Over The Hedge

T. Lewis

Garry Shandling

Steve Carell

William Shatner

Wanda Sykes

Nick Nolte

Avril Lavigne

***Over the Hedge*** is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy, fantasy film, based on the characters from the United Media comic strip of the same name. Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, and produced by Bonnie Arnold, it was released in the United States on May 19, 2006. The film was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film features the voices of Bruce Willis, Hayden Panettiere, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes, and Nick Nolte. It is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, which acquired the live-action DreamWorks studio in 2006.[5] The film earned $336 million on an $80 million budget.

## Plot

RJ,the Raccoon after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a vending machine, ventures into the cave of the hibernating bear Vincent .While attempting to steal Vincent's cache of goods, as well as his red wagon and blue cooler, RJ accidentally wakes Vincent, who after realizing what RJ is doing, attempts to scare him into giving his stuff back. RJ, in a panic, knocks the wagon of food into the street, where it is run over by a truck and is destroyed. The furious Vincent gives RJ an ultimatum: replace everything within a week, or get eaten. RJ finds the new suburban development El Rancho Camelot Estates in Southern California, where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of foragers and by three 14-year-old homeschooled teenagers who had powers, Taylor Lane, Sophie Lane, Casey Lane and 8 year-old Princess Sofia as led by the practical turtle, Verne awakens from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges Hammy (RJ during the film calls him "Hamilton") the cookie-addicted, hyperactive squirrel, Stella the skunk with attitude, Ozzie the Shakespearian and his 16-year-old daughter Heather opossum and Minnesota accented porcupines Lou and Penny and their young offspring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo to start their yearly search for food to store with a help of Taylor since she is adopted by animals and her parents had died. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a hedge: which they call 'Steve' until RJ directs them otherwise. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treasures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Taylor and Verne fears for what traps or predators also await and is being interested in the suburban world. Yet a determined and desperate RJ gets Sofia, the woodland creatures and to Taylor and to her sisters to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and caper movie antics, they successfully snatch a wagon full of Girl Scout-like cookies (which begins Hammy's addiction and Taylor’s introduction ). Seeing this, the whole group except Verne and Taylor join in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, SUV-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps while Taylor struggles to fit in the suburbs, but they also had a bidding friendship together. All this prompts the ire of home-owner association president and Taylor’s jealous aunt Gladys Sharp who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontant, who calls himself The Verminator Seeing this, and disgraced at the other animals' behavior, Taylor and Verne try to return everything they've stolen leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing, "play"-spouting dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a canister of barbecue propane, and a backyard slide that launches the wagon, Taylor, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling and Taylor flying, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, mushroom-cloud fireball. When RJ, Taylor and Verne are rocketed back over the hedge, RJ and the other animals get mad at Verne, except for Taylor, who confesses the blame. When RJ angrily makes another comment, Verne loses his temper, and claims that RJ is making his friends do whatever he likes because they're "too stupid and naive enough to know any better". Verne then tries to take back what he said, but the damage has already been done, and circumstances get worse as Verne tries to come up with a less hurtful description, and says ignorant, which angers Taylor. Even Hammy is heartbroken, as Verne was pointing at *him* during his outburst. Hammy tearfully says "I'm not stupid", and takes the comment seriously with him being very hyperactive and somewhat childlike. Angry and hurt, Verne's friends leave him and Taylor angrily yells at RJ and Verne, claiming what they had done and storms off from home, and the turtle is all alone. Verne is then by himself, as he wonders what is truly best for his friends. But Verne isn't the only one with problems.

During his time with the foragers, RJ can't resist but having a growing affection for all of them. They're so kind, soft, and even gives him a spot for himself so he wouldn't need to sleep on a tree. He slowly realizes that he shouldn't be using them and to Taylor for his own selfish needs, but should he blurt them out his secret and break their hearts and to trust Taylor? Taylor on other hand is walking alone in the neighborhood at night, she changes her, because she has feelings her RJ and she heads home.

RJ and Taylor then goes to Verne, cools down and cheers him up and Taylor apologizes to him and reconciles with RJ and to Sofia and her sisters. Verne apologizes to his friends, and they welcome him back and Taylor as well since she apologized to them. Now, RJ and Taylor stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of the big "welcome to the neighborhood" party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella the skunk disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen and Taylor being the animal size small with using her amulet. They're almost in the clear when RJ. spies a can of Spuddies Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list and in trying to retrieve it keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's traps Taylor all of the animals all except RJ, Sophie, Casey and Sofia who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods and they saw that their sister and her friend has been captured so they rushed to get RJ. As Taylor and the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods and along with Sophie, Casey and Sofia, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully "conning the suckers" and getting what he needed and they tell him that Taylor and others have been captured. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind. Realizing the path to which his unchecked grifting will lead and how much he loves Taylor just how much she loves him, RJ turns on Vincent, who didn't deserve all the food, and uses the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van along with the girls, launching a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him. While being chased by the bear, the young porcupines direct the Verminator's van into the home of Gladys Sharp, much to her dislike. Vincent is donked by a hammer, pricked by Penny, and is finally sent flying with a balloon. All of the animals and the girls pull out of the van as the verminator regains consciousness.

Vincent lands on the animal's side and near the Lane’s house of the hedge, where he begins to claw furiously to get RJ, while the verminator activates his electric wand and attempts to poke out the animals, determined to finish the job. Suddenly, the back door to Gladys' home swings open, and she emerges and clicks on the dreaded weed whacker and begins to swing furiously at the hedge, exclaiming "Show your ratty little faces! Why can't you stay in the woods where you belong?!" Trapped between Vincent and the humans except for Taylor and the girls outside of the hedge, RJ, Taylor and Verne quickly concoct a plan. They give a highly caffeinated cola to the already adrenaline-rushing Hammy (notorious throughout the film for his ridiculously high levels of speed and uncontrolled energy), leading to a scene (reminiscent of others from U.S. TV's *The Twilight Zone* and the DC Comics character The Flash) where his perceptions and motion are so sped up that the world appears to stand still, as if time has stopped. Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed, adjusts the trap controls (and collects one of his beloved cookies on the way). As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to him), RJ, Taylor and Verne's plan succeeds, leading to Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the Rockies, Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested not only for the illegal man trap she arranged, but also for assaulting a police officer, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the playful dog from before. RJ, now a hero to the other animals and to Taylor, RJ second hero in deed as well as in word, settles down and agrees to be a father figure to the animal community and Taylor is happily accept him as her fatherly figure and her uncle figure. They in turn explain that if they had been truthfully told about RJ's predicament in the beginning, they would have helped him settle his debt, "...because that’s what families do", says Verne.

After the credits, the characters return to the vending machine RJ visited during the opening scene, now fully stocked. The entire vending machine is emptied in one shot to the delight of all, but the PUSH bar cannot be moved and no food can be retrieved. Hammy deems the scene "anti-climactic."

## Cast

* Bruce Willis as RJ
* Hayden Panettiere as Taylor Lane
* Garry Shandling as Verne
* Steve Carell as Hammy
* Wanda Sykes as Stella
* William Shanter as Ozzie
* Nick Nolte as Vincent
* Thomas Haden Church as Dwayne LaFontant
* Allison Janney as Gladys Sharp
* Eugene Levy as Lou
* Catherine O'Hara as Penny
* Avril Lavigne as Heather
* Selena Gomez as Sophie Lane
* Hilary Duff as Casey Lane
* Omid Djalili as Tiger
* Ariel Winter as Princess Sofia