Over the Hedge (film)
Over the Hedge is a 2006 American animated heist comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures.[4] Based on the comic strip of the same name created by Michael Fry and T. Lewis, the film was directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick (in the latter's feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton and Kirkpatrick, and features the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes and Nick Nolte. Set in Indiana, the film centers on a raccoon named RJ, who is forced to deliver food to a bear named Vincent after accidentally destroying his stockpile of food, whereupon he manipulates a family of woodland animals who have recently awakened from hibernation into helping him steal food in order to speed up the process.
This article is about the film. For the video game based on the film, see Over the Hedge (video game).Over the Hedge was theatrically released in the United States on May 19, 2006, as the first film by DreamWorks Animation to be distributed by Paramount, and released on home video on October 17, 2006. Upon release, the film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing $339.8 million worldwide on an $80 million budget.
Plot[edit]
In a deserted Indiana picnic area, a raccoon named RJ tries stealing a stockpile of food from a hibernating bear named Vincent after failing to obtain food from a vending machine. The plan backfires when the food is destroyed in the ensuing confrontation. Vincent is woken up by the commotion and almost kills RJ, the raccoon offers to replace his food in one week's time; should RJ fail, Vincent will kill him.
The next morning, a family of woodland animals led by a turtle named Verne awaken from hibernation on the first day of spring, but discover most of the forest they lived in has been turned into a housing development that is separated from the little forest remaining by a giant hedge. RJ introduces himself to the group and explain they could have better food by scavenging off the humans. Despite Verne's concerns, RJ convinces the other animals to steal and stockpile food and other human stuff, unaware of his true intentions of delivering the stash to Vincent. Gladys Sharp, the neighborhood Home Owners Association president, takes notice of the animal problem and hires exterminator Dwayne LaFontant.
While RJ tries stopping a worried Verne from returning the pile of food to avoid Dwayne, the food is destroyed following a chase from an excited Rottweiler named Nugent. RJ blames Verne for the destruction while Verne unsuccessfully tries convincing his family not to follow RJ for their own safety; the family abandons him in favor of RJ. That night, Dwayne rigs animal traps, including a federally illegal contraband device called the Depelter Turbo, in Gladys' yard.
Verne reconciles with RJ and the other animals. On the night of the full moon, RJ sees that Gladys has bought a massive stockpile of food and has the animals invade her home and steal it. A squirrel named Hammy successfully disables the Depelter Turbo while the striped skunk Stella steals Gladys' pet Persian cat Tiger's collar, which enables entry into the house's pet door, by posing as a cat and seducing him. The animals stockpile another wagon full of food, but before leaving, RJ sees a can of chips and becomes determined to get them per Vincent's request. While trying to justify his motivation to get the chips, RJ reveals his true intentions just as Gladys comes downstairs and catches them. RJ flees with the food while Verne and the other animals are captured by Dwayne, who takes them away in his truck.
While delivering the food to Vincent, a remorseful RJ sees Dwayne's truck driving past and in an attempt to free the animals, sends the wagon to crash Dwayne's van and knock Dwayne unconscious. This prompts an enraged Vincent to attack RJ. The porcupine triplets drive the truck back to the neighborhood to escape Vincent while Verne convinces the others to forgive RJ. The animals crash the truck into Gladys' home and return to the hedge, only to be attacked from both sides of it by Vincent, Gladys and a now-awake Dwayne. Hammy reactivates the Depelter Turbo. RJ, who is wearing Verne's shell for protection, tricks Vincent into leaping over the hedge to eat him, resulting in Vincent, Gladys, and Dwayne being caught in the Depelter Turbo.
The local animal control service ships Vincent to the Rocky Mountains while Gladys is arrested for possessing the Depelter Turbo. Dwayne's escape attempt is thwarted by Nugent. RJ rejoins the woodland creatures permanently alongside Tiger, who remains in love with Stella even after learning she is a skunk. After Verne thinks they have wasted a whole week without gathering food for the winter, Hammy reveals that he has finally found the nuts he had stored for the previous winter, replenishing the animals' food supply.
Two minor human characters named Lunch Table Larry and BBQ Barry who appear during the dog chase scene, were voiced by Lee Bienstock and Sean Yazbeck, two participants on The Apprentice 5 as part of a reward for winning a task.[9]
Over the Hedge: Music from the Motion Picture
May 16, 2006
DreamWorks Animation
48:45
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
On its opening weekend, Over the Hedge finished in second place to The Da Vinci Code,[30] but its gross of $38,457,003 did not quite live up to DreamWorks Animation's other titles released over the past few years.[31] The film had a per-theater average of $9,474 from 4,059 theaters.[31] In its second weekend, the film dropped 30% to $27,063,774 for a $6,612 average from an expanded 4,093 theaters and finishing third,[31] behind X-Men: The Last Stand and The Da Vinci Code.[32] Since it was Memorial Day Weekend, the film grossed a total of $35,322,115 over the four-day weekend, resulting in only an 8% slide.[33] In its third weekend, the film held well with a 24% drop to $20,647,284 and once again placing in third behind The Break-Up and X-Men: The Last Stand, for a $5,170 average from 3,993 theaters.[34] The film closed on September 4, 2006, after 112 days of release, grossing $155,019,340 in the United States and Canada, along with $180,983,656 internationally for a worldwide total of $336,002,996,[2] against a production budget of $80 million.[3]
Critical response[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 75% based on 172 reviews, with an average score of 6.80/10. The site's consensus states: "Even if it's not an animation classic, Over the Hedge is clever and fun, and the jokes cater to family members of all ages."[35] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100 based on 31 critics.[36] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[37]
Ken Fox of TVGuide.com praised the film for being "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch."[38] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times give the film three out of four and called it "Not at the level of Finding Nemo or Shrek, but is a lot of fun, awfully nice to look at, and filled with energy and smiles."[39] Nick De Semlyen of Empire give the film three out of five and wrote, "You'll soon be sick of digital furballs, but there's plenty of fun here and Hammy is up there with Ice Age's Scrat in the pantheon of lunatic movie rodents."[40] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film two out of five, writing "The spoilt and wasteful American consumer is satirised in this patchy animated comedy from DreamWorks."[41]
Possible sequel[edit]
In May 2007, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said that Over the Hedge would not receive a sequel due to its box office performance, saying that "It was close. An almost."[49] In October 2010, an article explaining the possibility of a sequel was posted on the official Over the Hedge blog, saying that if a sequel failed to perform as well financially as the first film, DreamWorks could lose money on the project.[50]