One spectacular thing about holidays is that amongst other fun activities to make the occasion memorable, there are always a bunch of movies to watch. Every holiday season, the entertainment industries would release new movies while TV stations and cable channels would rerun the old favourite ones.
Every Easter holiday, I look forward to spending time with my family and watching some movies. There aren't many fun-filled and entertaining Easter movies. The common ones are biblical and Christian themed like Ben-Hur (2016), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Passion Of Christ, I Can Only Imagine (2018) etc.
However, one particular exciting and fun movie stands out. It's a movie everyone in the family can watch at Easter including the little ones — Hop (2011)
Hop is one of the best entertaining and kid-friendly Easter movies around and sadly, one of the underrated ones. It is a live-action, comedy/computer-animated movie directed by Tim Hill who is also the brains behind Alvin and The Chipmunks kids movie.
Hop is about a rabbit named EB, short for Easter Bunny, who is actually next in line to become the Easter Bunny. Easter was close by and his father wanted him to be the next Easter Bunny, so he gave him a constant reminder. But EB (voiced by Russell Brand) was bent on becoming a drummer/rockstar in Hollywood rather than running around and delivering baskets full of treats for the occasion.
EB runs away and accidentally meets a young man called Fred O'Hare who was trying to get a job and put his life together. A bond was formed between these two and they worked together to discover themselves and at the same time save Easter from the yellow chicks who were determined to take over the candy and coloured eggs factory.
Review
This movie is a fun, family entertainment and it's sad that it was poorly rated by movie critics and viewers. According to Wikipedia, "...it is the only Illumination film that combines live-action photography with animation." Yet, the ratings were low and many viewers had unpleasant things to say about it.
This movie is so fast paced and entertaining that I felt like it ended too soon. I wanted more! One of the scenes I enjoyed in this movie is the Easter Bunny warehouse where the chicks make candies for Easter treats. It's colourful, exciting and reminds me of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory!
The animation is outstanding, with bright colours and backgrounds, the bunnies and chicks look adorable, and the live-action sequences and editing were beautifully rendered.
The characters are all likable and engaging, especially EB. I find him endearing and vivacious. Russell Brand did great with his performance. In fact, the collaboration of Hugh Laurie, James Marsden and Russell Brand brought out the humour in the movie.
The only part I found odd in the movie is the comparison between Christmas traditions and Easter. They referred to the Easter sleigh and we know there's nothing like that. Sleighs apply only to Santa Claus and Christmas. It kind of rubs this movie of some originality.
Over all, it's an amazing Easter movie that I'll gladly recommend for the holidays.
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