Do You Believe in the Easter Bunny? -- James Marsden and Russell Brand on Easter Bunny Philosophy

Opening in theaters April 1st, Hop is a new family comedy and the first big Easter-themed movie we've seen in a long time. The movie follows the story of E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the energetic teenage son of the Easter Bunny. E.B. is set to become the new head honcho of Easter, but this bunny marches to the beat of his own drum. Literally. So, he sneaks away from Easter Island and hops off to Hollywood, where he hopes to fulfill his dream of becoming a drummer.

Now, with all of the cute and cuddly Easter characters -- not to mention a fanciful depiction of the Easter Bunny's factory that will make your mouth water -- this holiday film is sure to incite general excitement about the Easter Bunny. But maybe you, or your kids, still need some convincing. When we sat down with James Marsden and Russell Brand for a round table discussion about the movie, they had some interesting insights into the existence of that fabled bunny that might just do the trick...

Asked about whether or not his 10-year-old son still believes in the Easter Bunny, James Marsden hit us with a little Easter "eggs-istentialism" and shared some of his own family's beliefs and traditions:

"My 10-year-old son is a believer. He hears things from kids at school, but my wife has been really good about that. My wife still believes. She's said, "My father taught me that if you believe in it, it's there." When she grew up, her family would play Christmas songs and have hot chocolate and there would be a fade-in sound of hearing bells from the distance and a glowing red light in the middle of the forest. Santa really put on a show for her, so we do a lot of that. Our principal is if you believe it, we try and make it as magical of an experience as possible. Santa makes the experience as magical as possible. We believe it. My wife believes, so the kids do."

So there you go. We have the ability to control our own realities. If we believe it, it's real. Or, if you're still unconvinced, try arguing with the logic of one Russell Brand. Here is what he told us when asked if he believes in the Easter Bunny: "I believe in the possibility of all things because of the nature of infinite space. If the universe is infinite, that means, inevitably, all possibilities exist. So, somewhere, there is an Easter Bunny. Somewhere else, there's a one-legged Easter Bunny. Somewhere else, there's a robot Easter Bunny. There's an Easter Bunny crossed with a Darth Vader because of infinity. With infinity, everything would occur."

• Read more about the characters from HOP and our interesting discussions with James, Russell, and Kaley Cuoco in the HOP character gallery

• Find out more about the movie: Hop movie trailer, synopsis, and fun facts

(Photos © Universal Pictures)

*Big thanks to Universal for providing travel and expenses for me to attend the screening of Hop and the press junket interviews. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

Family Films