Over the Hedge
Over the Hedge is a 2006 American animated heist comedy film directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick and written by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton and Kirkpatrick, based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, the film features the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes and Nick Nolte. Set in Indiana, the plot follows RJ, a raccoon who is forced to deliver food to a bear named Vincent after accidentally destroying his stockpile of food, whereupon he manipulates a family of woodland animals who have recently awakened from hibernation into helping him steal food in order to speed up the process.
Over the Hedge was theatrically released in the United States on May 19, 2006 by Paramount Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing $339.8 million worldwide on an $80 million budget.
Plot
In Indiana, a raccoon named RJ, unable to find food for himself, attempts to steal a stockpile from a hibernating bear named Vincent. The plan backfires when Vincent is woken up by the commotion and the food is destroyed. Vincent almost kills RJ, who offers to replace his food by the time the full moon approaches, which is in one week's time. Vincent threatens to kill him if he fails or tries to run away.The next morning, a family of woodland animals led by a turtle named Verne awaken from hibernation on the first day of spring. They discover that most of the forest they lived in has been turned into a housing development, separated from the remaining forest by a giant hedge. RJ introduces himself to the group and explains that they can obtain better food by scavenging off the humans. Despite Verne's concerns, RJ convinces the other animals to steal and stockpile food and other human stuff, unaware of his true intentions of delivering the stash to Vincent, paying off his debt. Gladys Sharp, the neighborhood homeowner association president, notices the animal problem and hires exterminator Dwayne LaFontant. While RJ tries to stop a worried Verne from returning the pile of food in order to avoid Dwayne, the food is destroyed following a chase by an excited Rottweiler named Nugent. RJ blames Verne for the destruction while Verne tries to convince his family not to follow RJ for their own safety; the family shuns him in favor of RJ after the former accidentally insults them.
That night, RJ witnesses Dwayne rigging animal traps, including an illegal contraband device called the Depelter Turbo, in Gladys' yard. Verne reconciles with RJ and the other animals, and RJ convinces everyone to invade Gladys' home and steal her massive stockpile of food. The squirrel Hammy disables the Depelter Turbo while the striped skunk Stella steals the collar of Gladys' Persian cat, Tiger, which enables entry into the house. The animals stockpile another wagon full of food, but before leaving, RJ sees a can of Spuddies potato chips and becomes determined to get it per Vincent's request. RJ flees with the food while Verne and the other animals are captured by Dwayne, who takes them away in his truck.
Upon delivering the food to Vincent, RJ sees Dwayne's truck driving past. In an attempt to free the animals, he crashes the wagon into Dwayne's van and knocks him unconscious. This prompts an enraged Vincent to attack RJ and the other animals while the porcupine triplets drive the truck back to the neighborhood. Verne convinces them to forgive RJ during the commotion. The animals crash the truck into Gladys' home and return to the hedge, only to be attacked by Vincent, Gladys, and Dwayne. Hammy, fueled by an energy drink, reactivates the Depelter Turbo while RJ and Verne trick Vincent into leaping over the hedge, resulting in him, Gladys, and Dwayne being caught in the Depelter Turbo. The local animal control service ships Vincent to the Rocky Mountains, Gladys and Dwayne are arrested for possessing the Depelter Turbo and resisting arrest; Dwayne's attempt to escape arrest is thwarted by Nugent. In the aftermath, RJ rejoins the woodland creatures permanently alongside Tiger, who had fallen in love with Stella. After Verne thinks they have wasted a week's worth of food gathering for the winter, Hammy reveals he has found the nuts he had stored for the previous winter, replenishing the animals' food supply.
Voice cast
- Bruce Willis as RJ, an intelligent, charismatic and manipulative raccoon
- Garry Shandling as Verne, a cynical and timid ornate box turtle who is the leader-turned-second in command of the foragers
- Nick Nolte as Vincent, a greedy, predatory American black bear, to whom RJ owes food, and is one of the two main antagonists
- Allison Janney as Gladys Sharp, the president of the El Rancho Camelot Estates Homeowners Association and one of the two main antagonists
- Thomas Haden Church as Dwayne LaFontant, an overzealous pest exterminator who is hired by Gladys to get rid of the animals
- Steve Carell as Hammy, a hyperactive squirrel
- Wanda Sykes as Stella, a short-tempered and sassy striped skunk
- William Shatner and Avril Lavigne as Ozzie and Heather, a Virginia opossum father and teenage daughter respectively
- Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as Lou and Penny, an easygoing North American porcupine couple; Lou has an overly friendly and optimistic attitude and a strong Minnesota accent, while Penny encourages her children to partake in the wonders of suburbia.
- Omid Djalili as Tiger, Gladys' snobbish Persian cat
- Shane Baumel, Sami Kirkpatrick and Madison Davenport as Spike, Bucky and Quillo, Lou and Penny's triplet children
- Brian Stepanek as Nugent, an excitable Rottweiler whose only spoken word is "Play!" He otherwise communicates by barks.
Production
Casting
and Harold Ramis were initially considered as the voices of RJ and Verne, respectively. In July 2002, Jim Carrey was announced to co-star in the film as RJ, with Garry Shandling as Verne. However, Carrey dropped out in October 2004 and was replaced by Bruce Willis, although some of the former's lines remained. Gene Wilder was offered a role in the film as well, namely an owl named Norbert, but he turned it down, and said character was ultimately scrapped.Animation
Production officially began on July 15, 2002. While production was based at DreamWorks' Glendale campus, a satellite crew working out of the Pacific Data Images studios helped with additional animation, effects, and lighting support.Music
The soundtrack for the film was released on May 16, 2006, by Epic Records. Rupert Gregson-Williams composed the original score while Hans Zimmer served as an executive music producer and Ben Folds contributed three original songs, along with a rewrite of his song "Rockin' the Suburbs" and a cover of The Clash's "Lost in the Supermarket".For the Japanese and Korean dubs of the movie BoA provides the voice of Heather the opossum and sings the theme songs, "KEY OF HEART" for the Japanese release, and "People Say" for the Korean release.
Release
Theatrical
Over the Hedge had an original release date of November 2005; however, in December 2004, the date was changed to May 2006. The film was originally to be distributed by DreamWorks Animation's former parent company DreamWorks SKG. In late 2005, distributor Paramount Pictures' parent company Viacom purchased DreamWorks Pictures, which lead DWA to terminate its distribution contact with its former parent and sign a seven-year distribution deal with Paramount in early 2006, and thus, Over the Hedge became DreamWorks Animation's first film to be distributed under this deal. The film was screened as a "work-in-progress" on April 29, 2006, at the Indianapolis International Film Festival, and premiered on April 30 in Los Angeles. Nolte, Willis, Lavigne, Shandling, Sykes, O'Hara and Steve Carell attended the premiere.The film was theatrically released in the United States on May 19, 2006 by Paramount Pictures. In select theaters, it was accompanied by the short film First Flight. The film was also screened out of competition on May 21, 2006, at the Cannes Film Festival.
Home media
Over the Hedge was released on DVD, in wide- and full-screen editions, 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 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.
Tie-ins
Video games
A video game based on the film was released on May 9, 2006. Developed by Edge of Reality, Beenox and Vicarious Visions, it was published by Activision for the PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Shane Baumel, Sami Kirkpatrick, and Madison Davenport were the only ones to reprise their roles for the video game while the other characters were voiced by different actors.Three different versions of the video game Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts! were released by Activision in the fall of 2006: a miniature golf game for Game Boy Advance, an action adventure game for Nintendo DS, and a platform game for PlayStation Portable.