OVER THE HEDGE [2006 / 2019] Blu-ray + Digital HD] [USA Release]
A Wonderfully Funny Family DreamWorks Animated Film!
In DreamWorks Animation’s ‘OVER THE HEDGE,’ a group of hungry critters take a bite of suburbia! Led by RJ [Bruce Willis] the raccoon, and furry friends plot to make their way over a giant hedge that was built to separate the woodland animals from their usual treasure trove of snack food. The gang sets out to overcome the new divide in hopes of please a hungry bear – and themselves.
FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 2006 Cannes Film Festival: Nominated: Golden Camera Award for Karey Kirkpatrick. 2006 Capri, Hollywood: Win: Capri Arts Award for Enzo Ghinazzi. 2006 Golden Schmoes Awards: Nominated: Best Animated Movie of the Year. 2006 Indianapolis International Film Festival: Win: Audience Award for Best Family Film for Karey Kirkpatrick and Tim Johnson. 2006 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards: Win: Best Animated Film. 2006 St. Louis Film Critics Association, USA: Nominated: SLFCA Award for Best Animated or Children's Film for Karey Kirkpatrick and Timothy O. Johnson. 2006 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards: Nominated: Best Animated Film. 2007 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Nominated: Best Animated Film. 2007 Annie Awards: Win: Best Character Design in an Animated Feature Production for Nicolas Marlet. Win: Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production for Karey Kirkpatrick and Tim Johnson. Win: Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production for Gary Graham. Nominated: Best Animated Feature. Nominated: Best Character Animation in a Feature Production for Kristof Serrand. Nominated: Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Production for Paul Shardlow. Nominated: Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production for Thom Enriquez. Nominated: Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for Wanda Sykes as the voice of Stella. 2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: Nominated: Critics Choice Award for Best Animated Feature. 2007 Genesis Awards: Nominated: Outstanding Animated Family Feature for DreamWorks. 2007 Gold Derby Awards: Nominated: Animated Feature. 2007 Gran Premio Internazionale del Doppiaggio: Win: Film Award for Best Cartoon Voice for Maurizio Mattioli for the voice of Dwayne. Nominated: Audience Award for Best Voice Actress for Graziella Polesinanti for the voice of Penny. Nominated: Audience Award for Best Voice Actor for Franco Mannella for the voice of Verne. Nominated: Audience Award for Best Voice Actor for Luca Ward for the voice of RJ. Nominated: Audience Award for Best Voice Actor for Enzo Ghinazzi for the voice of Hammy. Nominated: Audience Award for Best Voice Actress for Cristina Noci for the voice of Stella. Nominated: Audience Award for Best Voice Actress for Laura Latini for the voice of Rita Malone. 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, USA: Nominated: Blimp Award for Favorite Animated Movie. Nominated: Blimp Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie for Bruce Willis. 2007 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Nominated: Golden Real Award for Best Sound Editing Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR for Feature Film Animation for David A. Whittaker (sound editor), Mike Chock (sound editor), Reuben Simon (supervising foley editor/sound editor), Richard L. Anderson (supervising sound editor/sound designer), Slamm Andrews (music editor), Steve Lee (sound editor) and Thomas Jones (supervising sound editor/sound designer). 2007 Online Film & Television Association: Nominated: OFTA Film Award for Best Animated Picture for Bonnie Arnold. 2007 Online Film Critics Society Awards: Nominated: Best Animated Feature. 2007 People's Choice Awards, USA: Nominated: Favorite Family Movie.
Voice Cast: Bruce Willis [RJ], Garry Shandling [Verne], Steve Carell [Hammy], Wanda Sykes [Stella], William Shatner [Ozzie], Nick Nolte [Vincent], Thomas Haden Church [Dwayne], Allison Janney [Gladys], Eugene Levy [Lou], Catherine O'Hara [Penny], Avril Lavigne [Heather], Omid Djalili [Tiger], Sami Kirkpatrick [Bucky], Shane Baumel [Spike], Madison Davenport [Quillo], Zoe Randol [Mackenzie], Jessica DiCicco [Shelby], Debra Wilson [Debbie], Sean Bishop [Police Officer], Jeannie Elias [Janis], Kejon Kesse [Timmy], Paul Butcher [Skeeter], Sean Yazbeck [BBQ Barry], Geoffrey Pomeroy [Ranger], Joel McCrary [Dr. Dennis], Lee Bienstock [Lunch Table Larry], Brian Stepanek [Nugent the Dog], April Lawrence [Navistar GPS System], Steve Alterman [Additional voice], Erin Lander [Additional voice], Kirk Baily [Additional voice], Jordan Del Spina [Additional voice], Jessie Flower [Additional voice], Michelle Ruff [Additional voice], Nicholas Guest [Additional voice], Greyson Spann [Additional voice], David Hiller [Additional voice], Bridget Hoffman [Additional voice], Marcelo Tubert [Additional voice], Sandy Holt [Additional voice], Ariel Winter [Additional voice], Talula Holt [Additional voice] and BoA [Heather] (uncredited)
Directors: Karey Kirkpatrick and Tim Johnson
Producers: Bill Damaschke, Bonnie Arnold, Christian Kubsch, Ellen Coss and Jim Cox
Screenplay: David Hoselton (screenplay), Karey Kirkpatrick (screenplay), Len Blum (screenplay), Lorne Cameron (screenplay), Michael Fry (comic strip characters), T. Lewis (comic strip characters), Chris Poche (additional dialogue), Eric Forsberg (additional dialogue) and Mike de Seve (story consultant)
Composer: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Executive Music Producer: Hans Zimmer
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 5.1 DTS Surround
Spanish: 5.1 DTS Surround
Japanese: 5.1 DTS Surround
Netherlands: 5.1 DTS Surround
Holland [Valaams]: 5.1 DTS Surround
Português: 5.1 DTS Surround
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, Netherlands and Português
Running Time: 83 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Animation SKG
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ [2006] finds RJ [Bruce Willis], a raccoon who needs food, accidentally takes food from a hungry bear named Vincent and he wants his food to be found in exactly the same place in a week. RJ finally finds that an animal family, with a tortoise named Verne [Garry Shandling] as their leader, could help him restore the food from the suburbia, the gateway to the good life. But little does RJ know, there is a woman who has recently hired an exterminator to try to hunt them down.
After a long winter's nap, a group of innocent woodland creatures awake to find the world has changed. Instead of the open wilderness that used to be their home, a giant green wall has cropped up all around them! As the animals worry about how they'll collect food, they meet RJ [Bruce Willis], a con artist raccoon who tells them there is tons of food right over that hedge!
Verne the turtle is the voice of reason and the leader of the animals, which include an over the top squirrel named Hammy [Steve Carell] and a teenage possum Heather [Avril Lavigne] who dies of embarrassment every time her dad “plays possum.” Verne doesn't trust RJ or the humans who live beyond the hedge, but once RJ introduces the nuts-and-berry-loving animals to human food, Verne realizes that tree bark just can't compete with nacho chips and pizza! Following RJ's plans, the animals make their way into human territory to steal food – Mission Impossible-style – but soon learn that RJ has something up his furry sleeve.
‘OVER THE HEDGE’ has lots of lessons about friendship and family values, as well as a bit of a lecture on how peeps shouldn't gorge on junk food and should be kinder to the animals who appear in their backyard. The animated film can get a little preachy with its morals, but it's done in a really funny way that you can't help but laugh out loud!
‘OVER THE HEDGE’ strength lies in various factors, but first and foremost is that it’s funny. The comedy comes flying thick and fast, and thank god most of it relies on good old-fashioned slapstick rather than the all too easy route of modern pop culture references.
The premise lends itself to some light silly over the top fun and the film delivers with the assorted cute animal creatures pulling off elaborate heists, feats of daring and assorted con jobs in order to nab food from the manicured human neighbourhood that has encroached upon their territory. Although some jokes did misfire, or more often just elicit a slight giggle than a chortle as they play it all pretty safe, but at times there’s a few real belly laughs to be had.
The voice cast is also strong with Bruce Willis as our shady hustler of a fox hero, Garry Shandling as the turtle with a voice of responsibility and reason, Wanda Sykes as a sass-talking skunk, and William Shatner as a possum with an exaggerated sense of the dramatic. Steve Carrell though steals the show as a hyper-active manic squirrel always eager to please. Some greats like Eugene Levy as Lou, Catherine O'Hara as Penny and Allison Janney as Gladys are stuck with underwritten parts unfortunately, but all with great contribution.
The animation is very good, not photo real but a big step up from some recent fare and the fur is so convincing you just want to reach out and touch it. Humans on the other hand are pretty flat and never more than caricatures, whilst some of the animals aren’t as well done as others. Where ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ falls down slightly with its more serious elements. Bruce Willis is stuck with a heavy handed moral lesson about being honest, Gary Shandling’s whine as the film’s straight man makes his frustrating character almost unbearable at points, and the script and score are pretty vanilla.
But most of all, there is a zippy sense of energy and pace here, and an amiable attempt at good old-fashioned laughs that works better than expected. It’s positive but with a dark edge, there are occasional moments of clever satire without being too cynical or self-referential. Ok so it’s not one of the greats, but it treads that awkward line of timelessness and relevance with effective ease, and is certainly one of the better animated films this genre has seen outside of the Disney organisation.
‘OVER THE HEDGE’ is a truly delightful little animated film that I found to be better than I expected. Loaded with plenty of laughs, beautiful visuals, and a lot of heart, the latest from DreamWorks Animation offers a solid positive pro-family message that isn't muddled by any kind of agenda, giving the film a sense of genuineness that similar films as of late have been lacking.
It's a good thing ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ was made into an animated film because you won't want to miss this one! Filled with loveable characters, top-notch voice acting, a great message and a lot of silliness, it's a cute animated film that you may want to watch more than once. Please wait for the start of the end credits, as you get to view some wonderful comedy antics with all of the main animated animal characters doing really crazy antics as the wording scrolls up the screen and please stick it out right to the final end credit, as we get another nice little bonus comedy moment that I know you will enjoy.
OVER THE HEDGE MUSIC TRACK LIST
FAMILY OF ME (Written by Ben Folds) [Performed by Ben Folds]
HEIST (Written by Ben Folds) [Performed by Ben Folds]
STILL (Written by Ben Folds) [Performed by Ben Folds]
ROCKIN’ THE SUBURBS (‘OVER THE HEDGE’ Version) (Written by Ben Folds) [Performed by Ben Folds]
LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET (Written by Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon) [Performed by Ben Folds]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG presents the animated film ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ with a stunning 1080p image presentation, with an equally impressive 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Clarity is quite good across the board and the Blu-ray appears capable of bringing out just about all of the fine detail textures the digital artists have created, including individual animal hairs and fur, grasses, shrubbery and of course including the hedge, pavement in the neighbourhoods, and so on and so forth. Colours are bold and robust, well saturated and finding a good and bold but not overly adjusted contrast. There's good tonal balance across the palette. Greens are of course one of the standouts on the animal side of the hedge, while a more diverse palette finds enjoyable accuracy in the neighbourhood, from silver trash cans to colourful art and clothes, including an exterminator's orange jumpsuit. So all in all, this is a very nice high definition presentation.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation SKG brings us the animated film ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ with a good solid 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. The presentation more than satisfies your requirements and is a great deal of audio fun. The audio track opens in style with RJ beating on a vending machine to great sonic effect, which includes a boomerang swishing around the stage in his attempt to retrieve a bag of chips that has become stuck on the coil. Vincent's growls are deep and deliver with high yield low end output. The track offers little natural atmosphere in its quieter wooded scenes but finds some sporadic ambience in the neighbourhood. However, it is in the film's numerous comic/action scenes where the track shows full command. There are almost innumerable occurrences of healthy low end output, extensive surround engagement, and wide front end usage. The track frequently explodes into a delight of zany effects that fully compliment the animated film mayhem. It's all in symphonic harmony, too, rather than just a free-for-all of audio insanity. Dialogue is nice and clear and also detailed with a firm well prioritized speaker presentation with all the action sequences in that animated film. What is also good as each voice cast matches the animal characters 100%.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Hammy's Boomerang Adventure with bonus Audio Commentary by Director Will Finn [2006] [1080p] [1.85:1] [4:44] DreamWorks Animation SKG presents an animated short with RJ the raccoon produces a nature video, which turns out to be an excuse for him and the porcupine children to play pranks on Hammy the squirrel and the subject is when Hammy the squirrel discovers a boomerang. RJ and the kids hide in the hedge and watch Hammy the squirrel experiences his first boomerang return with comic circumstances. Hammy the squirrel tries to eat it but hates the taste and throws it away, but of course the boomerang returns to hit him and repeats this several times and each time gets very angry, as he cannot understand why it keeps hitting him. Voice Cast: Bruce Willis [RJ], Garry Shandling [Verne], Steve Carell [Hammy], Wanda Sykes [Stella], Sami Kirkpatrick [Bucky], Shane Baumel [Spike] and Madison Davenport [Quillo].
Special Feature: Behind The Hedge [2006] [1080p] [1.78:1] [12:04] This special feature focuses on the technical details behind the making of the digital animals and environments that appear in the animated film and explain why they produced the style of each animal character and especially in making the animals fir and spines to look realistic. Contributors include: Tim Johnson [Director], Karey Kirkpatrick [Director], T. Lewis and Michael Fry [Creators of ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ Comic Strip], Dick Walsh [Character Technical Director], Clunie Holt [Surfacing Supervisor], Craig Ring [Visual Effects Supervisor], Rupert Gregson-Williams [Composer], Hans Zimmer [Executive Music Producer], Ben Folds [Singer/Songwriter], Steve Carell [Hammy] and Bruce Willis [RJ].
Special Feature: Meet The Cast of ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ [2006] [1080p] [1.78:1] [15:47] This supplement focuses on the voice cast performers and peek inside the recording booth of those who vocally bring the characters to life throughout the animated film and we also get to view a plethora of film clips which we get quite a few to view, we also get the interviews with the voice cast and team. It also explores character traits and how they fit into the film. Contributors include: Tim Johnson [Director], Karey Kirkpatrick [Director], Bruce Willis [RJ], Gary Shadling [Verne], Wanda Sykes [Stella], Eugene Levy [Lou], William Shatner [Ozzie], Avril Lavigne [Heather], Catherine O’Hara [Penny], Nick Nolte [Vincent], Bonnie Arnold [Producer], Omid Djalili [Tiger], Allison Janney [Gladys], Thomas Haden Church [Dwayne] and Steve Carell [Hammy].
Special Feature: Verm-Tech Infomercial with Dwayne LaFontant [2006] [1080p] [1.37:1] [2:59] Here we get to view an advertisement by Dwayne LaFontant in the field of extermination and promoting a well worth lucrative job for everyone.
Special Feature: The Tech of ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ [2006] [480i] [1.78:1] [6:07] Here we get to view a more in-depth look into the digital tools that helped make the animated film. Contributors include: Jeffrey Katzenberg [CEO DreamWorks Animation], Ed Leonard [Chief Technology Officer], Kathy Allieri [Production Designer], Michael Necci [CGI Lighting Supervisor], David Burgess [Supervising Animator], Craig Ring [Visual Effects Supervisor], Andy Lomas [head of Character Effects], David Walvood [CGI Supervisor], Derek Chan [Head of Digital Operations] and Bert Poole [CGI Supervisor].
Audio Commentary with Directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick and Producer Bonnie Arnold: First up to introduce themselves is Karey Kirpatrick, then Tim Johnson and finally Bonnie Arnold and welcomes us to their audio commentary for the animated film ‘OVER THE HEDGE,’ and they loved the opening shot of RJ trying to get the snack Nacho bag out of the vending machine, and they all thank the DreamWorks team on producing the animated film. The tube of “Spuddies” was thought up with previous hundreds of made up names because of the copyright of the real name Pringles Potato Chips, whereas in the UK we call potato chips “crisps,” and Bonnie Arnold’s daughter wanted to know how they came up with the name “Spuddies,” and they sort of explain the reason for the product name came about. When the bear is warning RJ to get all of his stolen food back to his cave by the next new moon and we are informed by one of the commentator that it was an actual photographed moon via their telescope in their back garden. They all praise Ben Fold for his brilliant work on his composed songs used in the animated film. But at this point they all start rambling on about stuff relating to the making of the animated film that was of at all no interest to me and would probably be more interest to other people involved in animated films and really started to make me have no interest and had to endure the audio commentary with lots of boring vacuous information in regards to the making of the animated film ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ which took well over and hour of total boredom. As we get to the final end credit, Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick and Bonnie Arnold finally say something relevant, because at this moment in time with the audio commentary, it is here they say this is their favourite part of the film, meaning that they get to see their names appear. As we get to just before it all finishes, I leave the last comment to all three of them with regards to their audio commentary, when they say, “Thank you for making the journey with us, thank you for enjoying and watching our motion picture, and if you had as much fun watching, as we had making it, you know you had a good experience. Thanks everyone and goodbye.
Finally, ‘OVER THE HEDGE’ is a breezy good time animated film that isn’t trying to do anything but to entertain us and it does that for sure. The animation is really nice, although to some critics found it a bit dated, but at least the characters and the actions is clearly defined. The voice cast is really good, especially headed by Bruce Willis who sounds like he actually really enjoys being in this animated film as RJ. The comedy is very funny and doesn’t talk down to its audience. One thing I do really like is the fact that the animated film is a play on heist films as I am a huge fan of this type of genre films. All in all, ‘OVER THE HEDGE,’ is fun for the entire family, so get out the popcorn and sit down to enjoy this animated film. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
