Hedge your bets for a good time - Over the Hedge Reviews

There's a significant difference between the philosphies of the two biggest animation studios in America today: PDI (now Dreamworks) Animation and Pixar Studios. Pixar believes in telling timeless tales that always seem to be original. Dreamworks Animation believes in telling contemporary stories about events in the present and seem to follow formula. There is nothing wrong with either philosophy (except that more of Pixar's work will be deemed classic), except that Dreamworks has a trump card that they always seem to get close to, but rarely use: Satire. Over The Hedge, based on the comic strip that is nothing but satire, is kinda like one of it's characters named Hammy who always is going in the right direction, but always seems to get distracted by a cookie. It has some satirical bite to it, but it keeps begging to do more. There are many missed opportunities to really dig into suburban life, consumerism, advertising, and urban paranoia. But it is genuinely funny and more or less likable. The film starts off with R.J. the raccoon (Bruce Willis), who after losing a battle with a vending machine makes a terrible mistake by trying to steal from Vincent the Bear (Nick Nolte). Vincent's loot gets destroyed and gives R.J. a week to come up with it's equivilent otherwise the menu will be replaced with him. But where to get food that fast. Alas, there's a new suburban development full of rich food-filled people to nab from. But he'll need help. Cut to Verne the Turtle (Gary Shandling), Hammy the Squirrel (Steve Carrell), Stella the Skunk (Wanda Sykes), and an assortment of Porcupines and Possums. Fresh from hibernation, they have awoken to find a "scary-looking thing" has shown up in their woods. It is a hedge, but why would they know that? To quell the fear of it, they call it Steve until R.J. introduces it to them, and the possibilites to eat on the other side. But oh, are there dangers from cars, kids, dogs, and most of all humans, including The Verminator (Thomas Hayden Church), who creates some of the most painful-looking traps I have ever seen this side of a heist movie. So why go over the hedge? Because RJ gets them hooked on junk food, and as any American teenager can tell you, one just ain't ever enough. I guess you can tell where this is going, which is sad because there's not many surprises when it comes to the story. The comedy is all there, including a scene involving a hyper Hammy and an energy drink that had me in tears. Using mainly comedians like Shandling, Carrell, and Sykes allows for the comedy to feel original even when some is not. I especially liked Carrell manic voicework that definately caught the ADHD span of Hammy, but also his genuine heart. The animation is clean, but perhaps a little too clean at the same time. The whole point of animation in these types of films is allow the belief of disbelief to live out in front of your eyes. While yes, we believe that these characters can talk to each other (Why is it that all the animals speak the same language and understand each other perfectly?), the film's locations (even the woods, doesn't seem to be filled with dirt or grime. Perhaps this is a small thing to complain about, but it still caught my attention and took me out of the action. All in all, this is definately a great film to bring the kids to, and you'll have a great time as well. And just maybe, you'll realize just how addictive those nacho-flavored chips really are.