Ab durch die Hecke (2006)

Ab durch die Hecke: Directed by Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick. With Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes. A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating…and learns a lesson about family himself.

“A raccoon named RJ (Bruce Willis) attempts to steal the food from a hibernating bear (Nick Nolte). RJ unfortunately gets caught and the food gets accidentally destroyed. In an attempt to save his life, RJ has a week to bring the bear all the food he destroyed. On his way to the suburbs, RJ happens to come across a group of various animals who have just awoken from hibernation. The animals soon discover that the rest of their forests have been cut down and the only thing left is a giant hedge that blocks them from entering the human world known as the suburbs. With the help of RJ, the animals make a plan to get enough food so they can survive for the year and replenish their food supply for next yearu0026#39;s hibernation. A very fun and entertaining animated film ensues… u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI have always been a big fan of animation films and there have been some really great animated films in the recent years and I am proud to say that u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; ranks up their with various Pixar products such as u0026quot;Finding Nemou0026quot; and u0026quot;Monsters Incu0026quot;. u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; is probably the best animated film of the year and I am not sure if u0026quot;Carsu0026quot; will be able to top it. This film is loaded with fun and interesting characters that each has their own unique humor and personality to them. Every character from RJ, to Hammy to Ozzie was unique and this made watching each character fun and enjoyable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMost animated films focus on a few main characters in u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; you have about a dozen or so main characters so for DreamWorks and the writers to pull off every character being liked is quite a challenge but they did it flawlessly. I also found the writing and dialogue to be very clever and witty. This is definitely a film that is going to win over both the kids and adults alike. Itu0026#39;s well crafted, well written, and has various enjoyable characters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNormally I donu0026#39;t understand why animation studios get a big name cast to voice their movies but in this case, I think the voice talent was amazing and actually made the film a little better. Being a fan of most of the actors and actresses who voiced this film I was able to identity all the characters based on their voices. William Shatner, Garry Shandling, Avril Lavigne, Eugene Levy, Bruce Willis, Steve Carell and Wanda Sykes were all instantly recognizable in my eyes. I think I see the purpose of the big name celebrities now because some of the characters have actual resemblances to the actual person or roles they played. I think everyone did a great job voicing the characters and I absolutely loved the little hedgehogs and Hammy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf DreamWorks keeps making films like u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; I think they could one day be bigger and better than Pixar who I still feel makes the best animated films. But u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; is the closest thing I have seen to a Pixar film (outside of u0026quot;Antzu0026quot; which was better than u0026quot;A Bugu0026#39;s Life) and it is a lot better than last yearu0026#39;s Madagascar which I liked but it wasnu0026#39;t as great like most people raved about. DreamWorks and Pixar are both companies that are goldmines because while u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; may not make $80 million its first weekend like u0026quot;The Da Vinci Code,u0026quot; it will still make a lot of money and be playing for many weeks to come.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn the end, u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; is probably the best animated film to be released from DreamWorks animation studios in years. Itu0026#39;s definitely a great film complete with great voice talent, witty and clever dialogue, likable characters and a pretty good script. There really isnu0026#39;t anything to complain about with u0026quot;Over the Hedge,u0026quot; itu0026#39;s a great movie that both children and adults will love and enjoy for many years to come.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMovieManMenzelu0026#39;s final rating for u0026quot;Over the Hedgeu0026quot; is an 8/10. A must see for those who love animated films that have a nice mix of comedy, drama, action and lovable characters.”