HOP [Up coming Movie]

"Hop" is a little jelly bean of a movie — sweet, absolutely lacking in nutrition and most likely to appeal to a 5-year-old.

Actually, "Hop" is nearly as much a marketing opportunity as an actual film. One can only shudder at the potential here for cuddly dolls and candy bars.

The first thing to understand about the film is that it's more "Alvin and the Chipmunks" than "Finding Nemo." Or "Despicable Me." Or "How to Train Your Dragon."

In other words, parents watching "Hop" may find themselves considering self-strangulation early and regularly.

Russell Brand voices the film's main rabbit, E.B., a furball who's in line to be the next Easter Bunny but would rather become a rock drummer.

So E.B. runs away from Easter Island (where all the candy is made by chicks who apparently never turn into chickens) to Hollywood, and immediately runs into (literally) an aimless slacker named Fred O'Hare (James Marsden, looking a bit old for slacking at 37, but game nevertheless).

After the two share wacky adventures in a Hollywood mansion and E.B. auditions for David Hasselhoff (it's that kind of movie) they eventually have to join forces to fight off a revolution on Easter Island led by a power-mad chick named Carlos (Hank Azaria), who's the best thing in the movie.

Director Tim Hill (who actually is responsible for "Alvin and the Chipmunks") knows he's playing to the tiny seats here, even though he throws in occasional phrases like "coup d'etat" just to confuse the kindergartners, and Brand gets off a few good lines.

But "Hop" is just too shrill, slick and sickly sweet for anybody's good. Watching it won't rot your teeth, but it could leave an ugly cavity in your brain.