Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with MiraJeff's look at Dreamworks animation's newest (and I dare say best) flick OVER THE HEDGE. I saw this one a while back, in an unfinished state, at ShoWest, and was really quite happy with it. It might have been because my expectations were so low for a Dreamworks Animated flick (SHARK TALE was one of the worst films I have ever seen. Ever. Seriously.), but I tend to think it was because Mr. Katzenberg finally realized he could please both the kids and the parents and took a page from Pixar's playbook. Lite on the pop culture references, heavy on the character comedy. I'm glad they finally put out a great family flick.
Before I take too much of MiraJeff's limelight, I will cease my ramblings and turn the floor over to him. Enjoy!!!
Greetings AICN, MiraJeff here with a peek Over the Hedge, the latest from DreamWorks’ animation division. I’m gonna keep this review short and sweet, like the movie, which was the last movie I saw at Tribeca this year, although it won’t be the last I review. Frankly, Over the Hedge was great. I loved it. It should say enough that when I came out of the movie, I debated whether or not it was on the Toy Story 2/Shrek/The Incredibles level, and while it isn’t quite as classic as those movies, it’s pretty damn close. It’s definitely earned a spot on the Shrek 2/Monsters Inc./Bug’s Life shelf, for sure. And for those of you wondering, the original Toy Story is in a league of its own.
Over the Hedge stars Bruce Willis as R.J. the raccoon, whose hunger pains force him to try and steal a wagon-full of food from a hibernating grizzly bear, with disastrous results. The villain is voiced by Nick Nolte, who actually sounds like a grizzly bear. So one day in the woods R.J. meets a bunch of animals in the forest and like a slippery encyclopedia salesman, or The Music Man, sells them on the idea that he can get them enough food so that they’ll never go hungry again, but he needs their help in stealing this food. Who are they stealing from? Us humans of course, and one SUV-driving, cell phone-loving, junk-food buying, working-class suburban mommy in particular, voiced by the hilariously bitchy Alison Janney. How will the animals get the food? They’ll have to go over the hedge, a massive stretch of green bush that they call ‘Steve’ to weaken its intimidation factor. In addition to the grizzly and the mommy, the animals have to deal with an exterminator called The Verminator (Thomas Haden Church) who has a high-tech arsenal at his disposal, not to mention some in-house squabbles about who the group should take their cues from, R.J. or the wise, old turtle voiced by Garry Shandling.
The rest of the animals in the group are voiced by Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (married porcupines), William Shatner and Avril Lavigne (father-daughter possums), Wanda Sykes as Stella the Skunk (cue the Streetcar joke), and Steve Carrell, who plays the caffeine-free lightning bolt Hammy the Hamster. The real scene-stealer though is a Persian housecat voiced by Omid Djalili, who reminded me of Puss ‘N Boots. There’s no doubt that Hammy is sure to be an audience favorite, although Stella might earn the sympathies of young girls with odor problems. Willis’ chipper line readings hold the whole cast together, and personally I don’t think many actors could have sold that role for me. Years ago, AICN originally reported that Jim Carrey was voicing R.J. but I don’t know that he really could have pulled it off. Willis makes us feel bad for a character who really, isn’t all that nice a guy. He’s selfish and dishonest, but that all changes when he finally meets this cast of characters in the woods, who become his surrogate family. Shandling fills a need, playing the straight man and voice of reason, while Shatner does his Shatner thing and Avril spares us her vocal talents on the soundtrack, handing the reigns over to none other than Ben Folds, who pulls a Jack Johnson in Curious George here. None of the songs are especially memorable, but then again, this isn’t a musical like Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King.
The super-talented voice cast aside, actors are not what bring an animated kids movie to the next level. That would be the story, and with Over the Hedge, co-directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick have found the perfect screenplay to work from. The jokes come a mile a minute and the film is so darn well-written, it’s impossible to write off as just another flick for the kiddies. This is one I would recommend teenage guys seriously consider taking dates to. Forget the overlong DaVinci Code which might put the lady on your arm to sleep. Over the Hedge is an energetic laugher that might earn you some nookie during the car ride home from the theater, just because you had the balls to stand in line with a bunch of chair-kicking six year-olds. Over the Hedge is wholesome entertainment that the whole family can enjoy. Hell, I’m 22 and I might even see it again. Not sure if that says more about me, or the movie, but hey, it’s my ten bucks, right? Put this one down in the pantheon of children’s entertainment, because Over the Hedge is a movie your kids will probably be watching over and over until its inevitable sequel gets released.
That’ll do it for me, folks. I’ll be back next week with a look at An Inconvenient Truth, the old-school horror flick Hatchet, starring Freddy, Jason, and the Candyman, plus a recap of some of Tribeca’s finest shorts, including a hilarious entry from Vinny Chase himself, Adrian Grenier. ‘Til next time, this is MiraJeff, signing off…
