Over the Hedge

Over the Hedge (2006) begins with a group of woodland animals waking from hibernation to find half their forest replaced by a housing estate. A huge hedge has gone up between them. On the other side are people, and people have rubbish. A raccoon named RJ tells the group about the abundance beyond the hedge, but RJ owes a debt and is using them. It is adapted from the comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. The strip's real subject was mocking consumer habits and the film keeps that: in one scene RJ explains the American way of life to the animals entirely through its refuse. The most remembered passage is the squirrel Hammy taking caffeine and time slowing down around him. The voice cast includes Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes and William Shatner. Shatner plays a possum who treats playing dead as a serious dramatic art, and he knows exactly what he is sending up. Ben Folds wrote and performed the songs. It runs 83 minutes, short and undemanding. Good for: watching with children, animation, and light comedy. Less good for: the story is predictable and there is no emotional depth to find.