OVER THE HEDGE


US, 2006, 83 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Bruce Willis, Gary Shandling, William Shatner, Nick Nolte, Thomas Haden Church, Alison Janney, Eugene Levy, Catherine O' Hara, Omid Djalilli.
Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick.

An ambitious Dreamworks animation comedy based on a popular series of comic strips and comic books.

While the animation is enjoyable, it is fairly normal by recent standards. However, it excels in the fine voice cast, some of whom you would not expect to be in this kind of film. There is Nick Nolte as an upset and grizzly bear. There is Bruce Willis as the star, a con-artist raccoon called RJ. Garry Shandling is the tortoise who leads the mixed community of animals trying to survive. Steve Carrell is the loopy character who provides the manic laughs. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara? are recognisable as an old, cautious couple. William Shatner mouthes wisdom and Wanda Sykes is sassy.

For the human characters, Alison Janney is the dominating suburban housewife and Thomas Haden Church is the pest exterminator.

Actually, humans are the targets of the satire. They are certainly bossy but we see their selfishness, their extravagance and wastefulness through the eyes of hungry animals. We also see that humans are addicted to junk food (but there is a lurking suspicion that the animals who delight in their discovery of the sweet and the savoury, especially through salty chips, are going to be as bad addicts as the humans).

Be that as it may, this is an entertaining story of animals who are led to shed their fears and go beyond the terrifying hedge. It is also the story of a genial rogue who learns about family.