Over the Hedge Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)June 1st, 2006
"Over the Hedge" - Animals Do the Darndest Things
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006
Foragers of the wilderness go head to head with suburban consumers in this diverting piece of
family entertainment. In "Over the Hedge," encroaching residential development has virtually leveled what was once fertile ground for tiny
woodland critters. Without nature's supply of
nuts and berries, how can they survive the
winter?
The opportunistic RJ the raccoon (voiced by Bruce Willis) seems to have the answer. In an inspired monologue, RJ describes the best way to forage
food by dissecting the food distribution chain. Suburbia offers such an abundance of food that
much of it frequently winds up as leftover waste
in garbage cans. One whiff of a nacho cheese
flavored corn chip and your reality will begin to
shift.
Instead of scampering about looking for grains,
he fervently campaigns for an excursion into the kitchen of the home over the hedge on the other
side. It sounds easy enough, but there are two challenges that put these critters at risk. RJ
is as shifty as a 3-card Monte dealer.
Meanwhile, the homeowner is a cold-hearted
monster who would probably not think twice to
start up the WeedWhacker. She is angered because
she believes that these small critters will cause
the home values to decrease. I found her so
utterly odious that it would be a welcome sight
to watch her home value decrease.
As storytelling goes, the plot arc doesn't offer anything out-of-the-ordinary. We can see
everything coming as if we had the power to peer
into the future. We see RJ's true motivation to
get his woodland cousins to rally around his
cause. We see that RJ will also have to make a
tough decision later on.
The fun is in watching the various ordeals that
unfold for RJ and his gang. At first, they
accomplish purloining various items with relative
ease despite a few bumps and bruises. But then
things get a little dicier when the
aforementioned neighbor calls in the Verminator,
who goes after the animals with the same amount
of zeal that Mad Dog the Bounty Hunter goes after fleeing convicts. Complex traps and even an
infrared field are installed, making this look
more like Mission: Impossible.
What I enjoyed was the manic energy that the characters displayed. Most crazed was Hammy the Squirrel (voiced by Steve Carell), who when even standing still seemed to be vibrating. The
dialogue is frenetic and there's always something going on to keep us engaged. In general, you'll
be grinning.
Yet, it felt more like a film geared towards the
kids. They'll definitely appreciate the kinetic
feel of the film, like watching an 8-yr old after drinking 3 cans of Coke. The film hums for the
kids. It might be a little ho-hum for the
adults. It's certainly not as rich as "Shrek,"
and that may be the kind of quality that we kind
of now expect. The bar for summer feature
animated films has been set high. RJ and his
gang may find a way to get over the hedge. But
they didn't find a way to get over the bar.
Grade: B-
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
