Clever and satiric for adults. Just plain fun for kids.

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2017)

Based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis, this is a loud & lively animated comedy brimming with endearing characters, and some laugh out loud gags. Bruce Willis, back in the days when he still seemed to give a damn, is nicely cast as the voice of R.J., a conniving, self serving raccoon who foolishly tries to steal the food supply of a bear named Vincent (voice of Nick Nolte). When the stash is demolished, R.J. ropes a troupe of foraging forest critters into helping him find a replacement stash. And he believes there will be easy pickings when they go "over the hedge" and into the suburban sprawl that is encroaching upon their wilderness.
It is thanks to the success of "Toy Story" from a decade previous that a formula got perfected in this sort of entertainment, with some bright and cutting humor for adults to enjoy. It's not subtle about its criticisms of suburban life, but some people might not mind. And, although it may be rather too intense for the youngest of your family members, kids are more than likely to really take to the critter characters. Some of the humor may be obvious, but it does still work. There is even a sort of nod to Pepe Le Pew cartoons as our heroes give Stella the skunk (voice of Wanda Sykes) a makeover in order to pull the wool over a pet cats' (voice of Omid Djalili) eyes.
The animation is slick and first rate, and there's plenty of peppy music in the form of a score by Rupert Gregson-Williams and songs by Ben Folds.
The all star main voice cast also includes William Shatner as a possum who's appropriately hammy when he fakes death, a hilarious Garry Shandling as Verne the turtle, Steve Carell as a crazed squirrel named Hammy, Thomas Haden Church as a lunkhead exterminator, Allison Janney as a neighborhood busybody, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as porcupine parents, and pop star Avril Lavigne as the possum daughter.
Quite entertaining overall, especially the way that it continues with gags through the closing credits.
One of the brightest bits for this viewer was the way that R.J. educated his newfound friends on the way that humans worship food and give it such predominance in their lives.
Eight out of 10.