Critics aren't exactly hopping mad about the live-action/animated Hop , but they are firing at it as if they were Elmer Fudd blasting another rabbit. The main character in the movie is called E.B.; he's actually the son of the Easter Rabbit. His principal expertise is producing jelly beans -- he poops them. Kyle Smith in the New York Post says that if "that idea doesn't fill you with seasonal joy, neither will the rest of the movie." In the Orlando Sentinel , Roger Moore dutifully summarizes the plot, then remarks "All well and good. But would it kill a writer or three to find a couple of laughs in all this?" Wesley Morris in the Boston Globe remarks, " Hop may have taken years to design and animate, but it feels as if minutes were required to compose it. Some critics are not quite so harsh. A.O. Scott in The New York Times quotes his own son's reaction to the movie "It was better than ALVIN And THE CHIPMUNKS ." Adds Scott "I don't think I can improve on that assessment." Robert Abele in the Los Angeles Times gives passing marks to the movie's "middle of the road" intentions, its narrative, its computer animation, and its vocal talent led by Russell Brand as E.B. and Hugh Laurie as his father. "The only thing missing is any real wonder, imagination or comic verve," he writes. And Claudia Puig in USA Today actually finds the movie a delight. You're almost certain to see this quote from her in coming ads " Hop will win audiences over with its goofy charm."

01/04/2011