|
||||||||||||||||||||
Over the Hedge (early review) - Review
Rated: PG Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures Release Date: 2006-05-19 Starring: VOICE: Bruce Willis (RJ the Raccoon), Garry Shandling (Verne the Tortoise), Gene Wilder (Norbert the Owl), William Shatner (Ozzie the Possum), Steve Carell (Hammy the Squirrel), Allison Janney (Gladys), Avril Lavigne (Heather, Ozzie's Daughter), Eugene Levy (Lew the Porcupine), Nick Nolte (Vincent), Catherine O'Hara (Penny the Porcupine), Wanda Sykes (Stella the Skunk)
Directed by Tim Johnson
Produced by Bonnie Arnold
Written by Len Blum
Visit the movie's Official Site!
“It goes on forever!” screams one of the animal characters in Over the Hedge, describing the new shrubbery that popped up around their woodland home while they hibernated. But that also rather accurately describes the urban sprawl hidden behind it. Thousands of humans packed in tract housing, driving minivans, talking on cell phones, and paving over anything and everything that gets in their way. Suburban bliss is not achieved without furry, four footed sacrifice. These are only tertiary issues in the story of a conman raccoon who takes advantage of confused critters in order to save his own skin. RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis) the raccoon has one week to fill a bear cave with purloined human goods, or the bear cave’s hibernating bear resident will have him for breakfast. While scouting a newly sprouted subdivision, he stumbles upon Verne (voiced by Gary Shandling) and his politically correct, mixed-species family. Verne is a turtle, and his family includes a pair of possums, a group of hedgehogs, an energetic squirrel, and one exceptionally stinky skunk. It’s spring, and they’re fresh out of hibernation. To their surprise, during the winter their forest has been demolished to make way for new human housing, leaving them with only a patch of trees and a giant hedge separating their tiny remaining swath of nature from the manicured lawns of man. RJ sees his opportunity, and takes advantage of their unfamiliarity with humans to trick them into helping him gather goodies. Verne, ever the cautious leader, tries to hold his friends back. But hypnotized by heretofore unknown treats like cheesy poofs and chocolate chip cookies, Verne’s little family unit heedlessly follows RJ over the hedge into suburban trashcans and into danger. Along the way and in between there’s plenty of cuteness and chuckles as the animals and their celebrity voices interact with one another. Over the Hedge flies by, and satisfies every step of the way. It’s not as brilliantly funny as Shrek or as emotionally rewarding as Finding Nemo, but it’s a steady diet of cleverly created characters and gently delivered life lessons. This is a film definitely geared towards kids, though it’s smart enough that adults will find it easy to get involved in. Just don’t expect those adults only jokes from some of DreamWorks’ other CGI movies. You know, the ones meant to fly over the heads of kids. There aren’t any cracks about Verne wearing lacy underpants. The focus for Over the Hedge seems to be mostly on drawing realistically behaving animal animated characters and giving them a nice, small-scale adventure to go on. It does that, and does it well. A big part of why the film works so well is the character models they’ve used for their animal characters. They’re fantastically well done, from their fur, to their bone structure, to just the way they move. They’ve been deliberately tweaked to make them look a bit more cartoony, but there’s so much realism in the animation of the film’s little porcupines, turtles, and bears (oh my!) that it’s a delight to simply sit and watch them hop around the screen. Over the Hedge is far from another computer animated classic, but it’s a cute, clever little movie that gets on the screen, entertains, and then gets off. It’s succinct and sweet. Kids are going to love it, and geeky parents will get a kick out of William Shatner’s possum character and his penchant for overly dramatic deaths. Good enough.
Social Bookmark This Article Blinklist
 Del.icio.us
 Digg
 Furl
 Slashdot
 Facebook
 StumbleUpon
 Yahoo!
 Propeller
Comment on “Over the Hedge (early review)”Note: This website is not intended for use by minors. The views expressed in this comments section are not necessarily our own. Comments that we deem to be poorly worded, off topic, or threatening will not be published. For free, uncensored discussion visit our forum.
Leave a ReplyMAIN SITE NAVIGATION
HOME l ABOUT US l l SEARCH l MOVIE NEWS l MOVIE REVIEWS l MOVIE PREVIEWS l DVD REVIEWS l DVD NEWS l SOUNDTRACKS l FEATURES DATABASE l TELEVISION l MUSIC l GAMES l CELEBRITY l TECHNOLOGY l RSS 2.0 FEEDS l MESSAGE BOARDS l LIVE CHAT l SYNDICATE US l LINKS | CB STORE | GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT This site is operated by Cinema Blend LLC. For advertising inquiries, contact Gorilla Nation. CinemaBlend.com is a private, independently owned website which is intended only as entertainment. The views expressed on this website may or may not reflect those of its owner. Don't take us too seriously. Made in Webta Labs 
|
|
April 3rd, 2006 at 21:42
You shouldn't review unfinished films, Tyler. It's entirely unprofessional, AND it gives online critics a bad name. Dreamworks invited you to the screening as a gesture of good will, and you have pissed all over it just to get eyes to your unremarkable writing. Pathetic.