Hitpig is a pig hired by humans to bring back their escaped animals. It’s not easy, but it’s a living! His latest hit is Pickles, a naive but
vivacious elephant who has escaped the clutches of an evil Vegas showman. Though Hitpig initially sets out to capture the perky pachyderm for big cash, the unlikely pair find themselves on an unexpected adventure criss-crossing the globe that brings out the best in both of them.
- Based on the book Pete and Pickles by Berkeley Breathed.
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I was a fan of Berkeley Breathed from back when he was producing “Bloom County” comic strips for the newspaper. Then, I watched his Christmas special A Wish For Wings That Work (TV), and I knew he could bring his characters Opus and Bill to the small screen. Then he brought Mars Needs Moms to the big screen… and I never actually got around to seeing it. So, when his latest, Hitpig, popped up on streaming, I had to check it out. Would it be as good as Opus and Bill, or was this never going to hit its mark?
Jason Sudeikis voices the title character in Hitpig, and does a decent job of it. Unfortunately, he’s about the only actor that’s recognizable, which is really surprising. Rainn Wilson, for example, has a rather distinct voice, as does Andy Serkis, Flavor Flav and RuPaul – but none of them stand out amongst the cacophony. They all, aside from Sudeikis, just blend in – which is super disappointing with this cast.
While the children’s book “Pete & Pickles” might have been charming, the story translated to the big screen in Hitpig will be way too familiar for most audiences. Everything is spelled out way in advance, so there’s nothing but nonsensical things to surprise the viewer. This one is really too straightforward, with the viewer knowing how this will end basically from the get-go. The only thing they don’t know is what odd sequences the movie will toss in along the way.
And those sequences in Hitpig are mostly just nonsensical. Whether they are on an airplane, a hot air balloon or even a rocket ship, these goofy characters just bounce from one odd sequence to the next. While this can be fun (and little kids may enjoy it), for most of the audience, it’s just a bunch of goofy animation for basically no purpose. Each scene fits in the film, but viewers will wonder why those particular scenes are in there – other than to just be goofy.
Of course, the animation has to be mentioned in an animated film like Hitpig. While there are some decent close-ups, the rest of the animation is just okay. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s just… meh. There’s nothing here that stands out or sets this apart from, say, an episodic animated kid’s show. And since viewers can see that for free, why pay to see this?
With the tired plot, characters the audience can’t be bothered to care about (including an elephant who’s supposed to be ditzy but comes off more as brain damaged), and animation no different from a kid’s weekly cartoon, there’s probably a reason why Peacock set this up with commercials dispersed throughout. Despite its theatrical release, Hitpig feels no different than an overly long episode of a cartoon series. Nothing sets it apart – it’s just kind of run-of-the-mill. And with very little humor for adults to grab onto, this is meant for a really young audience – yet has moments of death in it that might be too much for them. With so many good animated films out there, this one so misses the mark so much it’s just not worth it.
