Surprisingly better than "Cars"

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2006)

Coming into "Over the Hedge" I was not expecting much. This did not look too exciting or humorous and looked just like the countless amount of cute talking animal movies that I have seen over my lifetime. I believed that there was no way that it could be better "Cars" (this was before I saw "Cars"). Luckily, I was surprised to see that not only was this entertaining but this is better then the overrated "Cars."
The voice acting was well done. The highlight had to be Steve Carrell as Hammy, a hyperactive squirrel. Carrell was hilarious and there is one scene almost worth the price of admission. Bruce Willis made a charming RJ though if they chose Jim Carrey instead, Jim Carrey was originally cast as RJ until the studio replaced him with Bruce Willis, I would enjoy it more. William Shatner plays a frequently overacting possum named Ozzie who likes to play dead. Garry Shandling is Verne the turtle, someone who did not agree with the welcoming of RJ. Wanda Stykes is Stella the skunk, whose best scene is wooing a Persian cat named Tiger played by Omid Djalili. Even Avril Lavigne voices Ozzie's daughter Heather, who was not annoying and not noticeable until I saw her name in the credits.
The jokes are well done and appeal to both children and adults. There are the obvious jokes about possums playing dead, and skunks doing what skunks do best, but the creators take the jokes a step further. There is a scene where RJ explains to the animals all about the magic of food and the effect food have on humans, which was the highlight of the trailers. There is also scene that is a great homage to Pepe LePew. As I mentioned earlier, there is a scene with Hammy that was almost worth the price of admission. Another thing I liked is that it does not rely too much upon fart or pop culture jokes, which is plagued in many animated movies. This movie ends as a great mix of physical comedy and as a satire of the modern suburban family.
Unfortunately, there are negatives too. The plot has been told many times before and because of this, it became a little predictable. This story is about someone who is an outcast meeting a family and the affects on him and the family. The satire though is what separates this from an average animated movie. There were far too many characters. Therefore, with that in mind you have two options; take out one or two characters, or add to the run time. The characters that were pointless and undeveloped were two porcupines played by Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara. The animation, while still amazing, was not anything new or groundbreaking but that is the fault of all of the studios pushing so many animated features. Despite a few flaws, I really enjoyed this. Both children and adults can enjoy this and I recommend you renting this with your family.