A loner raccoon gets over zealous and manages to destroy a bear’s winter stash of food. Now he has one week to replace it, or he becomes the replacement. Along the way, he makes some new and valuable friends and learns the importance of family.

For the longest time, Over the Hedge, Calvin and Hobbes, and The Far Side were the only three comic strips I would read. Calvin and Far Side stopped and soon I was left with only Over the Hedge. I say that only to say that it took me a long time to make the connection between the comic strip and this new animated feature.

The beauty of the comic strip was the witty insights the forest animals had into the lives of humans. Although that’s touched on in the film, it’s not the focal point. It’s as though they had a script, and they wrote the characters around it. The story is a bit weak, and they don’t waste much time trying to establish a plot to motivate the characters. The sad thing is that the theme of the comic strip would’ve made for a good film and it wasn’t necessary to dumb the movie down at all. I understand it’s geared towards kids 2-5 years old, but Pixar has managed to make movies that appeal to both kids and adults and I feel Dreamworks could have done a better job of that with this film.

With that said, OVER THE HEDGE did provide enough laughs and enough memorable characters to make this a solid recommendation to anyone under 10. Everyone will love Hammy because he’s just plain funny. The other characters will find their fans, but no one provided laughs quite like Hammy. He was great mainly because of the voice talents of Steve Carell. Also, all of the voices were cast perfectly, even though Wanda Sykes can’t talk without irritating me. She always sounds angry.

I had high expectations for OVER THE HEDGE given how much I love the comic strip. The movie didn’t have the same wit and humor of the comic and I’m sure that had a lot to do with the creators not having much to do with the film. Despite that, the film was cute enough to recommend to animation fans and anyone who enjoys a cute animal movie.

Video: Widescreen (1.85:1): Animated movies look fantastic on DVD and this is no exception. Colors are bright and crisp.

Audio: English and French 5.1, English and Spanish 2.0 with English, French and Spanish subtitles: This is a great audio transfer to accompany the video.

Commentary with Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick and Bonnie Arnold: These three are a little dry for my taste. I always find it odd how commentaries for animated films are always the most boring. I’m sure kids love that.

Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure (4:32): Hammy’s great, and this is a funny short film about him finding a boomerang. Good stuff.

Behind the Hedge (11:59): Finally, the original creators Michael Fry and T. Lewis play a part in the DVD. This is a quick featurette that covers almost everything that went into the film. It’s worth watching for Fry and Lewis alone.

Verm-Tech Institute Infomercial (2:55): This is a funny little infomercial featuring Dwayne LaFontant from the film. It’s not head over heals funny, but it’s worth the three minute investment.

Meet the Cast Featurette (15:42): OVER THE HEDGE had a lot of big name voices, so this wasn’t as exciting as it normally is for other animated films. However, its always nice to see actors talk about their animated counterparts.

The Tech of Over the Hedge (6:01): Again, I’m sure kids will love this one. It’s not too technical, but it’s technical enough to make most viewers lose interest. It goes into detail about what went into creating the look of the movie. It’s very familiar, but it’s pretty interesting.

There are also some Previews, including one for Jerry Seinfeld's BEE MOVIE.

I’m pretty sure every kid out there will enjoy OVER THE HEDGE. It has cute animals, it’s funny, and it’s fast paced enough for those with short attention spans. Adults, however, might find themselves a little bored.