Over the Hedge

The raucous-looking print ad for this new Dreamworks creature-feature gives the impression that we’re in for another slice of vacuous comic shtick. Having already suffered ‘Madagascar’, ‘The Wild’ and ‘Chicken Little’, do we parents really want to endure another slice of CGI drivel? Praise the Lord, then, that ‘Over the Hedge’ turns out to be far better than expected.

RJ the raccoon (voiced by Bruce Willis) is a foxy loner who knows every survival trick in the book. An experienced opportunist, he’s not averse to procuring a human snack or two, even if it means stealing it from under the nose of Vince the bear (Nick Nolte). It’s while escaping the clutches of Vince that RJ stumbles upon a ragbag community of woodland critters who have just emerged from hibernation only to discover a new housing project on their doorstep and a bloody great hedge blocking the way to what was once prime foraging ground. Verne the dyed-in-the-wool tortoise (Gary Shandling) is mistrustful of the new interloper, especially when he informs them that beyond the hedge lies more food than they ever dreamed of, even if it is of the junk variety. Nevertheless, needs must…

Based on a popular US comic strip, Tim ‘Antz’ Johnson’s sparky film is competently animated, well paced and smartly conceived with imaginative characters, snappy voiceovers and some clever observational humour. I especially liked the way in which the film takes the mickey out of our Western methods and mores, our inexorable expansion into the green belts and our (or rather America’s) love-affair with junk food. It misses the mark a couple of times but in the main, it’s good clean fun.