Hop

image for Hop

Short takes

Not suitable under 6; parental guidance to 7 (violence and coarse language)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Hop
  • a review of Hop completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 18 April 2011.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 6 Not suitable due to violence and coarse language.
Children aged 6-7 Parental guidance recommended due due to violence and coarse language.
Children aged 8 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Hop
Classification: G
Consumer advice lines: The content is very mild in impact
Length: 95 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

E.B. (voice of Russell Brand) is set to take over the family business – the very important role of being the Easter Bunny. However, E.B. dreams of playing the drums in a band and, just before he is given the special magical powers of the Easter Bunny, he makes a run for Hollywood.

Meanwhile Fred (James Marsden), an unemployed 20 year old, is struggling to find his passion in life and has been kicked out of the family home.  When he accidentally hits E.B. with his car, Fred thinks that this talking rabbit is the same Easter Bunny that he saw as a young boy. He agrees to help E.B. follow his pop music dreams by taking him to an audition.

The current Easter Bunny (Hugh Laurie) is worried about the whereabouts of his son so sends out his personal guards, the Pink Berets, to bring E.B. home. E.B. and Fred have to dodge the Pink Berets as they travel round Hollywood.

Things become more complicated when Carlos the chick (Hank Azaria), the Easter Bunny’s main helper, plots a takeover with the aim of becoming the ‘Easter Chick’.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Family conflict; animal distress

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

Hop contains some violent scenes, including:

  • The Easter Bunny is hit across the face by a woman trying to push him out of her shop with a broom
  • E.B. is hit by Fred’s car and Fred then almost hits him with a large rock to finish him off
  • The Easter Bunny’s personal guards, the Pink Berets, are ninja experts and are often seen using martial arts style moves. They also shoot sedative darts to disable a number of characters
  • Large dogs attack and bite Fred while he is wearing a padded safety suit
  • E.B. slaps Fred across the face, asking if he is crazy
  • Carlos hits Fred with the Easter Bunny staff
  • E.B. is almost cut by blades that shape chocolate Easter Bunnies
  • E.B. tries to hit Carlos after he gets the special Easter power and becomes huge. Carlos retaliates by throwing him into boxes and then jumps on top of him.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including:

  • when given the Easter Bunny powers, Carlos transforms into a huge combined chicken/rabbit.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

  • Nothing further noted.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Playboy –the mansion gates with the Playboy logo are shown
  • Cadbury and other branded confectionery.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • At the Playboy mansion gates, E.B. talks on the intercom about being “a sexy bunny”
  • E.B. flirts with Fred’s sister. He calls her a ‘hot babe’
  • Talk about “firm buttocks” and “a wonderful butt”.

Nudity and sexual activity

  • None noted.

Use of substances

  • None noted.

Coarse language

There are some coarse language and insults in this movie that young children may imitate, including:

  • crap
  • jerk
  • loony
  • butt
  • jokes about “poop”, “poo” and “pee”.

In a nutshell

Hop is an animated adventure with an Easter theme. It explores conflicts between the expectations of parents and dreams of children and the consequences that result when these clash.

The main messages from this movie are:

  • to believe in yourself and follow your dreams, rather than try to live up to the expectations of others
  • that by working together we can achieve great things.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • bravery
  • teamwork
  • being prepared to take risks.

Parents may also wish to discuss:

  • the possible negative consequences of taking risks such as running away from home and interacting with strangers.
  • the importance of communicating openly about the conflict between parental expectations and children’s interests.
  • the real meaning of Easter and the Easter Bunny legend.