eat dinner…but his family all start to look at each other nod, and pull out what appears to be hand written letters.

They then proceed to read these letters out loud to him. This is apparently an intervention! An intervention for him being jobless, listless and directionless? His father is the most aggressive one out the family, telling him that he “needs to get a life.”

Fred tries to defend himself. He apparently had a job but the company he worked for downsized and he was laid off. This did occur a year ago, but it is not easy out there. Job hunting is soul sucking to say the least and he is interviewing!

The family says some more rude and hurtful things. They discuss what a loser Fred is, and how he needs to be “shoved” out of the nest.

Sigh. The scene is well acted, and feels real so we will give it that. This family is way out of line, especially the parents…Dad in particular.

It is annoying to listen to and watch. Fred does not need a snarky, passive aggressive, and unkind intervention. What he needs is a supportive family; and therapy so he can get some genuine help, work on himself and figure some things out.

He does not know what he wants from life just yet. He does not know what kind of work will suit him best or what will be fulfilling for him. Is he a privileged white man? Yes, but we can all relate to feeling lost and unsure about who we are or what we are doing.

Fred is not perfect by any means, and he does need to work on himself but the “intervention” was completely useless, rude, and obnoxious. It is evident that his Dad believes that one’s worth is tied directly to money, and their job.

Barf. We just want to remind all of you wonderful people that this is simply untrue. We are not defined by what work we do or our bank account. It is antiquated thinking.

That scene right there is a big reason why holidays are so difficult for a lot of people. It is exhausting, disheartening, and painful having to sit around a dinner table filled with “family” who claim to care about you, but seem to only be concerned with how well you fit into their idea of you or societal norms. We feel for you Fred.

Moving on! We are back at Easter Island with E.B. listening to some rock music and playing on a full drum set!

Senior E.B. enters E.B’s bedroom, and they have a brief discussion about E.B’s passion for drumming. E.B. has no interest in being the Easter Bunny, all he wants to do is drum!

Senior E.B. informs him that he has no choice in the matter, and angrily leaves E.B.’s room. Later that night E.B. has packed a back pack and is leaving the island! There is a rabbit hole on the island that is a portal of some kind.

Why would they need the portal…if the use an egg sleigh to go around the world to give out baskets and hide eggs? Why not just use the portal to get around? What is it even there for?

We do not know…anyways! E.B. chooses L.A. California so he can become a rock star and hops down the portal rabbit hole and up into L.A. at the Hollywood sign!

Cut back to the O’Hare house, Fred has his own back pack that he packed and he is leaving the house. He does not even seem angry, just resigned. He is apparently not all that surprised that his parents have shoved him out of the house.

His sister follows him, and tells him that while she is not supposed to help him…she is going to anyway. He is hopeful that she is going to give him some money… but what she got him is a job interview! Fred is not enthusiastic about the interview. But Sam is able to talk him around. Fred knows that he needs to figure himself out, and he is going to try to change.

He claims that he is going to be a completely new man by Easter which is in 2 weeks! A bit of obvious foreshadowing there.

We here know how difficult sustained behavioral change is. It really is not that simple, and again we really feel that Fred would greatly benefit from therapy. Therapy is hard work but it is wonderful and worth it!

Moving forward, Sam tells Fred that she is housesitting for her rich boss and that instead of sleeping in his car, Fred can housesit for her. She gives him firm instructions on where to go and how to be in the house and Fred eagerly gets in his car to head that way.

Cut to…the playboy mansion? We see E.B. talking into an intercom at the playboy mansion. He thinks that this must be a house for actual bunnies! He is reading out a description of the playboy mansion bunnies from a tourist map to the intercom. “I am both a bunny and incredibly sexy!”

Suffice it to say, he is not allowed in. But we got a good laugh from that scene! It is silly but genuinely funny!

Next we get a montage of E.B. wandering around L.A. looking forlorn. He finds his way to Beverly Hills and is walking across the street when Fred hits him with his car. E.B. is ok…but he pretends to be injured hoping that Fred will take him in.

Fred, thinking that the rabbit is mortally injured, picks up a large stone and is preparing to ease E.B.’s passing. Terrified E.B. scrambles backwards yelling “NO!”

He talks at Fred, and freaks Fred out! Fred thinks that he must be hallucinating and runs into Sam’s boss’s mansion. A confused E.B. follows him into the house and continues to talk to Fred.

Fred believes that E.B. must be a hallucination but on the off chance that E.B. is not in his mind…he will let him stay in the house with him until he is no longer “injured.”

We are going to wrap it up from here, E.B. manages to convince Fred that he is not only real but he is the Easter Bunny! Fred is ecstatic about this because he is the little boy from earlier in the film! He always believed that what he saw was real!

E.B. has no interest in truly being the East Bunny, and just want to drum. He needs Fred’s help to become a drummer. Fred and E.B. get themselves into a series of mishaps, and silliness throughout the film while being pursued by “pink berets.”

The pink berets frustrated and confused us. They are a convoluted, Easter themed Special Forces group made up of…you guesses it: bunnies. They were only there to create some tension and were overall really bad at their jobs!

Fred finally figures out what career he wants! But Carlos, the large chick back at Easter Island, is planning a wacky coup so that he can become the Easter Bunny himself!

The rest of the movie is at best, ok. There are some other jokes that hit, and the overall acting is decent throughout the movie. The way they ended the film is both awkward and a bit cringe. Also, we have to say that the story writing is relatively cheesy, weak, transparent, and shamelessly influenced by other movies.

While we did not loathe this movie, we also did not love it. We got a few laughs out of it, and some fun with the drinking game.

Overall, unless you are someone that just really loves corny holiday movies that do not have to make sense, but there’s a few laughs to be had, then this is a good movie for you!

We give this movie 2 out 5 Easter martinis!

Hop Drinking Game

Take a sip anytime:

1.     There is a chick on screen

2.     There is an Egg/Eggs on screen

3.     There is a carrot on screen

4.     Easter is mentioned

5.     There is an Easter basket on screen

6.     There is a chocolate bunny on screen

7.     E.B. plays the drums

8.     E.B. is obnoxious

9.     Convoluted/unnecessary Special Forces bunnies appear, “Pink Beret’s”

10.  Fred's dad is a douche

What did you think?? Did you like the movie? Did you hate it!? Do you have suggestions for films we should consider?! Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly!