Over The Hedge (2006)

Bruce Willis
Gary Shandling
Steve Carrell
Wanda Sykes
William Shatner
Nick Nolte
Thomas Haden Church
Eugene Levy

Directed by Tim Johnson & Karey Kirkpatrick

Plot: Just whose backyard is it, anyway? Spring has sprung, and Verne and his woodland friends awaken from their long winter's nap to discover that a large, green hedge has cropped up right through the middle of their once-natural habitat. Enter RJ, an opportunistic raccoon who explains that the world beyond the hedge is "the gateway to the good life" where peculiar creatures called humans live to eat, rather than eat to live. "For humans," RJ proclaims, "enough is never enough." Suspicious and even a little jealous of the charismatic smooth-talking RJ, the ever cautious Verne wants to keep his blended family safely on their side of the hedge. But, proving the adage that one man's garbage is another man's--or, rather, animal's--treasure, the manipulative RJ has his own reasons for convincing the woodland band that there is little to fear and everything to gain from their over-indulgent new neighbors. Eventually, RJ and Verne form an unlikely friendship as they and their furry friends learn to coexist with--and even exploit--this strange new world called suburbia.

Review: I love animated movies and will watch almost any of them. Lately there just have not been a lot of good ones out there (see The Wild). I can safely say that this movie is excellent. The story is good and all of the characters in it have something to offer. I thought all the voice performances were some of the best I have seen in some time. A lot of times you see reviews that say a film is laugh out loud funny, well this one delivers. Even the extras were good. There is a fun little short film on it called Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure that is really funny. I highly recommend this movie for everyone and hope they make a sequel; I would love to see these characters again.
 

Film Review Index