Over the Hedge (film)
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It has been suggested that RJ (Over the Hedge) be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
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| Over the Hedge | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick |
| Produced by | Bonnie Arnold |
| Written by | Len Blum and Karey Kirkbatrick |
| Starring | Bruce Willis Garry Shandling Steve Carell Wanda Sykes William Shatner Avril Lavigne Eugene Levy Catherine O'Hara Nick Nolte Allison Janney |
| Music by | Rupert Gregson-Williams |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks SKG |
| Release date(s) | May 19, 2006 |
| Running time | 83 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | Domestic: $155,019,340 Worldwide: $335,206,062[1] |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Over the Hedge is a 2006 computer-animated film based on the characters from 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 U.S. on May 19, 2006.
Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film was rated PG by the MPAA for some rude humor and mild comic action. The movie was made in Glendale, California.
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[edit] Plot
RJ the Raccoon (Bruce Willis), after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a vending machine, ventures into the cave of a hibernating bear named Vincent. While attempting to steal Vincent's cache of goods, RJ accidentally wakes Vincent, who after realizing what RJ is doing, attempts to scare him into giving his stuff back. While RJ tries to talk his way out of trouble, Vincent's cache rolls out of the cave, down to a street, and is destroyed by a passing truck. The furious Vincent threatens to kill RJ. RJ saves himself by offering to get all the goods back.
RJ finds the new suburban development El Rancho Camelot Estates in western Indiana where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of foragers led by the practical turtle Verne (Gary Shandling), awakens from hibernation. Verne immediately directs his charges - Hammy (RJ during the film calls him "Hamilton"[2]) the hyperactive squirrel; Stella the skunk; Ozzie the opossum and his daughter Heather and porcupines Lou, his wife Penny, and their young off-spring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo - to start their yearly search for food to store.
They discover a hedge, which they had never seen before. Verne, while looking around the other side, is mauled and retreats explaining the dangers over the hedge. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for food and treasures he promises they'll find beyond the hedge, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ convinces the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and caper movie antics, they successfully snatch the goods RJ needs to appease Vincent, unaware of RJs debt.
All this prompts the ire of the homeowners' association president Gladys Sharp, who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontant (who calls himself The Verminator). Seeing this, and realizing that they might be in danger, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen as a bargain to the humans to spare their lives. However, this fails as RJ tries to stop Verne and the hoard is destroyed in the resulting chaos.
Afterwards, the foragers present RJ with a makeshift place to sleep, and RJ can't resist having a growing affection for all of them. He slowly realizes that he should not be using them for his own needs and wonders if he should expose his secret and break their hearts. While speaking alone with Verne, RJ tries to show him a list of what he needs, so he can explain the true situation; but at the last moment he lies, and they devise a raid on a nearby party at Gladys's house using RJ's list.
While collecting food from the party, the foragers are caught when RJ argues with Verne about the importance of some chips (a can of Spuddies, Vincent's favorite snack), and RJ blurts out the truth. RJ retreats with the loot while the foragers are captured and caged. After giving Vincent the stolen food, RJ watches the Verminator's van drive past, and decides to save his friends. RJ shoves the wagon over the hill into the path of the Verminator's van, preventing him from driving any further as the impact from the collision knocked him out cold. As they drive back to the development, Vincent grabs hold of the van and is trying to kill RJ until he floats away with a set of balloons. After they make a crash landing at Gladys's house, the foragers run back to their home through the hedge. Much to their disbelief, Vincent managed to float back down, and now they must try to avoid getting killed by their enemies.
Trapped in the hedge between Vincent pulling sections out the hedge, Dwayne trying to shock them, and Gladys Sharp breaking the hedge with a weed hacker; RJ gives Hammy a caffeinated energy drink, causing him to move at light speed. He uses his increased speed to set the Verminator's traps against their assailants. Vincent, The Verminator and Gladys are trapped, being arrested for the use of inhumane traps, with Vincent being shipped to a preserve, and RJ and Tiger (a cat they had to fool to steal the food from the party, who is in love with Stella) are welcomed to the foragers as part of the family.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Animals
| Character | Animal Type | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| RJ | Common Raccoon | Bruce Willis |
| Verne | Box Turtle | Garry Shandling |
| Hammy | American Red Squirrel | Steve Carell |
| Stella | Striped Skunk | Wanda Sykes |
| Ozzie | Virginia Opossum | William Shatner |
| Vincent | American Black Bear | Nick Nolte |
| Heather | Virginia Opossum | Avril Lavigne |
| Lou | North American Porcupine | Eugene Levy |
| Penny | North American Porcupine | Catherine O'Hara |
| Tiger | Blue Colourpoint Persian Cat | Omid Djalili |
| Bucky | North American Porcupine | Sami Kirkpatrick |
| Quillo | North American Porcupine | Madison Davenport |
| Spike | North American Porcupine | Shane Baumel |
| Nugent | Rottweiler | Brian Stepanek |
[edit] Humans
| Character | Gender | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Gladys Sharp | Girl | Allison Janney |
| Dwayne LaFontant | Boy | Thomas Haden Church |
Two minor human characters, appearing during the dog chase scene, were voiced by Lee Bienstock and Sean Yazbeck, two participants on The Apprentice 5 as part of a reward for winning a task.
[edit] Reception
The film's opening weekend grossed $38,457,003 in 4,093 theaters. As of February 25, 2007, the film had earned $335,204,526 worldwide.[3] Critical reaction was mostly positive with the film being rated 73% on the Rotten Tomatoes movie review aggregate site. Critic Frank Lovece of Film Journal International found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features"[4] Ken Fox of TVGuide.com called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch".[5] Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper of "Ebert & Roeper" gave the animated movie a "two thumbs up".[6][7]
Note:This is the third animated film Bruce Willis has starred in that's produced by a division of Paramount: Dreamworks. The others include Rugrats Go Wild, produced by Nickelodeon, and his first, Beavis and Butthead Do America, produced by MTV.
[edit] Soundtrack
A soundtrack, "Over the Hedge," featuring music by Ben Folds, was released by Epic Records and Sony Music.
| # | Song | Artist | Length | Where Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Family of Me" | Ben Folds | 1:28 | Film |
| 2 | "RJ Enters the Cave" | Rupert Gregson-Williams | 4:37 | Film |
| 3 | "The Family Awakes" | Rupert Gregson-Williams | 2:32 | Film |
| 4 | "Heist" | Ben Folds | 3:02 | Film |
| 5 | "Lost in the Supermarket" | Ben Folds (originally by The Clash) | 3:30 | Credits |
| 6 | "Let's Call It Steve" | Rupert Gregson-Williams | 3:39 | Film |
| 7 | "Hammy Time" | Rupert Gregson-Williams | 2:28 | Film |
| 8 | "Still" | Ben Folds | 2:38 | Film |
| 9 | "Play?" | Rupert Gregson-Williams | 1:49 | Film |
| 10 | "Rockin' the Suburbs" | Ben Folds (featuring a speaking part by William Shatner) | 4:57 | Credits |
| 11 | "The Inside Heist" | Rupert Gregson-Williams | 7:38 | Film |
| 12 | "RJ Rescues His Family" | Rupert Gregson-Williams | 4:18 | Film |
| 13 | "Still" (Reprise) | Ben Folds | 6:07 | Soundtrack only |
[edit] Cultural references made in the film
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- After the big laser stops shooting the sound it makes is the sound of the Millienium Falcon's hyperdrive malfunctioning.
- Dwayne LaFontant as 'the Verminator' is a spoof of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. The Verminator even says "Buenos Dias, reptile" (Hasta La Vista, Baby) and wears glasses (the Terminator's shades).
- The film has certain similarities to the Isao Takahata movie Pom Poko. Over the Hedge does not, however, develop the themes of environmentalism or anti-urbanization, and focuses on the animals' harmless preying on the bumbling humans, making the similarities between the two films contextual rather than substantive. As the critic for Film Journal International suggested (link under "References"), a closer comparison might be to Meredith Willson's The Music Man, which also centers on a slick con artist redeemed by his marks, and finding a surrogate family. The commentary track on the DVD confirms that the movie version of RJ (right down to his habit of carrying a bag) was partially inspired by Professor Harold Hill.
- Among the TV series spoofed in the scene of RJ flipping TV channels in the forest are Dr. Phil and All My Children. After the TV parody scene, RJ can be seen hyperventilating into a bag of OH-NO's brand chips to quell his anxiety. "OH NOES!" is a sarcastic expression of despair in internet slang.
- During the scene where Ozzie plays dead, he spies a rose bush and whispers, "Rosebud". That is a reference to Citizen Kane in which Charles Foster Kane mutters a cryptic "Rosebud" before he passes away.
- As Stella runs away from Tiger during the chaotic escape scene from Gladys's home, he cries "Stella, Stella!", a clear reference to Marlon Brando/Alec Baldwin's famous line from A Streetcar Named Desire.
- The director's commentary also notes that Tiger references Casablanca by the way he holds Stella's paw while revealing he has no sense of smell.
- During the rolling end credits, the Over the Hedge comic strip can be seen three times - once, the porcupine kids are being taught to read with one; Hammy paints a portrait of RJ and Verne as Grant Wood's famous American Gothic in the style of the strip, and finally, RJ shows three panels of a strip, and Verne, reluctantly, displays the final frame on his back. Also during the credits, Hammy references Khan Noonien Singh's plot against Captain Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (which was also distributed by Paramount Pictures and also stars William Shatner, as Kirk).
- When Vincent is being loaded into the pest truck near the film's conclusion, he is strapped to a hand truck and wearing a muzzle, much like Hannibal Lecter in the film Silence of the Lambs. This is the second time the movie has been referenced in a DreamWorks Animation film, the first time being Madagascar.
- The mention of the "De-Peltier Turbo" device (the most impressive of the inhumane traps used) being legal only in Texas is a possible satire of Texas's attitude regarding capital punishment.
- When the pictures that RJ took are coming out of the printer, one of them show them raising a sub. This is a portrayal of Raising the Flag during WWII on Iwo Jima.
- Lost in the Supermarket originally by The Clash off of the album London Calling is featured in the credits.
- An Indianapolis Colts banner can be found on the houses, and in one scene a large ray of light shines from the "De-Peltier Turbo," and the light can be seen from space coming from the Western side of Indiana. This implies that the movie takes place there.
- During one scene where the animals are in a house, one of the porcupines accidentally steps on a television remote control, turning the TV on to reveal the THX logo with the "Deep Note" crescendo.
- When the porcupines did the hand signal for Ozzy the possum, calling him the "Oz-Man" after playing dead, is a reference to Ozzy Osbourne and the metalhead corna, call, as well as the Texas Longhorns hand symbol.
[edit] Followups
- A short film called Hammy's Boomerang Adventure was released with the Over the Hedge DVD.
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Gross Revenue (Retrieved on December 14, 2007]
- ^ (Steve Carell) In and Hamsquad classical mechanics and quantum mechanics, the Hamiltonian, named after William Rowan Hamilton, represents a system's energy.
- ^ Box Office Mojo: Over the Hedge
- ^ Film Journal Internationl: Over the Hedge review by Frank Lovece
- ^ TV Guide Online Over the Hedge review by Ken Fox
- ^ RogerEbert.com: Chicago Sun-Times (May 19, 2006): Over the Hedge review by Roger Ebert
- ^ Rottentomatoes.com: Richard Roeper
[edit] References
- Official site
- Over the Hedge at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Over the Hedge at the Internet Movie Database
- Over the Hedge at Rotten Tomatoes
[edit] External links
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