Over the Hedge is a 2006 computer-animated comedy film, based on the characters from the comic strip of the same name produced by DreamWorks Animation and currently distributed worldwide by Paramount Pictures, which acquired the live-action DreamWorks studio the same year and was released on May 19, 2006. It is DreamWorks Animation's 12th feature film. Over the Hedge is also DreamWorks Animation's successful film to date, and it held the title of being the highest-grossing animated film of all time until Up surpassed it in 2009.
A video game based on the film was released in 2006 on many platforms.
Plot[]
While foraging for food, Robert Jr. encounters Vincent and his large cache of food. Robert Jr. tries to steal it, but instead accidentally wakes up Vincent and makes the food be crushed in traffic on a nearby road. Vincent threatens to kill Robert Jr., but Robert Jr. quickly promises to replace his food stocks within the week, when Vincent is fully awake from his hibernation. Vincent lets Robert Jr. go as he returns to his cave. Robert Jr. discovers a nearby human suburban community, an optimal source for his task, and encounters a group of woodland animals that have just woken up from their own hibernation in undeveloped forest that is surrounded by the community. The group is led by Verne, and it includes Hammy, Stella, Ozzie and Heather, Lou and Penny, and their kids Bucky, Quillo and Spike. The animals quickly find that a large hedge was put in place while they were sleeping to separate them from the rest of the human development and are afraid to venture on the other side.
Robert Jr. uses the opportunity to introduce himself to the group and explain that they could have better food by scavenging off the humans. Though Verne is wary of Robert Jr.'s plans and believes he may be using them, the group of animals quickly find that Robert Jr. is right, and begin raiding the human development repeatedly for food. The disappearance of food does not go unnoticed, and the development homeowner association president Gladys Sharp calls in the help of the pest control specialist Dwayne LaFontant, who installs an overpowered extermination system in her backyard while trying to track down all the animals in the world. Despite close calls with Dwayne, the group of animals continues to gather food from the humans, Robert Jr. secretly making sure the food collected will replace Vincent's stock exactly. Robert Jr. is brought in as part of the pack's extended family, making him feel guilty about hiding his true intentions from them. When Robert Jr. tries to approach Verne about it, he cannot help but lie about the situation.
A final raid planned by Robert Jr. before Vincent's deadline involves invading Gladys' home, which requires someone to distract her pet Persian cat Tiger; Stella is quickly groomed to look like a cat to draw Tiger's attention away. Though they are able to collect most of the food in the kitchen, Robert Jr. inadvertently reveals the truth to Verne as he tries to get a can of Spuddies (which are Vincent's favorites). During their argument, the animals are soon discovered by Gladys and Dwayne; though RJ Robert Jr. away, the other animals are all captured. Robert Jr. takes the food to Vincent; however, upon seeing the other animals captured, uses the food to stop Dwayne's van and knock the human unconscious, allowing Robert Jr. to free the animals. After apologizing for using the group to his own ends, Robert Jr. helps the others drive the van back to the forest, all the while chased by Vincent who floated on helium balloons, a jester and a knight on a horse. The animals take shelter in the hedge, with Vincent furiously trying to claw them out from one side and Gladys trying to use her weed hacker on them and Dwayne trying to shock them with his cattle prod from the other side.
Desperate to stop Vincent, Robert Jr. and Verne come up with a plan to give Hammy an energy drink, which makes him move at light speed and slow time. This allows him to safely activate the extermination traps while Robert Jr. uses himself as bait to lure Vincent into Gladys' backyard (and surprisingly lives because of Verne's shell). Vincent, Gladys, and Dwayne are momentarily confused just before they are seriously stung by the Depelter Turbo, which Dwayne had first warned them about and told them to prepare to get severely stung. After the animals celebrate their victory, Verne tells Robert Jr. to take off his shell and give it back (which he does). Soon, animal control is called to take Vincent back to the Rocky Mountains while Gladys is arrested for the use of inhumane traps and Dwayne for being affiliated with Gladys; however, she tries to put the blame on Dwayne by saying he sold the Depelter Turbo to her and that the situation has nothing to do with her. When the officer shows her proof by saying that the trap was in her yard and her name was on the contract, Gladys insists it isn't her fault and orders to be let go since she is the president of the Home Owners Association. Punching the police officer across the face and knocking him down, Gladys tries to get away, but starts to fight the officers (thus landing her in furhter trouble). While this is happening, Dwayne tells the officers to get Gladys, then quietly slips away and climbs over a fence, only to step on a squeaky toy and get bitten in the leg by Nugent.
In the hedge, Robert Jr. is hailed a hero and a new leader to everyone. Stella finds that Tiger still has a crush on her, despite knowing she is a skunk, as he has long since lost his sense of smell. Both Robert Jr. and Tiger are accepted into the group. When Verne realizes they still need food for the winter, Hammy reveals that he stuffed their log home with nuts and then accidentally runs into the camera.
Voice cast[]
- Bruce Willis as Robert Jr., the main protagonist.
- Garry Shandling as Verne, the deuteragonist.
- Steve Carell as Hammy, the tritagonist.
- Wanda Sykes as Stella, the secondary tritagonist.
- Nick Nolte as Vincent, the main antagonist.
- Allison Janney as Gladys Sharp, the secondary antagonist.
- Thomas Haden Church as Dwayne LaFontant, the tertiary antagonist.
- William Shatner as Ozzie, one of the supporting protagonists.
- Avril Lavigne as Heather, one of the supporting protagonists.
- Eugene Levy as Lou, one of the supporting protagonists.
- Catherine O'Hara as Penny, one of the supporting protagonists.
- Sami Kirkpatrick as Bucky, one of the supporting protagonists.
- Shane Baumel as Spike, one of the supporting protagonists.
- Madison Davenport as Quillo, one of the supporting protagonists.
- Omid Djalili as Tiger, the (former) fourth antagonist.
- Brian Stepanek as Nugent, the fifth antagonist.
- Sean Bishop as Police Officer
- Frank Welker as Animals' vocal effects (uncredited)
Home media[]
- Main article: Over the Hedge (video)
Over the Hedge was released on DVD by DreamWorks Animation's newly-formed home entertainment division and Paramount Home Entertainment on October 17, 2006. The film was released on Blu-ray on February 5, 2019, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment as a Walmart exclusive, and was subsequently given a wider release on June 4.
The film's home media releases feature Hammy's Boomerang Adventure, a short film taking place after the events of the film that was also later added in the Madly Madagascar (2013) DVD as a bonus feature. It features Steve Carell, Bruce Willis, Madison Davenport, Shane Baumel, Sami Kirkpatrick and Garry Shandling reprising their roles from the main film.
Trivia[]
- This is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures.
- Over the Hedge is the second DreamWorks Animation film to be released on May 19th, after Shrek 2.
- This is the first film to have the DreamWorks Animation logo simply read "DreamWorks".
- The fifth DreamWorks Animation film to be released in May, after Shrek, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Shrek 2 and Madagascar.
Gallery[]
Sequel[]
In May 2007, DreamWorks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, said that despite the film exceeding The Wall Street Journal's expectations during the second consecutive quarter of 2007, the film would not get a sequel due to the box office performance of the film, saying "It was close. An almost." In October 2010, an article was posted on the official Over the Hedge blog, explaining what would happen if a sequel was made, saying that if the sequel did not perform as well as the first one, then DreamWorks could lose money, and that a sequel probably would not happen until DreamWorks Animation was bought by a large studio, which eventually happened in 2016 when NBCUniversal bought DreamWorks Animation.
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