Nos voisins, les hommes

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

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

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?

Wow! Wow! Wow! I was transfixed! The animation? Gorgeous! The subtle humor? Uproarious! The not-so-subtle humor? Even better! This was a great movie that will surely be nominated for an Oscar if for no other reason than the beauty of the animation. While I could have honestly thought of a couple of better casting choices, I will mention that Wanda Sykes, Thomas Haden Church and Steve Carrell were brilliant in their roles. And who better to make fun of William Shatner than William Shatner? Worthy of special mention (and a second look - go see this movie again!): the Rottweiler interludes, the ripples in the water, the porcupine quills, the oh-so-amazing foliage throughout the movie, and Vincent's cartoonish-yet-strangely-scary expression.

Really REALLY a great movie that should appeal to all.

Enjoy.

I LOVED IT! I completely loved it. It was after-work Friday hours, almost the time to sleep. However, I had an urge to watch something, something really light. The moment I started it, it didn't make me bore for a moment. I got a sharp idea that it's a story about humans from the eyes of animals. Comes up, it's much more than that. It has real comedy, adventurous sit-com and is cunningly clever. The writing is FLAWLESS. The dialogues are better than amazing. It's one of the movies people watch again and again for the terrific dialogues towards the end. Steve Carrell is a legend! It deliver way more than my expectations. I honestly rate it 8.5/10. Yet another clever and funny animated movie.