Review: Hitpig! wraps a call for kindness in a snappy adventure

Hitpig! (exclamation point courtesy of the title, not from my particular excitement), the latest release from Viva Pictures, is also one of the distributor's best. I had a hunch they might be betting a little bigger on it than they usually do with their movies. Usually, Viva's releases don't generate much attention. They hit a few theaters, play very few showtimes, and disappear. I imagine most of the money comes on the other end, with digital rentals, maybe streaming deals? I'm not sure. But Hitpig! has been advertised a lot more than most of Viva's movies. It might actually be their first movie where I saw the trailer in theaters, which is crazy considering how many animated movies I see. Nevertheless, the film's footprint still seems pretty small. At my theater, it's only playing a couple showtimes each day, and I imagine it'll be gone soon. So I'm glad I caught it (along with the two other people in my showing) today.

Part of the appeal here is the pedigree of talent involved. First and foremost, the film is based on an original story by Berkeley Breathed, the Pulitzer-winning cartoonist behind Bloom County and Opus, amongst other works. (Eagle-eyed viewers might notice a Bill the Cat cameo during the movie.) I imagine Breathed's involvement might've helped the film attract such a starry voice cast, led by Jason Sudeikis as the eponymous porcine bounty hunter. Sudeikis is a great fit for the character, delivering a lot of his dialogue with a world-weary here-we-go-again-ness, but bringing the warmth in just right measure when needed.

Hitpig, we learn early in the film, was trained by a famed pet bounty hunter who helped owners recover their beloved, missing friends. Through a brief montage, we see Hitpig's training from a young age, including receiving his signature jacket from an American Girl store and learning how to cook. It's a sweet origin story that rolls into Hitpig having to go solo, continuing his work on a larger scale, trotting around the globe and saving up a healthy nest egg. He has an eye on retirement, where he dreams of being able to cook for a living. His passion lies in the kitchen, not on the trail of missing animals.

On the other side of the equation is animal rights activist Letícia, often the one freeing the animals that Hitpig finds himself hired to capture. It's a sort of Batman/Joker dynamic, one's work leading to the other's. There's an ironic bent to it, as the human wants to help these animals while Hitpig helps return them to captivity. Herein comes the film's theme, courtesy of a koala Hitpig drags back to a petting zoo: Animals deserve to be free. It's a simple message that will resonate with most viewers and is easy for kids to appreciate, and certainly supported by the film's depictions of various animal cruelty, in labs and on stages. It's a call for kindness and respect wrapped in a fun adventure. Exactly what you want from a family-friendly film.

The main mission here is the recovery of Pickles the elephant, part of the Leaping Lord's pathetic circus act. He's from a family of famed performers but is a total buffoon himself, and treats his animal co-stars horribly. After Letícia frees Pickles, things go a little haywire and she ends up in Hitpig's custody. She carries a hefty bounty on her head, enough for Hitpig to retire on, so it's clear what he means to do.

Pickles is, in a word, a mess. Because she was raised in captivity from a young age, she is totally unequipped for the world. She's a clumsy agent of chaos, poking and pulling and prodding and basically making every little thing into a huge disaster. But she's super sweet and charming, always donning a good attitude and always happy to go for it, even when she very much shouldn't. She's a bit aggravating, which honestly enhances the theme: even a bumbling, ill-equipped elephant like her deserves a good life, and a free one.

So the film becomes a little game of cat-and-mouse, with a healthy dose of deception. Hitpig is trying to get Pickles back to Vegas, while Pickles thinks she's being escorted to India to (hopefully) find her family. Meanwhile, Letícia is on their trail, trying to free Pickles once again. There are some really fun set-piece moments, including a silly blowdart battle aboard a plane, and some hot-air balloon acrobatics. The film has a fun sense of humor after it burns through a couple dozen pop-culture references in its early scenes. From there on, it settles into a lot of solid sight gags and funny physical comedy, including some gravity-defying excitement in its final act.

I really liked this dude.

Along the way, some fun supporting cast members are introduced, including a very cute (mute) mole and a lobster who resents having almost been cooked by Hitpig. Hitpig seems to be the only animal character who can speak with humans, maybe because of his upbringing, or maybe out of plot convenience. It's not super clear. But it doesn't really matter. The character designs, and the animation overall, don't particularly pop -- any given character could be from a dozen movies at a glance -- but it gets the job done. Nothing bad, just a bit underwhelming. 

When the film ended, I found myself hoping for another adventure with these characters. There's a fun rag-tag quality to the cast assembled here, an unlikely found family that is stronger together. I'm sure there are plenty of animals out there who could use their help, so here's hoping we see them again.