Hop (2011) - Wowing animation lifts shallow-sassy comedy

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Tons of candy, bright colors and cute animal characters here attempt to lure kids to demand tickets for Tim Hill's Hop

The Easter bunny's heir is not created for the job and instead of inheriting it he flees to Los Angeles, bringing his dreams of becoming a rock 'n roll drummer with him. Here he meets and teams up with a young (but not that young) human under-achiever. 

 

Hop is written by Brian Lynch (Puss in Boots (2011)), Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (Despicable Me 2 (2013), both) and directed by Tim Hill (Muppets from Space (1999)).

It is a really handsome and wow-filled animation that's upbeat and humorous all the way through. James Marsden (Westworld (2016-22)) seems a little old as the human slacker character, but he has the right energy, just as Gary Cole (Velma (2013, TV-series)) has as his father. Hank Azaria (The Wizard of Lies (2017, TV movie)) gives hilarious voice to a Mexican Easter chick villain (!). 

The precipice between kiddie-appropriate fun and grown-up elements, such as a Playboy bunny ranch and the inclusion of David Hasselhoff (Killing Hasselhoff (2017)) as himself, - is a little steep, and Hop doesn't completely succeed. But the pace is snappy, and Hop is pretty funny and handsome, a good bowl of wacky-forgettable entertainment with fairly broad appeal.

 

Related post:

 

Tim Hill: Muppets from Space (1999) - Under-appreciated Muppet funfest

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 63 mil. $

Box office: 184.3 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.92 times its cost)

[Hop premiered 27 March (Universal Studios, Hollywood) and runs 95 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #1 to a 37.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then another 2 in the top 5 (#3-#4), grossing 108 mil. $ (58.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 12.3 mil. $ (6.7 %) and the UK with 12.2 mil. $ (6.6 %). Hill returned with 3 video and TV credits prior to his theatrical return with The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020). Marsden returned in Straw Dogs (2011); Russell Brand (Trolls (2016)) in Arthur (2011). Hop is rotten at 24 % with a 4.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hop?

Horton Hears a Who! (2008) - Belly-laughs and fantastic imagination in great family animation

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+ Best Fantasy Movie of the Year

 

Amusing animal characters and two giant comedian voice stars are teased on this poster for Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino's Horton Hears a Who!

In the Jungle of Nool the nice elephant Horton finds a speck of dust on a clover, which screams! He learns that a minuscule society live in the speck! But his travails to get them into safety are mighty hard!

 

Horton Hears a Who! is written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (Despicable Me (2010), both), adapting the same-titled 1954 children's novel by Dr. Seuss (The Cat in the Hat (1957)), and directed by debuting Jimmy Hayward (Free Birds (2013)) and also debuting Steve Martino (The Peanuts Movie (2015)).

Dr. Seuss' enormously strange and imaginative story is utilized to make an incredibly funny and thought-provoking, handsome animated family picture here. Pack mentality, showing care and the layout of the universe are on the agenda in Horton Hears a Who!.

Jim Carrey (The Mask (1994)) and Steve Carell (Café Society (2016)) are perfectly cast; the former as the manically positive, physically funny Horton and the latter as the paranoid-fearful Mayor Ned McDodd of Whoville, the town that exists inside the speck. Carol Burnett (Annie (1982)) as the villainous kangaroo and Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express (2008)) as Morton the mouse are also a lot of fun. Horton Hears a Who! is a very quaint and successfully hilarious film.

 

Related post:
 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 85 mil. $

Box office: 298.5 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.51 times its cost)

[Horton Hears a Who! premiered 3 March (Hollywood) and runs 86 minutes. A "seven-figure" amount was paid to Dr. Seuss' widow for the rights to the story. The film opened #1 to a 45 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#4), grossing 154.5 mil. $ (51.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 17.2 mil. $ (5.8 %) and France with 15.4 mil. $ (5.2 %). The film also made in excess of 77.8 mil. $ on home video sales in North America alone. Hayward returned with Jonah Hex (2010); Martino with Scrat's Continental Crack-Up (2010, short), Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2 (2011, short) and theatrically with Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). Carrey returned in Yes Man (2008); Carell in Get Smart (2008). Horton Hears a Who! is certified fresh at 80 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Horton Hears a Who!?

Despicable Me (2010) - Renaud & Coffin's wonderfully conceptualized animation family comedy

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Animation (lost to Toy Story 3) 

+ Best New Franchise of the Year

The infectiously happy, effective poster for Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin's Despicable Me

Gru is an old-fashioned super-villain, who is getting overtaken by young up-and-comer Vector and his shrink ray. To get his cool back, he will have to steal the Moon, using the shrink ray and the help of, among others, his three sweet daughters.

Despicable Me looks somewhat similar to the great Megamind (2010), but it isn't quite as funny. The star-studded voice cast here mainly have the effect of making someone like me wonder which star is what character.
As the three girls move in with Gru, the story gets more sympathetic, although it never attains the heart of some of Pixar's best films, (Toy Story (1995) or Finding Nemo (2003), for instance.) On the other hand, the yellow minions and the hipster villain created here are rather funny.
The Despicable Me animation style and universe is full of fun and colors, 3D eye candy that will woo kids and a general upbeatnes that makes it hard to object to for anyone, though there might be those that will find it too much. I am full of admiration for its well-polished concept; an admiration similar to the one I felt for the first Transformers (2007).
Despicable Me is written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (The Lorax (2012), both) and directed by feature-debuting Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud (Despicable Me 2 (2013)).

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Pierre Coffin: Minions (2015) - Inocuous fun for kids (co-director)
Coffin and Chris Renaud: Despicable Me 2 (2013) - Fun craziness for everyone

Watch the amazing trailer for the movie here

Cost: 69 mil. $
Box office: 543.2 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Despicable Me premiered July 19 at the Moscow International Film Festival and runs 95 minutes. It is the first feature from Illumination Entertainment, and the film was heavily promoted and merchandised through Universal, NBC and connected companies. The general North American release was July 9. The film opened #1 with a 56.3 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it grossed 251.5 mil. $ (46.3 % of the total gross), becoming Universal's biggest domestic hit since The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). It became the 2nd highest grossing animated film in North America of the year behind Toy Story 3, and the 4th highest worldwide, behind Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After and Tangled. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets for the film were the UK with 32.2 mil. $ (5.2 %) and France with 28.5 mil. $ (5.2 %). The film was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Golden Globe, losing to Toy Story 3. Its success spun the Despicable Me franchise that has resulted in Despicable Me 2 (2013), Minions (2015) and in 2017, Despicable Me 3. Despicable Me is certified fresh at 81 % with a 6.8 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Despicable Me?