Over The Hedge (film)

''Over the Hedge'' is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and distributed by Paramount Pictures (marking Paramount's first collaboration with DreamWorks). It is loosely based on the comic strip of the same name by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick (in the latter's feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, and Kirkpatrick, the film stars an ensemble cast featuring the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes, and Nick Nolte. The film's plot follows a raccoon named RJ who must reclaim food for a bear, ultimately manipulating a group of animals that had recently awakened from hibernation in order to speed up the process.

''Over the Hedge'' was released in the United States on May 19, 2006. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and grossed $340 million on an $80 million budget.

Plot

One night, in Indiana, RJ the raccoon tries to steal food from Vincent, a bear that has stockpiled for his hibernation. However, Vincent wakes up and catches RJ, and the food is destroyed in the ensuing confrontation. Angry, Vincent gives RJ an ultimatum: he will hunt down and eat RJ if the food is not replaced in one week. RJ agrees and realizes he needs help to pay Vincent back.

The next morning, a family of woodland animals, consisting of ornate box turtle and leader Verne, hyperactive American red squirrel Hammy, striped skunk Stella, North American porcupine parents Lou and Penny, and children Spike, Bucky and Quillo, and Virginia opossum father and daughter Ozzie and Heather, awaken from their hibernation on the first day of spring. They find that much of the forest they lived in has been turned into a housing development, which is separated from the little forest remaining by a giant hedge. The animals wonder how they will forage for enough food for the following winter. RJ meets them and encourages them to traverse the hedge and steal food from the humans. Despite Verne's concerns, the animals join RJ in stealing and stockpiling human food, not knowing he intends to pay off his debt. Gladys Sharp, the neighborhood Home Owners Association president, takes notice of the animal problem and hires exterminator Dwayne LaFontant to get rid of them.

Verne tries to return the food to avoid Dwayne. RJ tries to stop him, but the food ends up destroyed due to an encounter with the excitable dog Nugent. Verne tries to convince the family to not listen to RJ, but inadvertently insults their intelligence in the process, angering them and causing them to leave him in favor of RJ. That night, Gladys has Dwayne cover her yard in animal traps, including an illegal contraband device called the De-Pelter Turbo which turns the entire yard into a death trap when activated.

Verne apologizes to RJ for his actions and reconciles with the other animals. On the night before the moon is full, RJ sees that Gladys has bought a massive stockpile of food and enlists the help of the animals to invade her home and steal it. Hammy successfully disables the De-Pelter Turbo while Stella steals the collar of Gladys' Persian cat Tiger, which enables entry into the house's pet door, by posing as a cat and seducing him. The animals stockpile another wagon full of food, but right as they are about to leave at sunrise, RJ sees a can of chips called Spuddies and becomes determined to get them, as Vincent specifically requested them. While trying to justify his effort to get the chips, RJ lets slip his true intention for the food. At the same time, Gladys comes downstairs and finds the animals. Stella sprays the entire house and alerts Dwayne. RJ manages to escape with the food, while the others are caught by Dwayne, who takes them away in his truck to euthanize them.

RJ gives the food to Vincent as promised, but as he sees the exterminator truck driving off, he feels remorse for his actions. Determined to save them, RJ sends the food wagon careening into the car, knocking out Dwayne and freeing the animals, but enraging Vincent. Spike, Bucky, and Quillo take control of the car and drive it back home, and RJ rejoins the family after Verne convinces the others to forgive him. They crash the truck into Gladys' home and return to the hedge, but are attacked from both sides of it by Vincent, Gladys, and Dwayne. RJ manages to come up with a plan. He gives Hammy an energy drink, making the squirrel hyperactive enough to move at warp speed, which he uses to go and reactivate the De-Pelter Turbo, and RJ lures Vincent into leaping over the hedge to get him. But he puts on Verne's shell, protecting him from Vincent's jaws, and Verne pulls him out with a fishing line. Vincent, Gladys, and Dwayne are caught in the De-Pelter Turbo, resulting in them being blasted with a massive dose of radiation (which somehow manages to be seen in the observable universe) and trapped in a cage left in the ensuing crater.

Vincent is captured by animal control and shipped off to the Rocky Mountains, while Gladys is arrested for possessing the Turbo, and Dwayne is chased by Nugent while attempting to escape. RJ joins the woodland creatures' family permanently as well as Tiger, who remains in love with Stella even after learning she is a skunk, as he cannot smell. The animals' food storage is quickly replenished by Hammy, who finally finds the nuts he stored before the previous winter.

Voice cast

* Bruce Willis as RJ, a raccoon who is duplicitous, selfish, a con artist, and extremely intelligent. Despite his hard outer shell, he is revealed to have a sensitive personality, developing feelings of guilt over using his new-found companions to his own ends. Jim Carrey was originally set to voice the character, but in October 2004, he left the project and was replaced with Willis. Bill Murray was the original choice for the role.
* Garry Shandling as Verne, a naturally cynical ornate box turtle, the leader of the foragers. He has his own ways of doing the daily tasks, but his world is turned upside-down when RJ introduces his free-spirited lifestyle into the mix. Though Verne genuinely cares for his family, he can be patronizing. His shell falls off regularly and is laughed at. He is commonly mistaken for an amphibian despite the fact that he is a reptile. Harold Ramis was the original choice for the role.
* Steve Carell as Hammy, a hyperactive American red squirrel, whose mouth moves as fast as his feet. He is naive and childish in nature, with an extremely short attention span.
* Wanda Sykes as Stella, a short-tempered, sassy striped skunk. She later goes undercover as a black female cat to distract Tiger, and ends up falling in love with him when he reveals he has no sense of smell.
* William Shatner and Avril Lavigne as Ozzie and Heather respectively, a Virginia opossum father and daughter who see the world from different points of view; Ozzie often embarrasses Heather when he constantly feigns death to get away from danger.
* Nick Nolte as Vincent, a murderous, sadistic and conscienceless American black bear to whom RJ owes food, motivating the story. He later makes a cameo in ''Bee Movie''.
* Thomas Haden Church as Dwayne LaFontant, an over-zealous, middle-aged pest exterminator nicknamed the "Verminator" who is hired by Gladys. He can detect the species of any animal that has recently been in the area by smell. He spoofs the Terminator.
* Allison Janney as Gladys Sharp, the president of the El Rancho Camelot Estates Home Owners Association. She is disgusted by animals, strict on H.O.A. rules and is not taken seriously by the other residents of the housing development, much to her irritation.
* Eugene Levy as Lou, a North American porcupine. He is Penny's husband and the porcupine family patriarch with an overly friendly and optimistic attitude. He has a strong Minnesota accent.
* Catherine O'Hara as Penny, the porcupine family mother, Lou's wife, and matriarch of the porcupine family; she serves as a ground between their family and the other animals.
* Omid Djalili as Tiger, a Persian cat; his full Persian name is "Prince Tigerius Mahmoud Shabazz". Initially hating the forest animals, he helps guard Gladys' house from them. However, he joins their family after he falls in love with Stella.
* Shane Baumel, Sami Kirkpatrick, and Madison Davenport as Spike, Bucky and Quillo, Lou and Penny's three identical children. They enjoy playing video games, and are the most enthusiastic about exploring the world beyond the hedge.
* Brian Stepanek as Nugent, an excitable Rottweiler whose only spoken word is "Play!". He otherwise communicates by barks.
* Two minor human characters named Lunch Table Larry and BBQ Barry, appearing during the dog chase scene, were voiced by Lee Bienstock and Sean Yazbeck

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