[REVIEW] Over the Hedge

[rfmcdonald]

Over the Hedge is a film that fits quite comfortably into the new modern tradition of well-written and artistically accomplished computer-animated films which appeal to both children and adults. This film, derived (as Wikipedia notes) from an ongoing comic strip, features a cast of cute animals which get up to all manner of amusing adventures in suburbia, and can easily be appreciated on that level. Adults, for their part, can treat the film as a quiet commentary on the extensive nature of urban growth, within and without the United States--anyone in Toronto who has been following the greenbelt debate at all would be aware of the high cost that suburbia's expansion is exacting on the wider world. Celebrity-watchers will also be pleased to know that Bruce Willis pulls off his raccoon, Garry Shandling his turtle, and William Shatner his possum. It might be worth waiting for the film to come out on DVD if you don't want to watch it with audiences of young children, but I'd hardly count that as a black mark against the film itself. Go, watch.