I've been annoyed by previous DreamWorks' animated films (like Shark Tale) - with their "decadent po-mo flaunting of in-jokes only adults will get" and seeming to be more interested in replicating the consumer culture and its pop-culture gags with creatures that get personified, homogenized and flattened into the same pop-culture stereotypes as everything else. But with Over the Hedge, Dreamworks produces one of its best animated films precisely by making these tendencies the subject matter of the film.
The film stars animals who, throughout it, are threatened by human development and their own love for it. They wake up from hibernation to find their forest mostly turned into a uniformly faceless subdivision (which they name Steve). But then a unscrupulous raccoon with his own agenda (voiced by Bruce Willis) asks them "why don't you get food food from the humans?" and sells suburbia to the animals in a sequence that both follows and parodies those "buy your dream" PowerPoint presentations, culminating in the unveiling of nature's most-perfect food - the nacho-cheese chip. His description to the other animals of the SUV is also priceless and perfectly delivered up to the brilliant punchline.
But here's the deal - rather than being threatened, the animals take to it like a fish to water, especially the kids. They fill their food stock in a couple of days, leaving them nothing to do for the remaining 270 before their next hibernation. Abundance enervates. The animals become more "humanized" and acclimated to human ways, degrading them, taking them away from (their) nature, alienating them into forgetfulness of Being.
Part of the charm and the reason for the film's success is the voice casting - which isn't show-offy or has celebrities obviously playing themselves. It's like Tim Allen and Tom Hanks in the Tom Story films - who never echo "Home Improvement" or Forrest Gump (or Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo). Wanda Sykes was the only voice in Over the Hedge I instantly "spotted," but she has a really distinctive voice (and she, thus appropriately, also has The Character Role). But Garry Shandling as a nervous-but-sensible turtle - that's just perfect, without being eccentric. As is Steve Carell as a hyperactive squirrel. Willis basically plays his "Moonlighting" role, but without specifically reminding you of David Addison until you look back at the cast list. Even William Shatner, you have to strain your ears to figure out... it's *him*. Shatner. Really. I mean - really Shatner.
The film and pop-culture in-jokes are hit-and-miss but somehow I found them less annoying than I did in Shark Tale and Madagascar. The Close Encounters joke was really funny (and well-hidden); the Citizen Kane reference less so (I saw it coming). And while I also saw coming the reversal of the Pepe LePew scenario - dressing up a skunk as a cat to seduce a real cat - I admired the film followed it to the end, and made it consistent with Sykes' persona and voice. But can we please have a moratorium on characters named "Stella" until screenwriters have learned to resist parodying Marlon Brando? But since even the pop-culture jokes are intrinsic to what the film is about - the spread of contemporary suburban culture and its threats to a "natural" life - even when they miss, I didn't resent them.
You don't have to be Ingrid Newkirk to think that life is not about what you own and what brands you use (the fact that the film is a satire of consumerist suburbia means there is no actual product-placement that I recall). The drawing is elemental, spare, with bright colours and not-too-many eccentric angles and "look what I can do with depth of field" showing off. The human characters are flamboyantly bad, even the Type-A psycho-bitch who had the best line, one worthy of Dr. Strangelove himself - "I can't be arrested. I'm president of a home-owners' association." And finally, any film that has a joke based on the Theory of General Relativity must be awesome.
"I am a crazy, rabid squirrel! I want my cookies! "
An enjoyable and fairly intelligent children's film about a racoon who must trick/help forest animals into scavenging from humans, making a change from the usual tripe that DreamWorks' computer animation studio churns out.
It has a few problems that make Over The Hedge less memorable than it deserves to be. Verne the tortoise, sensible leader of the forest animals, is voiced by Garry Shandling as if he has been tranquillised, even his screaming sounds bored. The pace is a little slow in places and the music is far too slow. There are too many characters to care about, only Hammy the hyperactive squirrel and RJ the scheming raccoon being interesting. Also, the basic plot is irritating. RJ is lying to them, they're going to find out, but he really doesn't need to lie to get what he wants, and the moment half way through when Verne destroys all their hard work is infuriating. Unfortunately Over The Hedge is clearly trying for a Woody and Buzz dynamic between Verne and RJ but fails because the film starts with RJ, making him the main character, and he's the one with the personality, so he's the one we care for, so it doesn't come across that he might be stealing Verne's thunder.
Basically, Over The Hedge is much more enjoyable than it looks, but it doesn't really linger in the memory once it has finished.
yep - it was truly not plagiarised which was amazing for an animation so close to the historical greats. Great plot and cast. Love the squirrel!! Defintely a fave of mine
When i saw this I didn't die... but I started to gag... I hate little kid movies that are just a bunch of weird jokes and good actors voices... I like their acting not their voices. But the movie wasn't all bad.
animation ROCKS!!!! well, the story's OK, the characters are good too.. however, I don't know why, but i think Dreamworks animations are for grown ups...I mean, they're funny, but not in the ways that children will understand the premise directly...
"RJ" (voiced by Bruce Willis) is an opportunistic raccoon who has a huge problem -- he destroyed the food stash of a bad-tempered grizzly (voiced by Nick Nolte) who orders "RJ" to get him a new stock of food or he will kill him. In search of new food, all of which is human-made, he runs into a group of wildlife which considers each other family.
While these friends were hibernating, a hedge was put up by humans who have moved into housing built as the woodland creatures slept. "RJ" recruits the animals to go "over the hedge", under protest of their turtle leader "Verne" (voiced by Gary Shandling), and gather food for the bear. However, he never tells them what they were actually gathering the food for.
On the other side of the hedge, they find a new world -- and one mean lady (Allison Janney) who wants them killed so the properties prices don't go down.
This movie is pretty cute, but it's not perfect. I guess young kids will like it, but adults may just role their eyes at the comedic antics by the animals. The comedy is chuckle -worthy, but not much more. There were some pretty silly moments, but a lot of them were pretty predictable.
The animation is good in this film. The animals are designed in a cartoonish way that enhances a lot of the comedic moments they get into. The humans are also pretty cartoonish looking, and aren't as impressive in my opinion.
Although some of the soundtrack does have some pretty good songs, they are pretty forgettable. None of the songs will get you to have them run in your head over and over for days after you see this film.
There are some good performances in the film, especially from the main animal cast. It is too bad that the script they have to work with is pretty predictable in just about every aspect. The performances are probably the best part of the film that would make you take a look at it once.
Sadly, this film is obviously targeted to the younger members of the audience more than the entire family. This movie has little to no situations or jokes aimed at the older members of the audience that would make them laugh as much as the young ones.
If you have young kids, then this might be a one-time rental, and that's it. I don't think it's good enough to buy for your personal movie library.
The first one in a row of animated movies that im starting to catch up on. Story is not all that interesting or good but the characters are really well done and funny. But i didnt really expect anything else from a child movie. Best scene is when the hyped-up squirell gets hold of a energy drink.
A charming animated film made in 2006, and one of the best that year. It's about a sneaky fast-talking raccoon, a shy turtle, and a hilarious hedgehog, and a femme skunk, and other critters, who are on a search for food in the suburb that has cropped up near their park. The script is solid. The voice acting is great, which helps, as most of these "comedians and actors doing voices of animals in movies" don't work. This opne does, nicely.
one of my friends draws the comic strip, so it was surreal when we found out that dreamworks was making it into a movie. i think they did a heck of job!
A pretty funny and cute kids movie that the whole family will enjoy. If you are a fan of all of Pixar's work, you will enjoy this. Very cute and awesome!
wow that was great, I really liked this movie it was funny at times, sad, adventurous whatever you'd want to say, I enjoyed the voices. And I also enjoyed the theme of this movie, which I won't spoil.
10/10 I recommend this to anyone
loved this movie, a raccoon name rj came 2 help a pack of hungry animals but he was really only helping him self to feed a bear that he stole food off then the pack of animals knew and he went away with no food for the bear and then i forgot what happened next lol i saw it last year in january but this is a great movie!
soo funny, very cute, definitely pro animal, but its hard not laugh at the stupid furrier or whatever, the best line is.."curse you plastic moldsman!! curse you"
This movie was pretty funny, and Bruce Willis invested his character with a lot of energy and heroism. I liked everyone's enthusiasm and the story was good fun.
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