Barnes & Noble

It's spring, and a close-knit group of forest creatures awaken from hibernation with but one thought: It's only 274 days until winter. "Nine berries from starvation," the friends search for food, led by the cautious turtle Verne (Garry Shandling). What they find is half their habitat gone and a hedge looming before them like the Great Wall of China. On the other side is "54 acres of man-made, manicured, air-conditioned paradise." Their guide to this foreign land (where, a porcupine notes, the grass is actually greener) is R.J (Bruce Willis), a charismatic, fast-talking raccoon, who promises them a junk food paradise. What he doesn't tell them is that he plans to hijack their hard-earned stockpile and deliver it to Vincent (a growling Nick Nolte), a vicious bear who has given R.J. just one week to replace the food he tried to steal from Vincent and inadvertently destroyed. Inspired by the syndicated comic strip, Over the Hedge is a story of redemption with some clever social satire added to the mix. "That is an SUV," R.J. observes. "Humans ride in them because they are slowly losing their ability to walk." Of course, there are also mildly rude jokes of the "Wanna help me find my nuts?" variety. The producers certainly didn't hedge on the voice talent. Steve Carrell's hyper and nutty squirrel, Hammy, has the breakout potential of Scrat from Ice Age. Wanda Sykes brings her characteristic sass to Stella, a skunk. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are porcupine parents, with William Shatner as a possum who plays dead with hammy bravado and Avril Lavigne as his daughter. Representing the human species, Allison Janney is a freaked-out homeowner who hires pest control expert "the Verminator" (Thomas Haden Church) to rid the area of the encroaching animals. She dismisses his humane methods. "I want them exterminated as inhumanely as possible," she orders. From individual blades of grass to the spray from sprinklers' dancing waters, the computer animation is stunningly clear and sharp. Complementing the ultra-realistic style are such comic-strip flourishes as a hilarious outer-space perspective of an atomic blast of nacho chips that rocks the animals' world. With its environmental-awareness message and celebration of family, Over the Hedge is anything but junk food. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

A group of feisty forest critters awaken following the winter freeze to discover that not only has a new neighborhood cropped up during the cold months, but living in close proximity to humans may have its benefits in this computer-animated comedy-adventure for all ages featuring the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes, Avril Lavigne, Eugene Levy, and William Shatner. Despite Verne the Turtle's (Garry Shandling) initial hesitance to breach the formidable foliage that has appeared on his doorstep since last fall, the arrival of fearless raccoon RJ (Willis) and revelation that their new human neighbors throw out enough food in one day to feed a whole forest lead the gang to consider taking the plunge and exploring the snack-filled suburbs. As Verne and RJ learn to work together in taking on their strange new surroundings, Stella the Skunk (Sykes), Hammy the Squirrel (Carrel), Heather the Opossum (Lavigne), and Heather's father, Ozzie (Shatner), join in on the fun by scavenging for Girl Scout cookies and attempting to scuttle past the pesky new suburbanites undetected. Jason Buchanan

Product Details

• UPC: 097361190679
• Source: DREAMWORKS ANIMATED
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: Français, Español, English
• Time: 1:00:00
• Sales Rank: 50,532

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