Recent upsurges of comedic cartoon-films over recent years have produced a mixed reaction - this is one of the better ones

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2006)

Recent upsurges of comedic cartoon-films over recent years have produced a mixed reaction; Shrek 2 is possibly the greatest cartoon film ever however, this has been followed up with Madagascar and The Wild ('inter alia') which haven't lived up to the standard set by Shrek 2. This movie certainly does! From the overview, the cast didn't look exceptional thus we could draw relationships with flops such as Madagascar. Bruce Willis was the only 'larger' name alongside William Schatner  neither of which stimulate me. This film also saw Avril Lavigne's debut as an actor (or as a voice-over to be more precise). Despite this rather uninspiring and experimental cast this film turned out to be exceptional.
The plot: RJ (a raccoon,) is a scavenger and tries to steal food of a bear (Vincent played by Nick Nolte). The bear catches RJ and threatens to eat him if he doesn't replace all of his food in a week. In order to do this, RJ has to make friends with some scavengers, namely a Turtle called Verne (played by Garry Shandling), an overexcited hamster called hammy (played by Steve Carell), a skunk with an attitude problem called Stella (played by Wanda Sykes), two possums called Ozzie and Heather (played by William Schatner and Avril Lavigne) and a few hedgehogs; Lou, Penny, Bucky, Spike and Quillo (played by Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Sami Kirkpatrick, Shane Baumel and Madison Davenport).
The scavengers have been in hibernation for a few months. They wake up and learn redevelopers have cut down their beloved forest and begin to worry about gathering food. Fortunately, RJ is on the scene and the scavengers learn how to steal food from humans (who are over the hedge). This is a comedic story is based on a concoction of how RJ tries cheating his newly found family into giving him all the collected food from over the hedge so he can save his own life from a hungry bear, the battle between an bigoted insane woman (who calls in the 'verminator') and the animals' interpersonal relationships within the 'family' with strong referencing to Verne's tingling tail and its relationship with RJ.
Throughout the plot, there are some fantastic displays from Hammy, Stella and Lou in particular. Watch out for Avril Lavigne's Heather who I think is also exceptional in her debut role. Despite the warning signs that this was going to be a particular poor film it has turned out to be completely the opposite  something which must go into the 'Shrek 2' class of films. I think the directors Karey Kirkpatrick and Tim Johnson have got the cast spot on and directed it so well! It is a laugh a minute from the start to the finish with fantastic characters, fantastic narratives and clever twists during essential comedic moments  it has something for everyone. Watch it or miss out, it really is that good!