OVER THE HEDGE
Survival of the fittest: A wild animal scavenger
hunt in human suburbia
Popcorn Reel.com Movie Review: "Over The Hedge"
By Omar P.L. Moore/May 16, 2006
Look what I found: Heather the
possum (voice of Avril Lavigne) and right, RJ the raccoon (voice of Bruce
Willis) and Hammy (voice of Steve Carell) with their hands in the cookie jar in
"Over The Hedge". (Photos: DreamWorks Animation SKG)
Right from the start "Over The Hedge", a wonderfully
entertaining animated feature, establishes one thing: when you are hungry to
survive, you had better
eat -- or be eaten. This is a lesson that RJ, a no-good raccoon, quickly
learns. Having the audacity to single-handedly
steal a humongous bear's
hibernation stash of food, the bear (voice of Nick Nolte) demands that by the
next full moon RJ return
all the food he stole or else he will be on the bear's (Vincent) menu. A
tall task for a cunning and lonely raccoon. Or not very tall at all.
For RJ (voice of Bruce Willis) is a sly manipulator, and he pulls out all the
strings and the stops as he encounters several assorted furry
and reptilian creatures: a skunk (voice of Wanda Sykes), a hamster (voice of
Steve Carell), a turtle (voice of Garry Shandling) and a
possum (voice of William Shatner), among others. RJ gets these characters
to do his bidding for him, as they think that they will be
rewarded with the food they pilfer from the humans they see on suburban terrain.
The story, as written by a quartet of writers (Len Blum and Lorne Cameron &
David Hoselton and Karey Kilpatrick) is highly energetic in
its action sequences and visual animation effects, and provides a constantly
humorous take on human beings and their habits and
idiosyncrasies, as seen through the eyes of the wildlife that inhabits the human
domain. For example, on spotting the SUV's in one
driveway, RJ cites the necessity of having one because "humans are losing their
ability to walk." There are a number of sight gags,
such as chocolate chip cookies affectionately known as "Love Handles" and other
boxes of cookies with notes on the side of the boxes that
say "guaranteed to help you gain weight", and an "excellent source of
cholesterol."
A large hedge has grown during the winter season, separating the wild from a new
suburban population of humans that literally
sprang up overnight. The curious animals break through the infinite hedge
and begin to discover a world they had never experienced
before. And that's where the fun begins.
There are some hilarious sequences as RJ, an enlightened fellow indeed, chirps
on about food and its uses and processes. For a raccoon
in the wild, he strangely knows a lot more about humans than he should.
Speaking of humans, they make their presence felt in "Over The Edge", in Gladys,
a homeowners' association president -- the voice of
Allison Janney (she of TV's "The West Wing", and the films "Winter Solstice" and
"American Beauty".) Gladys could be the quintessential
definition of white flight -- thinking she had escaped all the rodents and
cockroaches in the big city, only to find them re-emerging in the
tranquility of the suburbs. While the directors Tim Johnson and Karey
Kirkpatrick may not have intended a subtle metaphor of
urbanites as creatures, occasionally you can't help but think that a racial
analogy may be drawn -- the idea that dark furry wild
animals are invading a pristine white suburbia and getting up to no good.
Just a wild guess or hypothesis -- not necessarily off-base, and
not necessarily correct, either.
The other human element is the Verminator (voice of Oscar nominee Thomas Haden
Church), who is recruited by Gladys with the express
purpose of ridding the neighborhood of the wild animal kingdom that has made its
presence felt.
Along the way, RJ and co. learn valuable lessons. Predictable ones to be
sure, but "Over The Hedge" is as fresh and vibrant as any
feature film you will see this year. And the biggest surprise is that the
adults in the audience will enjoy it even more than kids will.
Alter egos: Bruce Willis, with RJ the raccoon, whom
he voices, and Wanda Sykes, with Stella the skunk, whom she voices, in "Over The
Hedge".
(Photos : DreamWorks Animation SKG)
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