Review of Over the Hedge (2006) by Javier A — 22 Jun 2014

With a vibrant list of characters lined up, Over the Hedge looked like a promising animated film.

That is exactly what it was, because although it is not a perfect film, Over the Hedge is an entertaining animated film which brings real issues into perspective while also comedically trivialising them for the sake of good comedy. Over the Hedge serves as a commentary on how the developing world is becoming so obsessed with ownership of property that it is neglecting the life of animals, taking their land and then killing them when they come back to it. A lot of films have dealt with this before, but Over the Hedge deals directly with how it affects the natural way of life for them and shows a film where they fight back in a humuourous manner. In its own clever way, Over the Hedge brings attention to serious issues and leaves audiences laughing in the process without making it overly dramatic. It keeps the dramatic themes on a certain level of subtext so that the experience is a solid fun one. While it may not as be as deep or inspiring as other animated films, Over the Hedge has important cultural relevance but keeps it underneath the main focus of the film so that it is very colourful fun.

Over the Hedge is a great film because it contributes everything necessary to appeal to children, ranging from excellent animation to a versatile range of characters and a zany story. First of all, the animation in Over the Hedge is excellent. One of the best aspects of the film is that all of its characters all have such colour to them which lights up the screen, and they depict fairly accurate representations of the real life creatures while also maintaining the charm of being cartoon characters. And the detail to them is great, as well as the fact that the entire universe of the story has a lot of colour to it. The design of everything in Over the Hedge is vibrant with life, and so it looks great. But not just that, because the three dimensional design of everything is exceptionally detailed and the movements of all the characters is very organic. The animation is what draws viewers into Over the Hedge, and then the humour is what they stay for.

Although all the jokes in Over the Hedge are pretty silly, the consistent energy in the film keeps it constantly refreshing. The quick pace of the film ensures that it is quick to get to the jokes and spends little time messing around in between, even though it does tell its story well. The thing is that Over the Hedge's premise is a really thin one and the focus of the story is a lot more on the characters, and luckily enough the characters are all pretty funny. Directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick manage to focus on the most important aspects of Over the Hedge and keep it entertaining on a consistent basis. Over the Hedge is all about the humour, and while at times it may sacrifice great storytelling in favour of jokes, the entertainment value of Over the Hedge is just terrific.

Over the Hedge has more than enough to appeal to the young audiences that it is clearly intended for, but the natural charm of the film should manage to entertain viewers of all ages. As a kid I really loved it and still to this day I find it to be quite funny and entertaining, albeit slightly lesser. But the fact is that Over the Hedge is good for all young fans and does not favour any specific group. The fact is that it is one of the few animated films which returns to being all about fun and neglects drama and morals in favour of comedy. This is both a fault of the film and a positive quality, so the fact is that the viewers' enjoyment is essentially all reliant on what they deem to be funny. I find cutsie characters to be funny, and Over the Hedge supplies a lot of them, such as a family of porcupines, a sassy skunk, and the fan favourite hyperactive red squirrel Hammy. And thanks to a very skilled voice cast, Over the Hedge is visually funny and a treat for the ears as well.

Bruce Willis is great as RJ because he has a lot of energy in the role. He is very experienced as a voice actor and gives RJ the perfect level of determined spirit as well as a certain dark sense of manipulation to him. His voice is just spot on.

Steve Carell is terrific as Hammy. He raises the pitch of his voice to a hyperactive state and keeps it the entire time in Over the Top which makes him perfect in the part. He delivers his lines so quickly and sharp that it is a massive rush, and so he is clearly the most popular character in the film and Steve Carell gets the part perfectly.

Wanda Sykes is also hilarious because of how purely sassy she is. She delivers her lines with such hilarious power to them, and it is a challenge not to laugh at her. She doesn't have to resort to racial stereotyping for the role, she just says her words with natural comic charisma. That is all you could ask for and that is what she delivers, and it ends up hilarious.

William Shatner is a prime example of flawless casting. The man is known in real life for being a terribly over the top actor and therefore an excellent Shakespearian actor, so putting him into the role of a Virginia opossum who constantly fakes his own death with hilarious melodrama is the perfect role for him. William Shatner fits the role perfectly and puts flawless melodrama into his voice articulation which makes him hilarious, and so fans of his should be able to rejoice for him taking on the role he has in Over the Hedge.

Eugene Levy is also great, and Gary Shandling captures an ideal level of neuroticism for his character. Nick Nolte also does a good job.

So although Over the Hedge does not have such a meaningful story and is a bit juvenile, it is consistently hilarious and full of charming animation and great characters which should be enough to please most children and many adults too.