After a stream of duds like The Wild (2006), I stayed away from animated films at the theatre. But when I received free movie passes to see Over the Hedge, I couldn't pass it up. And to my surprise, I was rather entertained by the creative characters and touching story. At more than one occasion, I even cried because the scenes were so heartfelt. I may be a softie for G-rated films such as Over the Hedge, but so is the mass audience that this movie is intended for. Therefore, anyone who enjoys animated Disney or Pixar films will probably take pleasure in Dreamworks' Over the Hedge.
Dreamworks' Over the Hedge
A family made up of possums, porcupines, a squirrel, skunk and tortoise awaken from a winter hibernation to discover that their forest is gone, and they are now surrounded by a high, thick, green wall - the hedge. 'Over the hedge,' they discover a housing development has destroyed their food supply.
But not to worry - a mischievous raccoon RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis) teaches them how to survive among the humans. He says that humans 'live to eat instead of eat to live,' therefore they don't need nearly as much food as they take. The remainder of the food is placed in large silver cans - trash cans - for the animals to take. Even though the leader of the family, tortoise Verne (Garry Shandling), is skeptical about RJ's idea, the rest of the gullible gang follows the raccoon.
Within the next few days, the animals run amok in the neighborhood and one particular homeowner Gladys (Allison Janney) decides to hire an exterminator. The more the animals steal food, the more their lives are in danger.
This clever and inventive story is based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T Lewis. Although I never read the comic, I praise the well-developed characters and perfect casting to match each voice actor to the right animal. Gladys' Persian housecat Tiger was perfectly voiced by British comedian and actor Omid Djalili. His sassy, but commanding accent for a fat white cat was extremely amusing.
And at first, I couldn't even recognize Hammy's voice was Steve Carell (star of 40-Year-Old Virgin [2005]). Hammy is the super hyper squirrel with attention deficit disorder. His character was most hilarious when he posed as a rodent with rabies to steal cookies from a couple of girl scouts.
During high school, I considered animated films movies for kids. Now that I'm returning to the theatres for these movies, I can see its relevance and entertainment for adult audiences. Like how Shrek (2001) makes references to older classic fairytales like The Frog Prince and Little Red Riding Hood, Over the Hedge makes references to classic films like Citizen Kane and A Streetcar Named Desire. Surely, most children wouldn't find as much amusement to these scenes as an adult would.
Kristin's Grade: A-
Directors: Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick
Writers: Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, and Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on: the comic strip by Michael Fry and T Lewis
Genre: Comedy / Family
Running Time: 84 minutes
Rated: PG (for some rude humor and mild comic action)
