Over the Hedge

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Cute animated tale with some mild scares, cartoon violence.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this animated movie includes a fair amount of cartoon violence. Characters are crushed, blown up, flattened, banged, burned, and bounced -- all in good, Chuck-Jones-influenced fun. Animal protagonists steal food from each other and from unsympathetic humans. When a raccoon steals a bear's winter stash of food, the bear threatens retaliation and the raccoon fools other "foragers" into stealing food from humans to repay the bear and save himself. A human exterminator brings traps and brutal gizmos (his truck is adorned by a man slamming a bunny with a hammer). This exterminator suffers physical abuses (zapped by his own traps). Younger kids will laugh at the obvious stuff and won't get the edgier humor aimed at older audiences, so this is one that several age groups can enjoy together.

  • Characters lie and steal, but learn to appreciate self-declared/non-blood families.
  • Cartoon violence (characters smashed, flattened, blown up, and crushed); bear threatens to "hunt down and kill" raccoon; human exterminator arrives on scene with traps, poison, explosives; from raccoon's POV, suburban backyard is filled with dangerous items (bug zapper, falling birdbath, sprinklers, knives); woman chases animals with broom; squirrel pretends to be rabid to scare Girl Scout; dog chases raccoon through several yards and over decks, crashing through fences; little girl possum kicked down stairs, appears to be dead.
  • Mild references to female skunk's "appeal," as she's sent to distract a guardian cat.
  • Very mild, occasional language ("shoot!", "butt," "dang"); the turtle calls others "stupid," "naive," and "ignorant."
  • Dr. Phil on TV; various commercial food products renamed (potato chips in a can, corn chips and cheese curls in bags, candies, etc.).
  • Sugar acts like a drug for Hammy.

What's the story?

This animated animal adventure gets rolling when RJ the raccoon (voiced by Bruce Willis) steals a little red wagon full of treats from a hibernating bear, Vincent (Nick Nolte). Awakened and annoyed, the bear threatens to kill RJ unless he replaces all the missing items (they're smooshed in a traffic accident). RJ hatches a plan to steal convenience foods from recently installed suburban dwellers. While Hammy the squirrel (Steve Carell), shy skunk Stella (Wanda Sykes), and Ozzie, a possum (William Shatner), are easily won over by RJ's scheme, timid tortoise Verne (Garry Shandling) frets that RJ is not to be trusted. But the raccoon is shrewd, and the scenario he lays out -- all food, all the time -- is mighty tempting. So it's not long before everyone scampering into the well-appointed abode of Homeowners' Association President Gladys (Allison Janney). In this new world, "the grass is greener," and the acorn-munching kids discover the great tastes they've been missing: cheese dust, pizza, donuts, and Girl Scout cookies. The animals are not prepared for the humans' ferocious desire to protect their stuff, however, and soon the dastardly exterminator (Thomas Haden Church) arrives, armed with traps and weapons.


Is it any good?

 

Cute and zippy, OVER THE HEDGE offers animal shenanigans, an amusing social critique, songs by Ben Folds, and cartoony explosions galore. It's good fun for everyone!

 

 

Plainly inspired by the brilliant Chuck Jones, the movie gets in easy digs at the burbs, a nifty homage to Pepe Le Pew (via Stella's faux-seduction of a Persian "guard cat" [Omid Djalili]), and yet another chance for Willis to make good fun of himself.


What families can talk about

Families can talk about the film's satire of life in the suburbs. They could also talk about the lesson RJ and his friends learn: that supporting each other as a family is more important than their individual desires. They could also use the film and its soundtrack to talk to kids about the greater impact of our actions.


This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Parent of 19 year old
September 28, 2009
 
a very......
a very good movie!

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Kid, 12 years old
June 7, 2011
 
Sooooo funny
Man why is this movie so funny? I loved the scary clown part. The end had the funniest parts. Just as funny as dumb and dumber. I watched it all the time as a 1st grader. Funny movie.

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Kid, 13 years old
April 13, 2011
 
I love this movie, RJ is the coolest!

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Teen, 17 years old
May 8, 2010
 
LOVE THIS MOVIE!
LOVE IT! IT WAS SO FLIPPIN AWESOME!

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Adult
May 30, 2011
 
AMAZING, OUTSTANDING, better than any lousy, boring disney film!
This film is great and will always be. Although a few jokes kids wont get none of them are offensive or harmful. This film is very funny and entertaining all the way through and kids and adults will enjoy it. I love RJ the raccoon. RJ is brilliant and so funny :)

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Parent of 3 year old
February 13, 2011
 
good little movie :)
This is just a fun movie... My son is 3 but i chose 4 based on other reviews. He doesn't get upset at scary stuff yet and the only concerns he showed were over "loud" parts. He loves animals and that certainly held his attention....for the lessons, he might not be getting them quite yet but he did understand that Vincent was "mean" and the home-owner lady was "not nice" so we talked about that.

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Teen, 16 years old
April 8, 2011
 
i love this movie.its funny!

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Teen, 16 years old
November 4, 2010
 
Please don't use dangerous stuff on the street
This movie has forest animals using dangerous things. There was an electric zapper, laser marks on the floor when someone tried to get across to the house roof, and a big shot at last when someone's hair got burned. That big shot was really dangerous for everyone. Please don't let your children try this in the neighborhood.

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Teen, 14 years old
March 26, 2011
 
More for younger kids
I would not see this movie again.

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Parent of 3 year old
March 6, 2011
 
Not Good for Short Attention Spans
This movie was super boring for my 3.5 year old. It did not hold his attention at all and he loves animal movies. He kept asking me why the animals were stealing and making a mess and why they were eating people food. It was not a good pick! Glad I only got it from the library for free...

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This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Topics:wild animals
Studio:DreamWorks
Directors:Karey Kirkpatrick, Tim Johnson
Cast:Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, William Shatner
Genre:Family and Kids
Run time:96 minutes
Theatrical release date:May 19, 2006
DVD release date:October 17, 2006
MPAA rating:PG
MPAA explanation:for some rude humor and mild comic action.

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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