Sunday Matinee - Over The Hedge

Another great Sunday Matinee at the Wayne Manor Cinema...this weekend it was Dreamworks' Over The Hedge, a highly entertaining romp for kids and adults of all ages. Dreamworks is the company that created Shrek, and Over The Hedge was released theatrically this past May and did well at the box office.

The plot centers around a street-savvy racoon named RJ (played by Bruce Willis) who finds himself with a one-week deadline to replace a load of pilfered bear goodies that he swiped. RJ infiltrates a naive group of woodland creatures in an attempt to get them to help steal replacement food from the suburbanites that dwell "over the hedge". I guess that's where they got the name.

Casting is terrific, with Willis, Verne the apprehensive turtle voiced by Garry Shandling, Hammy the hyperactive squirrel played by Steve Carrell (of The Office fame), and Wanda Sykes as Stella, the skunk turned cat temptress. Nick Nolte plays Vincent, the grumpy bear who is none too pleased to be awakened early from winter slumber only to find RJ making off with his cave full o' snacks. Nolte's Vincent is "not nice", according to my son. On reflection, Nolte is the perfect casting for this role. Who better to play the role of a surly bear than this guy...
The animation is very polished, reminiscent of "Shrek-style" graphics (as opposed to "Pixar-style"). The action is non-stop and there are entertaining moments for viewers of all ages. Additional voicing is provided by Avril Lavigne, the always funny Eugene Levy, Thomas Haden Church (the janitor guy from Wings), William Shatner and Allison Janney from The West Wing.

The boy was riveted to the screen the whole time. Not a peep except for a couple of screams when the bear was chasing RJ. Who could blame him? Take another look at that Nolte mugshot. Scary.

Since a Sunday Matinee can only be as enjoyable as the boy allows it to be....we've added a new rating scale to our weekly critiques...The Fidget Factor. The Fidget Factor measures, well, the level of fidgetiness (fidgetoscity?) of our two-year old during the viewing. A fidgety boy can make even the best movie grueling.

In sum, Over The Hedge exceeded my expectations and proved to be a very enjoyable 83-minute Sunday diversion. Rated PG for some rude humor and minor cartoon violence.