From the moment RJ the Raccoon (voice by Bruce Willis) burglarizes Vincent the Bear's (the voice of Nick Nolte) cliff-side home to replace a bag of chips RJ had been unable to get from a vending machine, I began seeking the moral to this tale. RJ enlists a "family" of trusting forest animals in his plot to replace the stolen food to escape annihilation at the hands of his "victim" (who promised the raccoon's death if his possessions were not replaced by the time he awoke from his winter's sleep) through lies and deception. I wondered what effect these dishonest acts might have upon the many impressionable young minds surrounding me. One of which belonged to my three-year-old grandson.



Well, my three brothers survived The 3 Stoogies... Didn't they??

It was meant as an outing: my oldest son, his son, and me. Our plan: to celebrate my grandson's third birthday (Friday). It was a beautiful, sunny and warm, Saturday afternoon. We decided on a movie. My son thought Over the Hedge, which had opened on Friday, would be fun and just right for all three of us. I had seen trailers on tv and had found them adorable, so I quickly agreed, a few hours' animated bliss with two of my three boys in lieu of grading papers and rating student progress and preparing next week's finals. I'm glad I did, even though those questionable morals in the story...


RJ Raccoon sets out to find replacements for food items stolen from Vincent Bear and encounters a "family" of forest animals, some recently awakened hibernators; others gatherers and storers of food, such as the hyperactive Sammy the Squirrel (voice by Steve Carell). With his personal agenda uppermost in mind, RJ cares nothing about whomever he has to con into aiding and abetting his crimes of theft on the human residents of a newly-constructed suburban community of luxury homes near the forest. Since the development came into existence only after the forest denizens settled down for their winter sleep, the forest "family" members knew nothing of their new "neighbors" until they happen upon the "hedge"--thus, the title (Over the Hedge) of our story.

RJ, the con-artist, desperate to save his own skin, quickly plots how he can use their numbers, their talents, and their ignorance to his best advantage. Verne the Tortoise (the voice of Garry Shandling) was the unofficial leader of the "family". Prior to meeting RJ, the other animals never questioned his leadership abilities: he always knew what to avoid, where to find food, which food was 'safe' and who could be entrusted with the well-being of the whole "family"... until RJ appeared with his smooth talking, risky ideas, and schemes for getting food quickly and in abundance... without "getting their hands dirty". He reasoned: Humans love to eat. They live to eat, not eat to live. They have so much food that they even throw away perfectly edible morsels. So, why not just get what they needed from these self-indulgent humans who had just moved in on the forest dwellers virtually overnight. Who would it hurt? Besides, wouldn't it be much better than 'hunting' for food in the blind? The usual con type spill with the spin on getting something for nothing. Poor Verne Tortoise and his ethical method of providing for his "family" was out-voted for RJ's newer, more exciting, richer-and-quicker rewards way of "living the good life" which, by the way, included stealing so much more than just food from the unsuspecting human residents.


More Fun than a barrel of monkeys?

Those were some of the low points. Being a mother who always saw the connection between the lessons we learn through the visual 'fun' activities of media, and a teacher of adolescents who seem more able to justify their reasons for doing the 'wrong thing' in the name of 'righting a wrong done to them,' I could be over-analyzing. After all, this is just an animated flick, right? I mean who is taking all this stuff seriously? Surely the adorable antics of Hammy Squirrel speeding around like a caffeinated dervish on high-octane fueled overdrive got lots of laughs from the kindergarten and playground crowd who comprised the majority of the audience? And, what about Stella the Skunk (voice by Wanda Sykes) and her delightful vampish stunt orchestrated to entice Tiger the Siamese housecat (voice by Omid Djalili) into a romantic tryst while the big house burglary caper was being pulled by RJ and company? Then, there was Ozzie Opossum (the voice of William Shatner) who demonstrated the real meaning of 'playing possom'. And, daughter, Heather's (voice by Avril Lavigne) typical teenage angst over her father's 'weird and embarrassing' behavior? Or, Gladys, the president of the Home Owners' Association (voice by Allison Janney) acting the expected pain-in-the-youknowwhat (YOU KNOW HER WHEN YOU SEE HER) as she lords her 'authoritative' and 'prestigious, status-seeking' aura over one and all? Gave the little half-pints something to howl about, right? I mean, the kids really cracked on those bits of comedic genius, right? Sadly, those truly funny, hilarious scenes drew greater laughter and sounds of appreciation by the adult members of the viewing audience. It seems we understood the references, while our young charges missed the implications, entirely.



MY IMPRESSIONS

As I admitted previously, perhaps I am over-reacting, taking it all much too seriously. Since seeing this thoroughly entertaining animated movie with my adult son and his 3-year-old son I've taken a few minutes to reflect on my initial impressions of it. While both son and grandson enjoyed it, I wondered if my grandson actually got it. Also, I wondered if his tender mind made the proper connections. As I said I've had time to reconsider my first thoughts about some of the slightly disturbing humor and action in this one. I had to delay the completion of this review due to my end of school year teaching obligations, tasks, and duties, so nothing I've written past the first four paragraphs was done spare-of-the moment. MY CLOSING THOUGHTS? Ok, the characters were delightful, and in many instances delightfully funny. For the adults among us, this was a really entertaining, true-to-life caricature of our society. But, for the children? I hold strict reservations.

Like most media our little ones view, we as parents must be PRESENT--and not only in body, please! We must be accountable to their development, ethically as well as physically and mentally. Good, fun, comedy animations must be monitored and our children's viewing content/habits must be decided upon the temperament and psyche of the individual child. Some kids just might find the morsel needed to justify their theft/deception/lies/crimes within the fun and antics portrayed by furry forest creatures... as well as the WHY they should be forgiven (a spoiler to the ending, so I'll forego the clarification... but, YOU'LL KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT).

So, bottom line: Do I recommend this one? Yes, and no, though I tend more toward the "yes"... with conditions and reservations. PARENTS, do be parents and do the responsible thing. Make sure your little one understands this is in good fun. Do point out RJ Raccoon's bad traits, explain why they are 'bad', and contrast with the 'right' thing to do in their stead. Compare the leadership abilities of RJ and Verne Tortoise, letting your child know why one is more preferable than the other, and make sure Over the Hedge doesn't take your baby over the edge in ethical responsibility.


Over the Hedge was made in color in the USA by DreamWorks, with releases in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, the UK, and Ireland. It's run time is 83 minutes and was rated PG in the US for some rude humor and mild comic action. Sound by DTS/Dolby Digital/SDDS.


CAST
Bruce Willis .... RJ (voice)
Garry Shandling .... Verne (voice)
Steve Carell .... Hammy (voice)
Wanda Sykes .... Stella (voice)
William Shatner .... Ozzie (voice)
Nick Nolte .... Vincent (voice)
Thomas Haden Church .... Dwayne (voice)
Allison Janney .... Gladys (voice)
Eugene Levy .... Lou (voice)
Catherine O'Hara .... Penny (voice)
Avril Lavigne .... Heather (voice)
Omid Djalili .... Tiger (voice)
Sami Kirkpatrick .... Bucky (voice)
Shane Baumel .... Spike (voice)
Madison Davenport .... Quillo (voice)



As always, thanks for reading, rating and commenting.



Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8