Over the Hedge

by

debbie lynn elias

Spring is in the air and summer is around the corner. And we all know what that means: millions of kids running rampant all reciting the same thing - “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” (Unless you’re my 4 year old nephew and view Las Vegas as your vacation from school.) Ah yes, vacation time. And with it, the “tradition” that parents turn to Hollywood for some animated entertainment for the young and Summer 2006 is no exception thanks to “Over the Hedge” - a little pre-Memorial Day, pre-vacation treat (that should last in theaters the entire summer) geared for young and old alike. Opening this weekend, “Over the Hedge” may be short on story but long on laughs thanks to the incredible voicing talents of actors like Bruce Willis, Steve Carell, Nick Nolte and even William Shatner.

Based on the comic strip of the same name, this is the story of a lovable group of forest animals who wake up from winter hibernation to find their forest isn’t their forest anymore. Seems that while they were asleep, a new housing complex was built - complete with humans - encroaching on the forest. (Hey, who are the contractors that built a neighborhood in less than 6 months and where can I hire them?) Thanks to a less than pleasant incident involving Verne the Turtle and some male homo sapiens, the forest denizens are more than fearful of people and are in somewhat of a quandary over what will now happen to them with the “enemy” so close.

Stumbling into their happy little haven is RJ the Raccoon. A traveling “hobo” and con artist extraordinaire (obviously he’s met my ex), RJ is excited at the prospect of finding a woodland home so close to humans - after all, humans provide such wonderful things, like cans of rotting fish, garbage, produce and even junk food. But before he can make his way into suburbia, RJ stumbles onto the hidden junk food stash of Vincent the Bear. Hungry (and his nature to have “sticky fingers”) RJ helps himself to Vincent’s food. As you can imagine, when a bear wakes up from winter slumber, he is very very hungry and very very cranky, so to find his food missing doesn’t make him very very happy - especially when he catches RJ’s little paws in the cookie jar, so to speak. Taking pity on RJ, Vincent gives him one week to restock his cache and RJ knows just where to go - the new neighborhood.

Eager to have some company on his mission (and possibly a few fall guys) RJ encourages, cajoles and cons some of unsuspecting forest friends into helping him. It’s not long before Hammy the Squirrel, Ozzie Opossum, Heather Opossum, Lou and Penny Porcupine and Stella the Skunk, together with the more than reluctant Verne, find themselves over the hedge facing unknown dangers like Gladys the head of the homeowner’s association and - GULP! - exterminator Dwayne. Uh-oh!

With a simplistic storyline, “Over the Hedge” gets its captivating charm from some power-packing one-liners and superb character voicing by a roster of stars to rival that of MGM or Warner Bros. in their hey day. Bruce Willis, a natural at character voicing, leads the pack as RJ. With a touch of David Addison sneaking into the character, thanks to Willis, you just know that RJ has something up his sleeve. A favorite of mine, Wanda Sykes, is a breath of fresh air as Stella the Skunk. Hysterical and hilarious, she also adds an innocent silliness to her delivery that makes Stella endearing. William Shatner, a man who has become the master of self-deprecating humor, is no different here. As Ozzie Opossum, his speciality is playing dead - especially if it means scaring someone to death. Dead pan funny, Shatner is a hoot. Going hand in hand with Shatner is Avril Lavigne who is perfection as Ozzie’s teenaged daughter Heather. The two of them together will have every dad and daughter relating to the two - especially at Heather’s embarrassment with Dad’s not-so-funny practical joke. Garry Shandling is ideal as the woebegone fearful Verne while Eugene Levy is a scream as Lou the Porcupine. But the man who steals every scene (and the show as a whole) is Steve Carell. Providing the characterization for Hammy the Squirrel, Carell is just that - a ham. Admittedly, I am not an avid fan of Carell’s but for his performance as Uncle Arthur in last year’s “Bewitched,” but as Hammy, even I couldn’t help but love him. Hysterically hyperactive and frenetically energetic, Hammy is the most fun to watch out of all the characters.

Written by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton and co-director Karey Kirkpatrick, they bring a nice balance to a very basic story about friendship, family and honesty, giving each character his moment in the sun (which should bode well for merchandising purposes). Not a movie that one goes to for plots, sub-plots, heavy dialogue, and a need to concentrate and focus lest one lose the entire point of the film, the writing team keeps things light with a passel of cleverly written one-liners, satiric double entendres and of course, my favorite, references to obscure movie moments. While the kids will be watching the animation and action, the adults will be finding additional enjoyment to these pointed comedic references.

Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, the film is visually impressive thanks to CGI and the animals created balanced by some snappy dialogue and just enough action so as not to overload the senses. (The candy the kids are eating in the theater will do enough of that.) What gives “Over the Hedge” an added dimension, however, is the attention to detail in both the foreground and background settings. The one big shortfall though is the lack of facial expressiveness on our forest friends. Almost appearing as if the filmmakers only did “just enough to get by” and leave the success of the film to fall on the shoulders of the voicing and dialogue, there are times when the energy and emotion of the voice far exceeds what the visual of the character on the screen.

No two ways about it. “Over the Hedge” is cute. The film is cute, cute, cute. Colorful, fun, energetic and entertaining, “Over the Hedge” will hold the attention of both young and old alike. Good thing too, as I guarantee if you see it once, you will have to see it at least twice - and if your kids are like my nephews, probably 5 or 6 times.

RJ: Bruce Willis Verne: Garry Shandling Ozzie: William Shatner Hammy: Steve Carell Stella: Wanda Sykes Vincent: Nick Nolte

Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick. Written by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton and Karey Kirkpatrick based on characters created by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. A Dreamworks Animation release. Rated PG. (96 min)