Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageOver the Hedge (2006)
Director: Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Movie review
From Time Out London
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.
Author: Derek Adams
Time Out London Issue 1871: June 28-July 5 2006
User reviews of this film
-
- Toni said...
- Posted on Aug 24 2007 15:12 i fink over the hedge is fab a good and fun film to watch it has talkin animals in it and its just amazin x im only 12 and i fink this film is rated to eny ages because it is amazin
- Report as inappropriate
-
- mike parson said...
- Posted on Aug 21 2007 00:04 it was great!!!
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Producer: Bonnie Arnold
Genre(s): Comedy, Children's
Rated: U
Duration: 83 mins
UK Release: Jun 30 2006
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now