"Looney Toons
'Hedge' Their Bets"
by Scott Mantz

"Over the Hedge"
Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling,
Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes
Directed by Tim Johnson & Karey Kirkpatrick

Call of the wild! RJ and Hammy invade suburbia in "Over the Hedge"

The summer movie season may be officially under way, but you wouldn't know it judging by the box office grosses for the past 2 weeks.

After disappointing openings for “M:i:III” ($48 million) and “Poseidon” ($22 million), industry pundits still have yet to see that big, headline-grabbing debut that usually coincides with the release of an expensive Hollywood blockbuster.  That will likely change this weekend, when the highly anticipated “The Da Vinci Code” opens.  Between the controversy surrounding its subject matter, the popularity of its star and the fact that just about everyone on the planet has already read the book, theater owners can finally count on getting that big opening weekend they've been waiting for.

And if “The Da Vinci Code” doesn't do it for them, then “Over the Hedge” probably will.  That's because the computer-animated big screen adaptation of the popular comic strip series created by Michael Fry and T Lewis is a clever, charming and often funny movie that the whole family can enjoy.

When Verne the turtle (Garry Shandling) and his woodland friends awaken from their long winter's nap, they are shocked to discover that a large green hedge has been erected right in the middle of their native habitat.  That means food will be hard to come by, but a mysterious raccoon named RJ (Bruce Willis) shows up with a solution -- all the food they will ever need is right over the hedge in suburbia, where the humans live and possess more than they can possibly need.  RJ convinces everyone to sneak over and grab as much food as they can, but Verne is suspicious that RJ has more selfish intentions up his sleeve.

Compared to other DreamWorks computer-animated movies, “Over the Hedge” is closer to “Madagascar” and “Shark Tale” than it is to either of the “Shrek” films, which is to say that it is simply an entertaining family movie that doesn't break any new ground -- visually or structurally.  There's not much of a story, and even with a super-short running time of 75 minutes (without ending credits), it feels a bit padded.  But it is still very funny, and it tends to get better as it goes along.  (It's also preceded by a touching dialogue-free 7-minute short called “First Flight,” in which an accident-prone businessman helps a little bird take flight for the first time.)

But what really puts the film over the top is its terrific voiceover cast.  Standouts include Bruce Willis as the manipulative RJ, while Garry Shandling is effectively self-deprecating as the more practical Verne.  Two-time Emmy-winner William Shatner hams it up as Ozzie, a possum who shares some of Shatner's own melodramatic mannerisms.  Wanda Sykes has some of the best lines in the movie as a sassy skunk named Stella, but Steve Carell practically steals the show as Hammy, a hyperactive squirrel who would be rich beyond his wildest dreams if he could bottle up his energy and sell it.

Speaking of selling, “Over the Hedge” is bound to do just that with lots of tickets over the May 19 weekend, and it should -- kids will love it, and so will their parents.  And it's not like kids will want to see “The Da Vinci Code” anyway, so who knows -- maybe “Over the Hedge” will wind up being that big summer movie that theater owners have been waiting for.

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