 |
| Source: Animation World Network |
The pinnacle of 2010’s animation (seriously I didn’t think that genre existed anymore in the present-day), Hitpig!’s juvenile humor makes for a fine screwball comedy at times, yet a good majority of it is dull, unsatisfactory, and dated.
Screwball and anything-goes, the humor is all over the place. In the first 5 minutes alone, the film immediately overwhelms you with low-effort jokes and lazy dialogue. Pop culture references, fart jokes, and incongruence are galore in this with repercussions for all audiences over toddler age. While some sequences were funny to my low-brow intellect, these are few and far between and don’t serve any thematic or narrative reason. Take the climax, for example, which involves Hitpig and his crew, a superpowered chicken and a nuclear skunk who can produce immense farts, in space to save Pickles the elephant from captivity. Another “highlight” (if I may even call it that) is when Pickles accidentally presses the big eject button on an airplane, thinking it’s a bathroom door. Amusing but low-brow, this kind of comedy at least knows its audience, but that’s not saying much in the era of hyper-stylized entertainment.
Jason Sudeikis’s overly masculine Hitpig is a fine kids' movie’s protagonist, as his gruffly plain tempo results in limited likeability at first. His and Pickles the Elephant’s relationship, when it’s cared about, is standard yet slightly heartwarming to witness as the latter truly discovers the world for the first time. Behind this, the story is subpar, with rushed emotional development, random plot events, and a weird focus on unnecessary gizmos and gadgets.
Produced by Aniventure, the CGI-style is dry as can be, yet contains palatable art direction and movement. With Hitpig being as tiny as he is, it’s quite easy to notice flexibility and squash-and-stretch in his proportions. The erratic motions of “Super Rooster” are also a highlight in my book, with his whole character being the most nonsensically unique part of the film for me.
Overall, Hitpig! is a subpar animated outing filled with rough jokes, weak emotional development, and tropelike plotting, despite it having decent performances and exaggerated characters.
My Rating: 3/10 🍿🍿🍿
Now playing in theaters!
A VIVA PICTURES RELEASE
Comments
Post a Comment