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Produced by ] and distributed by ] (due to ]'s acquisition of its parent company ]), the film was rated ] for some rude humor and mild comic action by the ]. Produced by ] and distributed by ] (due to ]'s acquisition of its parent company ]), the film was rated ] for some rude humor and mild comic action by the ].


A soundtrack, featuring music by ], was released by ] and ]. A soundtrack, featuring music by ], ], was released by ] and ].


==Plot== ==Plot==

Revision as of 17:34, 30 May 2006

2006 film
Over the Hedge
File:Over the hedge.jpgPromotional Poster For Over the Hedge
Directed byTim Johnson,
Karey Kirkpatrick
Written byMichael Fry
T. Lewis
Len Blum
Produced byBonnie Arnold
StarringBruce Willis
Garry Shandling
Thomas Haden Church
Steve Carrell
William Shatner
Distributed byDreamWorks Animation (USA)
Paramount Pictures
Release dateMay 19, 2006 (USA)
Running time83 Min.
LanguageEnglish

Over the Hedge is a computer-animated film based on the United Media comic strip of the same name. Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick and produced by Bonnie Arnold, it was released in the U.S. on May 19, 2006.

Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures (due to Viacom's acquisition of its parent company DreamWorks SKG), the film was rated PG for some rude humor and mild comic action by the MPAA.

A soundtrack, featuring music by Ben Folds, Coolio, was released by Epic Records and Sony Music Soundtrack.

Plot

Template:Spoiler

After RJ the raccoon mistakenly destroys the deadly bear Vincent's food, red wagon and blue cooler, he finds the new suburban development El Rancho Camelot Estates, where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of foragers led by the practical turtle Verne awaken from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges — Hammy the screwy squirrel; Stella the attitudinal skunk; Ozzie the hambone opossum and his daughter Heather; and Minnesota-accented porcupines Lou and Penny, and their offspring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo — to start their yearly search for food to store. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a hedge. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treaures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ — who needs the animals, unbeknownst to them, to steal the items he needs for Vincent — gets the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and caper movie antics, they sucessfully snatch a wagon full of Girl Scout-like cookies. Seeing this, the whole group except Verne joins in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, SUV-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps.

All this prompts the ire of home-owner association presidents Gladys Sharp, who hires a pest-control specialist who calls himself The Verminator. Seeing this, and disgraced at the other animals' behavior, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen — leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a cannister of barbecue propane, and a backyard slide that launches the wagon, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, mushroom-cloud fireball.

On the last day before Vincent comes for him, RJ stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of big backyard party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella the skunk disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen. They're almost in the clear when R.J. spies a can of Spuddies — Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list — and in trying to retrieve it keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's catches them the animals his traps traps — all except RJ, who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods. As the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully conning the suckers and getting what he needed. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind — which finally pushes RJ to do the right thing and, using the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van, launch a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him.

This climactic chase scene swings back to the housing development, with Gladys, the Verminator, and a network of laser-tripwited traps on one side of the hedge, the fleeing animals and Vincent on the other, and RJ essentially in the middle. He uses a highly caffeinated cola to push the already adrenaline-rushing Hammy, leading to a scene, a type used previously in U.S. TV's The Twilight Zone and with the DC Comics character the Flash, in which the world appears to stand still, while Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed, adjusts the trap controls. As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to it), RJ and Verne executte the final part of a plan they'd devised together, leading Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the Rockies, Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the dog from before. RJ, having redeemed himself, finds a place with his new surrogate family.

Voice cast

Crew

Critics' response

Critical reaction was mostly positive. Film critic Michael Medved gave the film three stars (out of four) and said even though "...the P.C. messages that families come in all shapes and sizes is a bit gratuitous and heavy-handed...." Overall he found the movie "...surprisingly satisfying...." Critic Frank Lovece of Film Journal International found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features" . Ken Fox of TVGuide.com called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch" .

Trivia

  • The film was originally announced for a November 2005 release.
  • It was the FIRST animated movie ever by DreamWorks Animation SKG based on a comic strip.
  • Pan-Asian star BoA will debut in the big screen as the voice of Heather in the Korean and Japanese-dubbed versions of the movie.
  • Pop star Avril Lavigne debuts in her first film role playing a character and not herself.
  • The accompanying video game was released May 9, 2006.
  • Jim Carrey was originally announced to voice RJ.
  • Sean Yazbeck and Lee Bienstock from The Apprentice 5 have cameos in the film as BBQ Barry and Lunchtable Larry.
  • The stackable potato chips branded Spuddies in the film is a spoof of Pringles chips.
  • The film has certain similarities to the Isao Takahata movie Pom Poko. Over the Hedge does not, however, develop the themes of environmentalism or anti-urbanization, and focuses on the animals' harmless preying on the bumbling humans, making the similarities between the two films contextual rather than substantive. As the critic for Film Journal International suggested (link under "References"), a closer comparison might be to Meredith Wilson's The Music Man, which also centers on a slick con artist redeemed by his marks, and finding a surrogate family,
  • Two-thirds of the movie's final script were actually written by the strip's creators. However, they had their names removed from the screenplay credit out of protest of the studio's decision to use the film's release in a Wal-Mart cross-promotion, citing Wal-Mart's anti-environmental activities as the reason.
  • Among the TV series spoofed in the scene of R.J. flipping TV channels in the forest are Dr. Phil and All My Children.
  • Hammy said to call the hedge Steve. The voice of Hammy is that of Steve Carell.
  • The end credits include a scene where the characters attack the vending machine that appeared in the first scene.
  • The lovestruck house cat Tiger yells after a departing Stella, "Stella!!" This is a parody of the famous scene in Tenessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire," in which the character Stanley yells for his wife Stella in a similar fashion.
  • During the rolling end credits, original comics can be seen as the credits roll (e.g., Penny and Lou reading a comic to the porcupine triplets.)

References

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