Over the Hedge 720p - (2006 Lang: English)

Kids will love it, adults will love, and I loved it.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I was transfixed! The animation? Gorgeous! The subtle humor? Uproarious! The not-so-subtle humor? Even better! This was a great movie that will surely be nominated for an Oscar if for no other reason than the beauty of the animation. While I could have honestly thought of a couple of better casting choices, I will mention that Wanda Sykes, Thomas Haden Church and Steve Carrell were brilliant in their roles. And who better to make fun of William Shatner than William Shatner? Worthy of special mention (and a second look - go see this movie again!): the Rottweiler interludes, the ripples in the water, the porcupine quills, the oh-so-amazing foliage throughout the movie, and Vincent's cartoonish-yet-strangely-scary expression.

Really REALLY a great movie that should appeal to all.

Over the Hedge is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy film, based on the characters from 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 United States on May 19, 2006. The film was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film features the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes, and Nick Nolte. It is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures,1 which acquired the live-action DreamWorks studio in 2006. The film earned $336 million on an $80 million budget.

While scavenging for food, RJ the raccoon enters the cave of Vincent the bear, who has a wagon full of human food taken from a nearby rest stop. RJ accidentally wakes Vincent from his hibernation, and in a race to escape, causes the stash to roll out onto the nearby highway and get run over. To avoid being eaten himself, RJ promises Vincent that he will completely replace the stash within the week.

RJ heads towards a recently built suburban housing development in Indiana, separated from a forest glade by a large hedge. There he discovers a pack of animals recently awoken from their hibernation, led by Verne the turtle; the others include squirrel Hammy, skunk Stella, porcupines Penny and Lou, along with their triplet sons, Spike, Bucky and Quillo; and opossum Ozzie and his daughter Heather. The animals are scared, as the development had been built during their hibernation and they fear they will be unable to forage for food in the small glade. RJ shows them the amount of food humans consume and waste and suggests they forage from the humans. Verne is hesitant but the other animals acquiesce. They make bold attempts to steal food directly from the humans, with RJ secretly guiding them to help collect the food he needs to replace Vincent's stash.

When the animals raid the trash cans of the homeowners-association chairman Gladys Sharp, she calls an animal exterminator named Dwayne LaFontant, who offers to install in her backyard an illegal, lethal trap called the Depelter Turbo. Verne sees this and tries to warn the others, but RJ insists they will be okay. Fearing for the safety of the pack, Verne attempts to return what they stole; he and RJ argue, causing a small rampage through the development and destroying the stash RJ had collected for Vincent. RJ rallies the others to raid Gladys' home directly on the night before a large party. With Stella disguised as a cat to distract Gladys' own cat, Tiger, the others enter Gladys' home and collect all the food. RJ inadvertently reveals his duplicity to the animals, just as they are discovered by Gladys who calls Dwayne. RJ escapes with the food for Vincent but leaves the other animals to be captured by Dwayne.

As RJ returns the food to Vincent, he sees Dwayne's truck drive by and impulsively uses the food to knock the truck off the road, enraging Vincent. Dwayne is knocked out while the animals get free, and Spike, Bucky and Quillo use video game skills to drive the truck back to the development. RJ pleads to be let in the truck as Vincent tries to catch him, but the others, angry at his duplicity, refuse. Verne convinces the group to forgive RJ since he came back to save them. They return the truck to the development, crashing through Gladys' home, and the animals flee into the hedge. Gladys and Dwayne converge on the animals from one side with a Weedhacker and a Cattle Prod respectively, while Vincent tries to swipe at them from the other. To escape, RJ gives Hammy a caffeinated beverage, allowing the hyperactive squirrel to move incredibly fast. Hammy is able to manipulate Dwayne into capturing Vincent, causing Vincent, Gladys, and Dwayne to be trapped by the Depelter Turbo while the animals escape. The police and animal control arrive, and Vincent is sent to the Rocky Mountains while Gladys and Dwayne are arrested for using the Turbo.

RJ and Verne apologize to each other, and RJ is brought into the group, as is Tiger, who became infatuated with Stella even after learning she was a skunk. Verne realizes they have not had a chance to forage for food until Hammy reveals that while sped up, he had been able to collect enough nuts for them all to last the year.

I was able to see an advance showing of this movie with a mostly college-age audience and everyone was laughing throughout the movie. It was excellent. As my friend to the left said, sometimes the movie was over the top as well as over the hedge, but those times were some of the most hilarious. Action sequences early in the movie that had people roaring with laughter were topped by ones later on and small tidbits of comedy were spread throughout. Add to that the typical messages about family, friends, and doing-right and you have the formula for a great family comedy. The voice acting was solid; a really fine ensemble cast. I don't buy many animated movies, but I may have to pick this one up. Wheee!

Great actors, great theme, great comedy, great movie. Entertaining Movie!