When your kitty’s left the city, when your moose is on the loose, when your cow has said “ciao,” you need Hitpig.
Hitpig was raised by a pet bounty hunter named Bertha. After rescuing the piglet from a slaughterhouse, Bertha taught Hitpig the biz: Wait for a pet to go missing, track it down, catch it, return it to its owner and get paid.
Hitpig’s never really thought about what happens to those animals after he catches them. Sure, some of them were simply pets who lost their way home. But others, like the dancing elephant Pickles, were forced into captivity.
Pickles has no desire to return to her owner, Leapin’ Lord. His only desire in life is to create the greatest animal act in the world. And if he has to abuse the animals in his act to achieve this goal … well, that’s just how it is.
Pickles wants to return to her family in India, where she was originally stolen from. But the bounty set on her by Leapin’ Lord is enough for Hitpig to retire on.
Will Hitpig do the right thing and help Pickles get home? Or will greed have the final say?
Hitpig certainly sees himself as a big, bad bounty hunter. He’s good at what he does, but over the years, he’s lost his way a bit. The job doesn’t bring him joy like it used to when he worked with Bertha. But in a dream sequence, he realizes that Bertha never did the job for the money. Her goal was always to return lost animals to their loving owners, regardless of what those grateful owners paid her. Ultimately, this renewed sense of purpose encourages Hitpig to do the right thing by Pickles.
Pickles, having never lived outside her cage, makes friends everywhere she goes. She’s kind to people simply because she’s excited to meet people. And she teaches Hitpig that friendship is about having each other’s backs and forgiving even when someone makes a mistake.
The film’s main message is that friends are the family you choose. Several characters learn what it means to be a hero.
A few characters are nuns, and there are several jokes about nuns.
A polecat slaps his own rear after learning that he breaks radioactive wind. There are several references to his and others’ rumps throughout the rest of the film. A parachute is made out of many people’s underwear—and later, a man’s voice asks for the return of his thong.
There is a joke about dating apps. We hear that cargo originally containing two rabbits now also contains 27 of their offspring. Two older women high-five after their breasts lift in zero-gravity. There’s a joke about male genitals.
A rooster lays an egg in a television show. He later complains that his third wife ran off with a penguin. Hitpig wears a dress as a disguise in one scene.
A couple of characters are killed (one via a ravenous crocodile and two others by literally flying too close to the sun), but these deaths are kept mostly offscreen, suggesting more than stating their untimely demises. Several background characters are seemingly crushed by debris.
Pickles nearly drowns, but Hitpig keeps her alive by breathing air into her trunk. A lobster is almost boiled to death on a cooking show, but Pickles prevents that from happening, too.
The film depicts several instances of animal abuse at the hands of humans. Scientists conduct radiation experiments on a polecat, grabbing the poor guy by his neck with a set of metal tongs. We learn TV producers sewed a costume to a rooster’s skin. Leapin’ Lord stole all the animals in his act, locking them in cages when they aren’t performing and even depriving some of food when they disappoint him. He employs a crocodile as his enforcer, threatening to let it eat the other animals when they refuse to obey.
Slapstick violence is this film’s main source of humor. Pickles is particularly unaware of the collateral damage she causes (such as several car crashes that ensue when she walks into the street). Hitpig uses a variety of non-lethal weapons to capture other animals, including a gun that shoots nets and tranquilizer darts. Many animals get into a fight in a bar.
When that radioactive polecat passes gas, we see a mushroom cloud, though nobody appears to be injured. Other animals affected by radiation sport mutations. Airport security officers tackle a woman when she says “balm,” thinking she said “bomb.” Many people nearly die when Leapin’ Lord rockets them into space without a return plan.
Several characters hit Hitpig to make themselves feel better.
None, but there are several substitutions for profanities throughout the film, including “heck,” “dang it,” “son of a beach nut” and “for the love of goon bag.” And there are other colorful expressions, such as, “Hot truffles!”
One scene takes place in a bar. We see several characters (human and animal) drinking alcohol.
Throughout the film, we hear a number of jokes about how much characters weigh. Bathroom humor and other bodily function gags are also sprinkled throughout the film. As mentioned already, a polecat gets the power of super-flatulence after being exposed to radiation.
An animal-rights activist unlawfully liberates several creatures from admittedly cruel conditions throughout the film. (And at least some of these animals were stolen to begin with.) Some characters gamble in Las Vegas. Hitpig’s van is towed from a no-parking zone. Leticia hacks Hitpig’s bank account, stealing all his money (which she says she’ll put toward a good cause).
We learn Leapin’ Lord squandered his family fortune. It’s his dream to continue his family legacy by creating an amazing animal act; but rather than treat his animals kindly, he abuses them and makes increasingly poorer choices throughout the film that lead to his failure.
Several characters lie. There are several rude exchanges between Hitpig and the sarcastic AI built into his van.
I went into Hitpig! hopeful for a funny, animated kids’ movie. And while the film is certainly animated, I’m not sure it quite hit the mark on those other two hopes.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing super egregious about Hitpig! But the film is largely predicated on toilet humor and slapstick violence that little kids will easily latch onto.
Language isn’t exactly a problem either. That said, there are several phrases that kiddos are gonna hear and likely parrot, much to their parents’ chagrin.
And then there are also several adult-focused jokes mixed into the film. They’ll fly over the heads of most younger viewers, but they’re completely unnecessary and uncalled for in a children’s film.
So really, Hitpig! turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. And there are certainly many other films out there more worthy of your family’s time.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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