Over the Hedge (2006)

A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating...and learns a lesson about family himself.

Directors:

Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick

Writers:

Len Blum (screenplay), Lorne Cameron (screenplay),

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell

6 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	RJ (voice)
Garry Shandling	...	Verne (voice)
Steve Carell	...	Hammy (voice)
Wanda Sykes	...	Stella (voice)
William Shatner	...	Ozzie (voice)
Nick Nolte	...	Vincent (voice)
Thomas Haden Church	...	Dwayne (voice)
Allison Janney	...	Gladys (voice)
Eugene Levy	...	Lou (voice)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Penny (voice)
Avril Lavigne	...	Heather (voice)
Omid Djalili	...	Tiger (voice)
Sami Kirkpatrick	...	Bucky (voice)
Shane Baumel	...	Spike (voice)
Madison Davenport	...	Quillo (voice)

Storyline

Traveling raccoon con artist, RJ, arrives in a woods outside a human city in the Midwest, excited about the wonders that living near humans can bring hungry animals. What he finds, however, is an Amish-like community that is deathly afraid of humans, after their leader, Vern the tortoise (Shandling), has an encounter with human boys that terrifies him. Encouraged by RJ, however, the animals slowly venture over the hedge that separates them from the brand new suburban development that appeared over the winter while they were sleeping, and what RJ shows them is a whole new world where humans leave tin cans full of fish and other food in big canisters, ripe for the taking. As they get closer and closer to humans, however, their comfortable lives in the woods appears to be threatened...

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Plot Keywords:

food | raccoon | forest | suburb | exterminator | 

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Taglines:

Get Over It.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some rude humor and mild comic action

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks [us] UIP [de]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vecinos invasores

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,600,578 (Argentina) (14 July 2006)

Gross:

$155,019,340 (USA) (1 September 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks Animation, Pacific Data Images (PDI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Folds said on his blog about the title credits song "Family of Me": "The original lyric was 'Ooh, I'm an asshole' but obviously that didn't last for long. The directors and producers got a good laugh and then they stopped laughing when I tried to explain why it's okay to say 'asshole' in front of kids. I think it's the 'hole' part. Ass might be all right. I don't know..."

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Goofs

Many of the animals depicted as hibernating don't actually hibernate (including the squirrel).

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Quotes

[first lines]
[RJ is trying to get a snack from the snack machine and it breaks]
RJ: No! Come on!

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Crazy Credits

Characters from the movie appear repeatedly during the closing credits, with the hedge as a background. Sometimes the characters perform actions that match the credits currently in display. For example, Stella sprays the screen when the effects credits appear; and during the lighting crew credits, some of the characters appear unlit (rendered in plain white), then a light flashes and they appear in full color. Halfway through the credits, there is an audio only scene in which R.J. introduces the others to television.

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Connections

Spoofs The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Rockin' the Suburbs (Over the Hedge Version)"
Written & Performed by Ben Folds
Ben Folds recordings used courtesy of Epic Records

User Reviews

Funny, Witty, and Well voiced!

While this movie doesn't have the depth of Finding Nemo or Shrek, it was a very fun and well done animation by Dreamworks. The animation was first rate, and the animals were very fun to watch. The voice acting was superb and well cast. What I enjoyed the most about this movie (other than the super funny bits here and there) is the social commentary they presented. It's nothing serious, but it shows us how gluttonous many of us "humans" have become. While many of the human characters are exaggerations, there's quite a bit of truth behind each caricature. My favorite is the Home Owner Association President. She was so overdone (yet so realistic!) that I wasn't sure if I was laughing because it was so true to life, or if it was just so out there.

Anyway, good movie, good times, and go with good company. After some mediocre animation movies from Dreamworks, they hit a good one again with Over the Hedge.