HOP

I don’t care what anyone thinks: I thought this comedy-for-kids was cute and funny and, like the candy at its core, unexpectedly sweet.

Is it the most sophisticated live-action/animated film ever? No. Will it win the Best Animated Feature Oscar next year? Highly doubtful. But is it fun and harmless and entertaining? I certainly thought so.

Directed by Tim Hill, whose last big-screen effort was the absolutely dreadful Alvin and the Chipmunks, this comparatively charming film tells a story as fluffy and simple as a Peep: E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the teenaged heir to the Easter Bunny throne, would rather be a drummer than circumnavigate the globe delivering eggs. When the time comes for him to succeed his retiring father (voiced by Hugh Laurie), E.B. high-tails it off Easter Island and heads to Hollywood to pursue his musical dreams.

There, he jumps into the seemingly parallel life of his human equivalent: Fred O’Hare (James Marsden), a directionless slacker whose father (Gary Cole) regards him as something of a disappointment. At first terrified of the talking rabbit, Fred soon becomes his reluctant ally, shepherding E.B. to auditions for David Hasselhoff (appearing as himself) and helping him elude the nefarious “Pink Berets” – a trio of martial-arts wielding girl bunnies who work as the Easter Bunny’s royal guard.

Meanwhile, back at Easter Island, the Easter Bunny’s bitter, long-suffering second-in-command chick, Carlos (voiced by Hank Azaria), plots to overthrow the entire empire and assume the Easter crown himself with the help of his fluffy yellow comrades.

Brisk and silly, Hop is aimed squarely at, I would say, the four-to-eight-year-old set. It’s bright and colorful, and its humor is painted in broad but very child-friendly strokes. Everything’s fairly basic and easy to follow (and predict) but, in this instance, that was fine with me.

Marsden apes for the camera and is amped to 11 much of the time, which makes sense considering he has to hold the audience’s attention up against the formidable comic brilliance of Russell Brand in bunny form. As with many an animated comedy, having strong supporting players is also key. The rest of the human cast is fairly disposable, save for a brief but refreshing cameo by Chelsea Handler as a gaming-company exec, but a goodly amount of the big belly laughs (for me) come from the pint-sized inhabitants of Easter Island.

Specifically, Carlos.

He’s insanely cute and so very angry – a perfectly hilarious combination, in my opinion – and his enraged Napoleon complex makes for some of the film’s funniest moments.

Again, this isn’t a high-brow film. There are cannons that shoot chocolate sauce and a bunny that poops jelly beans. But kids will probably love it. Heck, the fantastic opening sequence, detailing the Easter Bunny’s elaborate, gargantuan candy factory, had even me sitting wide-eyed and smiling in my seat. And, unlike Alvin and the Chipmunks or other likewise offerings geared towards pre-teen audiences, this movie is very clearly, and quite unapologetically good-natured, aiming to do for Easter what many of its ilk have done for Christmas.