It Didn't Blow Me Away

Rating: 4/10 (11 April 2008)

I chuckled a few times at some of the funnier moments in this movie (which says something right there - the funniest moments could only get a chuckle out of me), became quickly tired of the rather preachy satire of suburban life which reminds us all of the ridiculousness of human wastefulness, and frankly found that the story revolving around RJ the Racoon was unoriginal and bland.
Essentially RJ has ripped off Vincent the bear by stealing his food, and Vincent gives him a week to replace it - or else! RJ enlists the unwitting aid of a group of animals led by Verne the turtle to raid the human suburb on the other side of the hedge by sharing stories of the decadence of human society and how everything revolves around food, with much of it ending up in the garbage, and telling them that the food is for them, but really with the plan to use their sweat to get himself off the hook with the bear. In the end RJ learns the requisite valuable lesson about family and how they support each other.
It's hard to say who this film was really directed at. The cute animal characters seem to make it a kiddy film, with the moral message and the RJ/Vincent situation seemingly being more understood by adults. In the end, I didn't think either audience would be truly blown away by this, in spite of some very good animation and an excellent cast of voices. Overall, I thought it was a mediocre movie. 4/10