shrewdly-made and engaging

Rating: 7/10 (11 August 2006)

"Over The Hedge" maybe is not a breakthrough in animation, but I enjoyed this flick very much. The film certainly is not revealing as it broaches somehow a worn out subject of the importance of a family as an essential value in life. The plot is simple, but engaging. The creators implemented motives being well-known by average viewers in a rather shrewd way so as to entertain audience and keep them interested all the time. "Over The Hedge" resembles "Toy Story" and its sequel in this case. However, toys were replaced by cute little animals. As far as animals are concerned, there are immensely likable characters which make us involve in a story even more. The movie contains also hilarious scenes which, I must admit, do not evoke peals of laughter. For instance, Hammy, a squirrel from this flick is visibly less funny than Twitchy from "Hoodwinked". It appears that animated studios compete with each other who will create the most hilarious squirrel (bear in mind also this one from "Ice Age"). Nevertheles, the jokes are quite graceful and do not embarrass creators in any way. This picture should definitely see both adults and children, but to my mind there are available far better animated films aiming at everyone.