Reviews

Over the Hedge

So what I wanted to do was watch Over the Hedge with a little kid and use their reaction to the movie as the review. The reality is most of my friends are working stiff duds or drunks. There’s no time to raise young un’s when you need another pint. I asked my wife’s friend if she would let her daughter watch a movie and give me feedback. She said no. Well, she said she had to see Over the Hedge before letting her daughter see it. I took it as a nice way of saying no.

What I’m getting at is I watched a children’s movie. I watched Over the Hedge… by myself… and I liked it.

Every once and while children’s entertainment will come along that is honestly enjoyable for all ages. The biggest problem (in my opinion) with childen’s books and movies is they tend to treat the child like a dolt. Will the lost puppy find their way home? Seriously, fuck the puppy. Enough of this safe drivel parents park their kids in front of. The world needs another Roald Dahl or more films like Lady in the Water that treat kids as, get this, thinking people capable of handling an actual plot.

Until the next Roald Dahl comes along we’ll have to settle for Over the Hedge. Over the Hedge may follow a typical children’s format but it also spills over into deeper territory. Various animals wake up from hibernation to find their forest has been turned into a subdivision while they were sleeping. Unable to forge for food a raccoon shows the woodland animals how to find what they need in the new urban sprawl. What the forest creatures don’t realize is RJ the raccoon has his own agenda.

While not heavy handed, Hedge does hint around over development and its effects on wildlife. It also makes with the funny and not just the kind of funny young kids would laugh at. The voice acting is solid. You can tell the actors put full effort into their parts. Having a movie this charming and entertaining to all groups must be great motivation. Avril Lavigne, who plays a possum, is the weakest link and it’s clear she’s on board to help bring in the targeted audience. Steve Carell is the standout (no big surprise) playing a hyper active squirrel, who delivers all his lines frantically and grabbing all the big laughs. You can practically hear Carell panting as the squirrel zips around the screen or becomes distracted by a cookie. Bruce Willis is a raccoon. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara are porcupines. Garry Shandling a turtle (that’s a reptile), Wanda Sykes is a skunk and William (Rocket Man) Shatner is the possum father to Avril.

The majority of the movie is animals racing around and nabbing food from the neighborhood. There are pranks, there’s a crisis, lament, forgiveness and of course a happy ending. You didn’t think Over the Hedge was going to end in mass euthanasia did you? If you enjoy the occasional children’s movie or you have little kids of your own this should find it’s way to your DVD player.
What else can I say?
8/10
Andy
Rent Over the Hedge, or any other kid flick at Wild and Woolly video. Yeah, they have a kids section!