by Edward James

Created on: June 11, 2010

Over The Hedge is a Dreamworks animation that was written by T Lewis, Len Blum, Lorne Cameron and David Hoseltone, and directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick that was released back in 2006.

Spring has sprung and a 'family' of mammals (consisting of possums, a skunk, a squirrel and a porcupine all lead by a tortoise acting as the head of the family) have awoken from the winter hibernation. Spring is the time for the family unit to forage and gather food in preparation for the next winter but to the family's dismay their foraging ground and natural larder has been replaced by a housing estate. In addition the winter hibernating place has been separated from the housing estate by a large hedge. What will the family do and where will they source their food?

Luckily, help comes in the form of an over confident loner raccoon who advises the naïve family that over the hedge is the world of suburbia where there is an abundance of gorgeous food. The raccoon convinces the family to try the 'human' junk food and they are hooked. The thought of eating berries, bark and all the other mundane items found in the forest is no longer an option and the family wants more. The raccoon convinces the family to carry on stealing the scraps from the humans in order to build up the larder for the winter, much to the annoyance of the tortoise. However, all is not as it seems as the raccoon has an ulterior motive that may be the difference between life and death.

Does the family manage to overcome the fears of the unknown and get enough food to last the winter or does the raccoon continue with what he set out to do?

Dreamworks managed to secure some pretty big celebrities to provide the various voices required for this animation. This does not surprise me as Dreamworks produce such great animations, and have built up such a strong brand and loyal fan base that willing actors must be queuing up to supply a voice, especially with the success of Shrek. The actors providing the voices include Bruce Willis (RJ the Racoon), Gary Shandling (Verne the tortoise and head of the family unit), Steve Carell (Hammy the hyperactive squirrel), Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Avril Lavigne and William Shatner amongst loads of others.

The voices are good and they do match the character and type of animal as well but they are not outstanding by any stretch of the imagination. The actors used in Shrek were perfectly cast and really threw themselves in to the roles. There was passion and energy

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