Hop review

Cute rabbit E.B (Brand) lives on Easter Island where his dad (Laurie) is the Easter Bunny, who makes sure all the chocolate eggs are made and then delivers them to kids’ doorsteps with the help of an army of fluffy yellow chicks (in something that looks like a sleigh – couldn’t the movie designers have come up with a flying egg or something?). Rebel teen E.B would rather play drums than inherit dad’s job, though, so one night he pops down the island portal that leads to the rest of the world, and finds himself in Hollywood. Almost run down by young loser Fred (Marsden), who is house-sitting a luxurious mansion, E.B invites himself in, makes a mess, but in the end convinces Fred he’s just a misunderstood rabbit whose dreams would be fulfilled if he could just show off his drumming skills on a reality TV show called Hoff’s Got Talent (with, of course, David Hasselhoff as judge).
Directed by Tim Hill, who expertly mixed animation and live action previously in Alvin And The Chipmunks, this is very cute stuff (who wouldn’t love a bunny who poops jelly beans) that really benefits from a superb vocal performance from Russell Brand as E.B, and a hilarious one from Azaria as chick Carlos, who is planning a coup to take over the Easter Bunny factory. Marsden, while a little old for the role of slacker, really has fun here, too, and manages not to get upstaged by a big furry bunny. While the movie needs a little more humour in places and could have done without annoying ninja-style girl bunnies coming after E.B, all in all this is a really enjoyable holiday movie that should amuse even the littlest kids and the biggest adults.