Hop (film)

Hop is a 2011 American 3D live-action/computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and released by Universal Pictures, directed by Tim Hill and produced by Chris Meledandri and Michele Imperato Stabile. The film stars Russell Brand as E.B., the Easter Bunny (Hugh Laurie)'s son who would rather drum in a band than succeed his father as the Easter Bunny; James Marsden as Fred O'Hare, a human who is out of work and wishes to become the next Easter Bunny himself; and Hank Azaria as Carlos, an evil chick who plots to take over the Easter organization. Hop was released in theaters on April 1 and grossed $185 million against a $63 million budget. The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus calls it "impressively animated" but "uninspired".[6] This was the only live action/animated film made by Illumination.

Hop
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTim Hill
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story byCinco Paul
Ken Daurio
Starring
Music byChristopher Lennertz
CinematographyPeter Lyons Collister
Edited by
  • Peter S. Elliot
  • Gregory Perler
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures[2]
Release date
Running time
95 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$63 million[4]
Box office$185 million[5]

Plot

On Easter Island, an optimistic, young, British-accented talking rabbit named E.B. is intended to succeed his father as the Easter Bunny. Intimidated by the calling's demands and ignoring his father's orders, E.B. runs away to Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming a drummer. His father sends his royal guards, the Pink Berets, to search for him and bring him back. Meanwhile, E.B.'s father's Italian-accented second-in-command Carlos the Chick plots a coup d'état against him to take over Easter.

In Van Nuys, E.B. is hit by Fred O'Hare, an out-of-work, job-hopping slacker who was driving to his sister Sam's boss's house to house-sit, while his parents forced him to move out. Feigning injury, E.B. persuades Fred to take him in as he recovers, but when E.B. causes trouble, Fred attempts to release him in the wilderness. E.B. persuades to help him by claiming to be the Easter Bunny, whom Fred as a child had witnessed delivering eggs.

E.B. sees the Berets closing in on him and hides inside a business where Fred is having a job interview. E.B. enjoys a successful recording session with The Blind Boys of Alabama as their substitute drummer, but ruins Fred's job interview. In the process, E.B. gets a tip about a possible audition for David Hasselhoff, who invites him to perform on his show.

Afterwards, Fred attends his adoptive younger sister Alex's school Easter pageant with E.B. hiding in a satchel. E.B., alarmed that the Pink Berets have apparently found him due to the three bunny suit shadows on a wall and disgusted by Alex's awful rendition of "Peter Cottontail", dashes out and disrupts the show, forcing Fred to feign a ventriloquist's act with E.B.'s cooperation as his dummy and leading the show in singing, "I Want Candy". Both Fred's father Henry and Alex are angry about the upstaging, but Fred is inspired to be the Easter Bunny himself. Although skeptical, E.B. agrees to train him and finds that Fred has some genuine talent for it. Meanwhile, Carlos inspires the chicks to uprise the bunnies and begins training to become the Easter Bunny, or, Easter Chick, but seems to lack the qualities an Easter Bunny needs.

As the Pink Berets close in on him, E.B. prepares a decoy to fake his death and leaves for Hasselhoff's show. The Berets see the decoy and, horrified that Fred has apparently killed E.B., capture him and take him to Easter Island. Fred is confronted by E.B.'s father and Carlos, however Carlos pretends to be upset about E.B.'s death, silences Fred when he tries to tell the truth, and seizes control of the Easter factory, tying up E.B.'s father and placing him and Fred to be boiled alive. Meanwhile, E.B. starts to feel guilty for acting selfish and leaving Fred, and is convinced by Hasselhoff on his show to go back and help his friend.

E.B. races back to the factory. He confronts Carlos, but is immobilized in gummy candy and tossed into the chocolate bunny carving line. E.B. survives by dodging the blades of the machine, while Fred eats through the black-licorice ropes, escaping with E.B’s father, who couldn’t eat through due to the poor taste of the candy.

Carlos, now a chick-bunny combination due to the magic of The Egg of Destiny, battles with E.B. and defeats him easily due to his size. Carlos then tries to lead the Egg Sleigh out with his sidekick Phil directing, but E.B. improvises a drum session that drives Phil to uncontrollably dance to the beat and provide the wrong signals, causing the sleigh to crash and subdue Carlos. E.B. apologizes to his father for his selfishness, and he and Fred are crowned co-Easter Bunnies, while Carlos is forced to pull the Egg Sleigh.

In a post credits scene, Fred is seen successfully delivering an Easter basket to exactly the same Chinese woman who had an unpleasant interaction with E.B.'s father in a previous scene. When E.B. asks what the woman said, Fred explains to E.B., in perfect Mandarin, that the reason why it is difficult to deliver Easter baskets in China is because of talking rabbits being intimidating to Chinese citizens. E.B. is surprised that Fred can speak Mandarin.

Cast

The cast in order of production notes listing:[7]

Live-action actors

Voice cast

Production

E.B. was designed by Peter de Sève, most famous for the work on the Ice Age characters.[8] The CGI animation of the film was made by Los Angeles-based Rhythm & Hues Studios.[9]

The theme song ("I Want Candy") was performed by Australian pop singer Cody Simpson.

Release

Marketing

Universal teamed up with 92 major companies to promote Hop, including Holiday Inn, Krispy Kreme, Lindt, Kraft Foods, The Hershey Company, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Comcast, Kodak, Hallmark, HMV and Burger King.[10] The premiere of Hop took place at Universal Studios Hollywood on March 27, 2011. James Marsden, Russell Brand, Kaley Cuoco, Hank Azaria, Gary Cole, Elizabeth Perkins, Hugh Laurie, David Hasselhoff, Cody Simpson and costumed characters of E.B., Carlos, Phil and the Pink Berets all attended the event.[11]

Home media

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released Hop on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on March 23, 2012, in North America,[12] and on DVD and Blu-ray Disc back on August 29, 2011, in the United Kingdom.[13] The US Blu-ray Disc/DVD combo pack also features an original short film titled Phil's Dance Party.[14]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Hop received an approval rating of 25% based on 137 critics and an average rating of 4.33/10. The critical consensus reads: "It's impressively animated, but Hop's script is so uninspired that not even James Marsden's frantic mugging can give it any bounce."[6] It is the lowest-rated Illumination film on the site to date as of 2019. Metacritic gives the film a score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on a scale of A+ to F.[16]

The subplot involving Carlos the Easter Chick was considered to be insensitive to Mexican Americans by one reviewer.[17][18] Peter Debruge of Variety called it "hilariously un-PC".[19]

Box office

Hop opened at #1 at the Friday box office in the U.S. and Canada, earning $11.4 million, beating Source Code and Insidious, two other films that opened that weekend.[20] It then topped the weekend box office with $37.5 million, then making it the 2nd highest opening weekend in 2011 behind Rango, until Rio came out.[21] It also topped the box office in the United Kingdom in its opening weekend, with £1,392,740.[22] Hop held onto the #1 spot in the U.S. and Canada for its second weekend, with a 42% drop, and grossed $21.4 million.

During its second week, it beat the four new nationwide releases, Arthur, Hanna, Soul Surfer and Your Highness.[23] In the 2011 Easter weekend, Hop increased 13.7% from its third weekend, with a gross of $12.5 million, and crossed the $100 million mark in North America, becoming the third 2011 film to reach this mark after Rango and Just Go with It.[24] Hop earned $108.1 million in North America and $75.9 million in other countries, bringing its worldwide total to $184 million.[5] It is the lowest grossing out all of Illumination's films.

Accolades
YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
2012 Annie Awards Character Animation in a Live Action Production[25] Andrew Arnett Nominated

Other media

Video games

A video game adaptation based on the film was released exclusively for the Nintendo DS and published by 505 Games.[26][27]

Doodle Jump game

In 2011, Doodle Jump launched a Hop-themed game app for the iPhone.[28] On March 18, the TV advertisement for the game was posted onto YouTube by the film's official YouTube channel.[29]

Books

Five books based on the film have been released:[30]

  • Chicks Versus Bunnies: a children's paperback picture book
  • Hop: The Chapter Book: a story book based on the film's plot
  • Hoppy Bunnies: a children's board book with finger puppets
  • Hop: Meet the Easter Bunny: a paperback picture book about the Easter Bunny's workshop
  • Counting Chicks: a hardcover picture book

Other merchandise

A large range of licensed merchandise was released in connection with the film, including toys, stuffed animals, many sorts of candy, T-shirts, cookie decorating kits, baked goods and other products from Kraft Foods. Some items were available exclusively at Walmart stores.[31] Burger King launched a line of Hop-themed toys included in their kids meals throughout April 2011.[10][32]

Original score soundtrack

The film's official thirty five track original score soundtrack (from Back Lot Music) was released in stores on April 5, 2011. However, on iTunes it was released a month earlier in March.[33]

References
  1. "Hop (2011)". British Film Institute.
  2. "Hop". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  3. "HOP (U)". British Board of Film Classification. March 15, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  4. Kaufman, Amy (March 31, 2011). "Movie Projector: "Hop" will jump over rivals this weekend". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  5. "Hop (2011)". Box Office Mojo.
  6. "Hop". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  7. Production 2011, p. 2.
  8. Lesnick, Silas (June 26, 2010). "Hop's Rabbit Designed by Peter DeSéve". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  9. Liu, Ed (December 18, 2010). "Toonzone Interviews Chris Meledandri on "Despicable Me"". ToonZone.net. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  10. Fleming, Mike (March 31, 2011). "Universal/Illumination Easter Bunny Film 'Hop' Springs 92 Promo Partners". Deadline Hollywood. PMC Network.
  11. Schneider, Sue (March 30, 2011). "Exclusive Photos: HOP World Premiere at Universal Studios Hollywood". AssignmentX.
  12. "Hop". Tribute.ca. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  13. Heron, Ambrose (August 29, 2011). "UK DVD & Blu-ray Releases: Monday 29th August 2011". FILMdetail.
  14. Universal Studios Home Entertainment (January 9, 2012). "Start a New Holiday Tradition With the Family Comedy Hit From the Creators of Despicable Me". PR Newswire. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  15. "Hop Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  16. "Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  17. Shore, John. ""Hop": So Racist It Hurts – John Shore Christian Blog". crosswalk.com.
  18. Rubin, Michael (April 1, 2011). "Review: Hop". 34th Street. Archived from the original on April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  19. Debruge, Peter (March 31, 2011). "Hop". Variety.
  20. Young, John (April 2, 2011). "Box office: 'Hop' dominates Friday with $11.4 mil". Entertainment Weekly.
  21. "'Hop' Jumps to No. 1 Spot With $37.5M Debut". ABC News. Associated Press. April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  22. Reynolds, Simon (April 5, 2011). "'Hop' edges out 'Source Code' at UK box office". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  23. Young, John (April 10, 2011). "Box office report: 'Hop' holds off four newcomers to win weekend with $21.7 mil". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  24. Gray, Brandon (April 25, 2011). "'Rio' Edges Out 'Madea' Over Easter Weekend". Box Office Mojo.
  25. Giardina, Carolyn (February 4, 2012). "'Rango' Wins Annie Award for Best Animated Feature". The Hollywood Reporter.
  26. "Hop (Nintendo DS): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  27. "Hop: The Movie Game Now Available". GamersHell.com. March 31, 2011. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  28. Nelson, Jared (March 16, 2011). "Movie Crossover Game 'Doodle Jump: Hop the Movie' Launches for Free". TouchArcade. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  29. "Hop – Doodle Jump Trailer" (YouTube). www.iwantcandy.com. March 18, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  30. Fleishhacker, Joy (March 8, 2011). "Watch and Read: 'Candy, Chicks and Rock 'N' Roll'". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  31. Graser, Marc (March 16, 2011). "Universal teams with Walmart for 'Hop'". Variety. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  32. "Club BK – Latest Toys". Burger King. Archived from the original on January 26, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  33. "iTunes - Music - HOP (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Christopher Lennertz". Itunes.apple.com. March 29, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
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