Review of Over the Hedge (2006) by Markb. — 04 Jun 2006

The recent mini-grass roots movement by certain church groups to block The Da Vinci Code's ascent to its inevitable #1 box office position on its opening weekend by having members buy blocks of tickets to this, its only major competitor making its debut, was clearly doomed from the start.

But even though such actions (though clearly preferable to picketing the multiplex and therefore calling even MORE attention to Ron Howard's leaden adaptation) are exercises in total futility, I STILL wish (strictly from a standpoint of esthetics and entertainment value) that I'd contributed to the cause by purchasing TWENTY tickets to watch the cute little woodland creatures encountering, enjoying and battling suburbia.

This animated treat is a near-perfect mixture of adorable and engaging characters, silly but funny first grade humor and subtle, sophisticated adult satire, and it almost completely avoids ALL the indulgences that made DreamWorks' Shrek movies a tad overrated, and its Shark Tale and Madagascar well-nigh unwatchable: its pop-culture references are limited to a relative few; they're not slammed in your face with Soupy Sales pie-throwing velocity but are artfully presented (if you get the Mission: Impossible allusion, fine.

..but if not you'll still enjoy the context) ; they're all, as they used to say about onscreen nudity, relevant to the plot...and, most importantly, they work! (Would you believe that--wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, this film features a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon joke that's genuinely inventive, original and clever?) More often, Over the Hedge gets its humor from wonderfully observed aspects of human (and animal) nature: I'm not sure it's possible for anyone who's worked in an office, gone to school or just hung around an airport, bus terminal or other public place to NOT enjoy the brilliant opening sequence.

..and be sure you stay in the theater till the VERY end to watch it grow an even better payoff! The voice casting, which in many recent CGI features seems to boil down to little more than signing up whoever's currently available and has a moderate-to-high "Q" rating, couldn't have been more on-target here, with special favorites being Wanda Sykes as a skunk with even more attitude than you'd expect, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as a pair of extremely Canadian porcupines, and William Shatner, who as a totally over-the-top fox with a real fondness for rolling over and playing dead, delightfully continues to embrace his late-career recognition of his inner William Shatner-ness.

Special kudos goes to Steve Carell as the uber-ultra-maxi-hyperactive Hammy the Squirrel, a role that could've been truly annoying and unbearable, but in Carell's hands and vocal cords is irresistably sweet and hilarious.

..which is entirely appropriate, because the last theatrical movie I laughed this loud, long and often at was Carell's own The 40-Year-Old Virgin last September. (This doesn't mean that I'm suggesting that you wait for Over the Hedge to hit DVD, then invite the neighborhood kids over for a double feature!) It can maybe legitimately be argued that the movie's three villains--a grizzly bear, an exterminator and, creepiest of all, a scary homeowners' association poobah--get a bit more punishment than they actually deserve, especially since two of them have a legitimate beef against our heroes.

But that's nitpicking: throughout all of its not-long-enough 80 minutes, Over the Hedge proves to be the non-Pixar CGI animated feature that's as close to Pixar as a non-Pixar can get...