Over The Hedge

Following a slew of animated animal capers in 2005 and early 2006 – Ice Age 2, The Wild, Madagascar, Curious George, Chicken Little – was this summer 2006 offering featuring a vocal cast bound to impress grown-up comedy fans. Sharing the mic alongside Bruce Willis (as the voice of mischievous raccoon RJ) are such notable names as Garry Shandling (from The Larry Sanders Show), Steve Carrell (The 40 Year Old Virgin). comedienne Wanda Sykes, Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), The West Wing's Allison Janney, American Pie's Eugene Levy, Nick Nolte and William Shatner. Phew.
The story is this – con artist RJ comes across a community of animals who live in fear of humans. With his coaxing, however, the group decide to venture over the hedge into a newly built suburban housing development to forage for food, but when you've got a nervous turtle, a frisky skunk and a family of prickly porcupines as compadres, things are bound to go wrong. Based on the US comic strip of the same name, it's pretty inoffensive fare with some zippy laughs that will amuse kids and adults but won't split any sides.