Review of Over the Hedge (2006) by Evan C — 02 Jun 2015

Over the Hedge was the exact film I had been waiting for from Dreamworks Animation. It delivers us a wise and hilarious humor with a great plot and collection of characters. While it in my opinion doesn't reach the standards like Shrek, Madagascar or Bee Movie, it certainly made me smile and laugh.

The film centers on RJ (Bruce Willis), a mischievous raccoon, who has gotten into a pickle with Vincent the Bear (Nick Nolte), as he was caught steeling his food. Once the food is destroyed and lost, RJ must recollect the bear's food in a week, or he's dead. RJ then meets a clan of animals, who are just waking up for Spring, and ready to collect and fill their family log for the next winter. The group leader, Verne (Garry Shandling), is the one everyone, not to mention, Steve Carell and his hyper character, Hammy, listens to.

Firstly, the animal's CGI designs are a word I very rarely use, but I'm gonna say it. They are *cough cough* adorable. They all look like cute, small animals. RJ manages to trick them all into gathering the missing food for him by showing them a human made neighborhood full of food that is located over a huge hedge.

While RJ is with the gang, he then realizes that he fits in, and better yet, is known as the pack leader. Verne, the calm, leading turtle begins to be slightly jealous, and still unaware that him and his gang are being used to gather food.

The story is fantastic to me because I think it is the only animated children's film that covers climate and population control, the Theory of Relativity, and how greedy a rich man/woman with their SUV's can be. There were hilarious scenes with comments that made me laugh out loud.

In the end, RJ learns his lesson. Him, Verne, and the animal crew then learn and realize that working as a family the best. As everyone lives happily ever after, RJ also learns a valuable lesson: Don't lie and use people. This is basically the same conclusion we get from DreamWorks Animation's Shark Tale (2004), but what the heck, this film beats Shark Tale by a long shot.