Review of Hop: As a bunny person and bunny RESCUE person

I went to go see "Hop" tonight.  It's pretty rare that I actually shell out the 10 bucks to see a movie in the theater these days, but it had to be done with this one!  I was super excited to see a movie about a bunny, but at the same time I'm worried that it will cause people to go buy a pet bunny on impulse - the "101 Dalmations Phenomenon".  I am happy that Universal Pictures put this message on the Hop website:

Now, I don't precisely agree with the statement that "rabbits don't make good family pets", but hopefully this will deter people from buying their kids an Easter bunny.  Buns can certainly make good family pets - in the right situation with proper care.  Of course, an impulse Easter bunny for a 3 year-old that ends up exiled to an outdoor hutch is NOT the right situation.

As a bunny person, I internally squealed (okay, maybe out loud a few times) at all the cute, fluffy little bunnies.  Yup, the movie was adorable.  I'm a sucker for those little wiggle noses and big cotton tails!  I thought the story was cute & clever.  This is a movie I will have to own!  The animators did a great job of creating talking rabbits that still looked fairly realistic!  They hopped like bunnies, wiggled their noses like bunnies...so yeah, I loved it!

What did I think as a bunny rescue person?  Well, honestly I felt that kids would be more drawn to buying action figures from the movie than real bunnies, which is a good thing.  Apparently there are Hop toys available at Wal-mart, which seems to be a good thing to me!  I'm fine with the kiddos playing with bunny action figures!

I grew concerned at a scene where Fred, the main human character, became fed up with E.B.'s antics, and tried to "release him into the wild".  My immediate thought was, "Oh no no no...please don't show him dump E.B. to get rid of him!".  Well, my fears were allayed!  When Fred tried to dump E.B., they cut to closeups of rattlesnakes, hawks. and big dogs.  E.B. made a comment that "there's a lot of carnivores out here!"  I hope this scene will make people think twice before releasing a domestic rabbit into the wild.  Kudos to the studio for making that point!

I do rather wish they hadn't shown E.B. eating candy and whole carrots...I guess we can't win them all.  They did throw in a correct fact about rabbits, however.  I nearly fell over laughing when E.B. told Fred that "for a while, the sight of a colored egg made me want to vomit.  And rabbits can't physically vomit!!"  That's a 100% correct fact, folks!

All in all, I thought it was a really cute movie.  I truly hope that it won't be the cause of any impulse purchases of Easter rabbits that will later be dumped.  As I said, I think the movie is more geared to action figures and such, but you never know.  It's up to the discretion of parents.  I hope they will make the right decision.  Please, if you are considering a rabbit for a pet, research the proper care of these wonderful creatures before bringing one into your home.  Visit the House Rabbit Society website for great care information.  And please, if you do decide to bring a pet rabbit into your life, think adoption!!  Make Mine Chocolate!