Over the Hedge

Let me say up front, I had low expectations going into the film. Although I like animation a lot, I wasn't too impressed with previous Dreamworks attempts. I tend to regard cutesy previews with suspicion, and was mostly just going along to have a potentially positive movie-going experience with my family. Things got a little worse when we arrived at the theatre, and both the ticket-tearing guy (if cinemas have a technical name for that role, I don't know what it is) and some poor sap from the commissary tried to pressure-sell the "fresh" soda and popcorn. We had to go out of our way to avoid an extra ad-hoc kiosk the food vendors established smack in the middle of the lobby. I hope that doesn't become standard practice. The twenty-odd minutes of previews were similarly underwhelming, and I was starting to get a little nervous -- is it going to be one of those days I'll want to forget? Then, at long last, Over the Hedge starts. Now I'm not an avid follower of the comic, partly because I don't get to read newspapers very often. The Over the Hedge strip is kind of a latecoming competitor to affections reserved for the beloved Bloom County of my childhood, so I'm not exactly salivating at the potential content. However, I gotta say, I was blown away from the start.

Over the Hedge is a neat movie. Granted, there are points where plot development is pure formula, and some of the dialog seems forced or weakly delivered, but these are minor snits. I was laughing out loud, along with most of the audience, which was well distributed agewise. I won't offer any spoilers, but I have to hand it to the screenwriters for seamlessly integrating action-based slapstick with some very cunning dialog, dialog that flies fast and furious enough that you'd better keep both ears wide open.

Messagewise, there are a few worth noting. I have not seen such a cutting indictment of suburbia since Edward Scissorhands. Some audiences may find the humor cuts a bit too close to home -- literally. Human eating habits are intensely scrutinized, for obvious reasons. Vanity and self-serving hubris are duly repudiated. Plenty of clever asides will appeal to a wholesome sort of cultural nostalgia, without ever seeming derivative or repetitive. There are both heartwarming and chilling references to the importance of family, especially a family under external pressures from a society that they do not understand, a culture that considers them vermin. But the messages aren't overplayed, and mesh well with the rest of this utterly hilarious movie.

There's more, of course, but the bottom line is entertainment, and this movie did not disappoint. Even the extended slapstick, which I seldom enjoy in movies, was so outrageous and excessive that it punched through to my funny bone and had me slapping my knee along with my family. Oh yeah, my family -- they liked the movie too, they liked it a lot. Over the Hedge is one of those solid films to which parents can bring children and everyone has an unreserved good time. That puts it in some pretty esteemed company -- right up there with Toy Story, Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life, et al. Highly enjoyable, highly recommended, 8/10.

The computer animated film has become to film studios what Mike Tyson was in the ring in the 1980's: a sure thing. You knew that when Tyson walked in the ring, somebody else was going down, and probably rather quickly. The same is true of most computer animated comedies these days: it is near sure to be a mix of material targeted at children and adults, feature lots of star voices and be entertaining, for the most part at least. Over the Hedge, the latest offering from Dreamworks, does not disappoint on any of the above fronts, and proves to be one more notch in computer animations belt.

The film opens on loner raccoon R.J. (Bruce Willis) who has made the mistake of raiding the hibernation supplies of Vincent the bear (Nick Nolte). After managing to lose all of Vincent's food, R.J. is given an ultimatum: he has one week to replace it all, or he will become a bear snack. R.J. then manages to stumble across a group of animals that hibernate together, Vern the turtle (Gary Shandling), Stella the skunk (Wanda Sykes), Ozzie the possum (William Shatner) and his daughter Heather (Avril Lavigne), Lou (Eugene Levy) and Penny (Catherine O'Hara) the porcupines and their brood, and Hammy the squirrel (Steve Carell). The clan has discovered that while in hibernation, their forest was developed into a residential neighborhood and has left them with only a small patch of land to gather food from.

R.J. appears and decides to take advantage of the situation: he will show the family how to raid the houses just on the other side of the hedge that separates their small patch of woodlands from the development, and when they have gathered everything together, he plans to take it all back to Vincent. Vern proves skeptical of R.J., but the rest follow along, and Vern begins to feel jealous about R.J.'s newfound place in their hearts. Meanwhile, the head of the development's association, Gladys (Allison Janney) has called in an exterminator (Thomas Hayden Church) to take care of this new infestation problem.

Over the Hedge is about as broad based as entertainment comes: it features lots of cute, cuddly animals who perform elaborate hijinks for kids to laugh at, while offsetting this with some more adult oriented jokes and situations for the older set. Over the Hedge is a little less successful at this blending than some other films, such as Monsters, Inc. or Shrek. It is a bit more child oriented, relying on cuter gimmicks than some of it's brethren. It doesn't prove to be off-putting, the film is still more than entertaining for adults, it's just not quite as sophisticated as some that have come before.

Plot-wise, Over the Hedge is about as predictable as they come: the outsider looking out for numero uno who gets his heart melted with the kindness of a new family unit he has found. This contributes to the more child centric feeling to the film; many children may not have seen this played out as often as adults, so the material may seem fresher. Over the Hedge manages to combat this weakness by being consistently funny for most of it's running time. There are plenty of good jokes, gags and situations to leave most audience members laughing a good bit of the time (and in the end, isn't that what a comedy is about).

Voice-wise, most of the parts are fittingly cast. Bruce Willis has just the right amount of wiseguy smarts in his voice to sell cynical, self-centered loner R.J., Gary Shandling has the perfect combo of worry and parental concern, and Steve Carell brings a degree of hyper intensity to Hammy. Nick Nolte is also near-perfect for a bear's growly voice and Thomas Hayden Church really fills out the exterminator.

Over the Hedge probably won't go down as a great entry in computer animated history, but it does it's job well enough to be entertaining, enjoyable and funny. Again, sometimes, what more can you ask?

My low expectations were floored by a great adventure à la DreamWorks – a simple adventure about survival in which a raccoon 'accidentally' steals and loses all provisions belonging to a ferocious bear, whom then threatens him and demands he replenish every item of food lost within one week or else he will suffer the consequences. Over the Hedge thus sees RJ the raccoon (Bruce Willis) scour the environment in search for goods, a mission that is facilitated when RJ comes across a mismatched family of forest creatures whom he convinces to help him gather the food he needs from the Suburbian residences just over the hedge.

The film opens with RJ on a scrat-like adventure after that-one-piece-of-food and he suffers all the detours and diversion that this mission entails. As is the meticulous animation style of DreamWorks, it lacks the rewarding simplicity of Blue Sky Studios (Ice Age) and does not quite achieve the same level of hilarity and laughter that the latter effortlessly elicits. It even mimics the possum playing dead from Ice Age: The Meltdown which evokes more raised eyebrows than anything. At this point I am also noticing that Willis' voice is much too muzzled and unremarkable to be lent to a protagonist. Although, Nick Nolte makes for a fine bear villain.

Soon 'Over the Hedge' thankfully abandons mediocrity and completely stuns me with layered humour and an energy that it begins to apply to all aspects in the film, the hyper-active ADHD squirrel Hammy most of all. It spirals into an enjoyable romp evenly peppered with 1) goofy light laughs for kids (courtesy of Hammy the squirrel), 2) balanced gags-for-all such as the hilarious zealot exterminator who botches his way through the tracking down of the pesky vermin and 3) sophisticated humour and interwoven references from Citizen Kane, A Streetcar Named Desire and Dr Phil. It is a perfect amalgam of different sorts of comedy and blends and balances its content with deft strokes. Granted, the story neatly ticks off clichés from a formula but it does so skillfully.

Indeed there is a surprising amount of sophistication to be found when you weed through all the standard spoofs. Specifically the film directs social commentary on humans' – and animals' – eating habits as RJ remarks how "We eat to live. Humans live to eat." It juxtaposes these lifestyles when the forest family teams up to assault the neighbourhood in which larger-than-life boxes and packets of nachos, donuts and popcorn are abundant and the shiny silver fridge is Mecca. In the midst of the food-heists there is much action to be found in the form of vibrant, kinetic chases, shooting rockets and acrobatic stunts over the hedge. It is even a bit chaotic toward the end but a great slow-motion capture ties the pacing together.

The aforementioned render 'Over the Hedge' a very alive film and its action alone rightfully vaults it into 'Great Animated Comedies' status. It is no Shrek, but it's extremely enjoyable. Like Shrek however, DreamWorks provides for the crisp, aesthetically-intoxicating animation of nature whose every screenshot is so picturesque that you just want to snap a picture of, frame and hang in on your wall. What's more is that its heist-oriented core with its mandatory sense of immediate danger tingling in the air is something of what Mike Tyson was the boxing in the 1980's: A safe bet.

8 out of 10

Unbeknowist to me, Over the Hedge is based on a comic strip. I've never seen it, but I can only imagine that it would be just as good as the film, if not better. And while it's not an astonishment, I can say that Hedge is genuinely enjoyable, and great fun for everyone.

R.J. (Bruce Willis) is a hungry raccoon, who just happens to make the mistake of his life when he tries to steal the huge supply of food that Vincent (Nick Nolte), a bear, has stored during his winter hibernation. Vincent is obviously upset, but he gives R.J. a week to collect all the food and everything that went with it, or he'll eat him. So as R.J. sets out, he comes across a new suburban area, filled with food and all of the things he needs. In the neighbouring forest, he finds a "family" of animals, lead by Verne the turtle (Garry Shandling). They are all searching for food as well, so R.J. helps teach them things about the human world that they are unaware of, and sets out to get the food he needs.

Of course, this is the main premise of the film, but it takes a few turns as all animated films do. And like many animated films before it, it has a great message, and is great for kids and adults. The film is packed with light laughs for children, and then the even bigger laughs for the adults. At the heart of the film, it's all basically about the effects of living/creating suburbia, and abusing consumerism. While it only touches on being satirical in this sense, it does offer the usual pop culture references, and many others too. And luckily, it was saved from the obligatory song and dance number that plagues other animated films.

The story is well written, but feels very brisk. It starts, it continues for a bit, and then it ends. It is not as short as some films, but you can't help but wonder what more could have been done if they had a little more running time. It is a much stronger film than other Dreamworks titles like Madagascar and Shark Tale, and really seems like it can stand next to the likes of Shrek 1 and 2.

The voice acting is all top-notch, from Willis' take no-nonsense raccoon, to the sadly missed Shandling as a neurotic turtle. Steve Carrell also stands out as the absolutely insane Hammy the squirrel, as does William Shatner as Ozzie the possum. As I had read before seeing the film, Shatner does an absolutely fabulous job playing possum. I couldn't stop laughing any time his character did something, it's just that great. The rest of the voice cast, from Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as parents of hedgehogs, to Wanda Sykes as a skunk, to Thomas Hayden Church as an exterminator, to Nick Nolte as Vincent the bear, all are great and well suited for their roles. They all have quite a bit of screen time, and none feel over-used at all (unlike Madagascar's blatant overuse of Ben Stiller and no one else). Of course, the random inclusion of Avril Lavinge as Shatner's daughter Heather was a little bizarre, you can see that she is at least making an attempt at voice acting here.

And as usual, the animation is excellent. While not being a total improvement from the likes of other Dreamworks films, the advancements are still very noticeable. The grass, the fur, the emotions and gestures, all of them are perfectly captured, and look gorgeous on film. All the colours are great too.

It's a funny movie, and a fabulous cast. It's one of the better animated films of the last few months.

8/10.

Like most people, I was convinced that Pixar's "Cars" was going to be the animated movie of the year and that "Over the Hedge" was just another cheap attempt with the proved formula of cute talking animals. I was very surprised by the end result as it ended up not only being an enjoyable fable about friendship and the typical stuff, it is also a very witty commentary about our modern way of life.

Based on the syndicated comic strip written and drawn by Michael Fry and T. Lewis, "Over the Hedge" is the story of R.J. (Bruce Willis), a witty and knowledgeable raccoon with a problem: he must restore the food he stole from a bear in two weeks or he will have to be eaten in its place. To do it, he decides to raid the houses of the new suburban landscape, and to do it he recruits a group of naive animals who never had seen a human before. almost without knowing it he'll become a member of the family and will begin to have serious doubts about his plan of deceiving the gang.

Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, "Over the Hedge" is a huge step forward from Dreamworks' previous animated feature, "Madagascar". Technically the movie looks beautiful and the animation is for the most part superb. Great care was taken with the characters' design and while they look quite different from their original versions, the change was definitely for the better.

The plot at its core is once again the typical story of an outcast who finds a family, but it's spiced up by the satire and wit of the original comic strip and that's what makes the movie different from others. This balance between the comic strip's sharp social commentary and the funny and simpler slapstick comedy makes that the film can be enjoyed by both children and adults without being overtly filled with pop-culture references. The characters are very well written although due to the large number of them some may feel a bit underdeveloped.

The voice cast is appropriate, although like in most Dreamworks movies, movie stars are preferred over professional voice actors creating a bit of a mixed bag. Bruce Willis is good, although nothing spectacular, and Garry Shandling as Verne, the gang leader, was also not as surprising. On the other hand, Steve Carell makes a brilliant job, as well as Wanda Sykes and a surprising Avril Lavigne. Wanda Sykes, William Shatner and Thomas Hayden Church are also brilliant.

Frankly, the movie's biggest flaw was the large amount of characters it has. While everyone has their moment to shine (and in most cases is very well used), at the end one has the feeling that either the movie was too short or that there was one or two characters too many. The movie's plot also may be predictable to most people, however, the way the director handles the movie truly makes up for the unoriginal storyline. Tim Johnson proves his talent once again and demonstrates why he is a very underrated director.

To summarize, I was very surprised by the way "Over the Hedge" developed and I truly enjoyed it. It's great assemble of characters and the witty script makes up for its defects and the final product is a very good one. While it probably be overshadowed by the more popular "Cars", this sleeper hit definitely deserves a watch. 7.5/10