But I Like the Cookie...

Originally released to theatres on May 19, 2006, the film did not go over too well with critics, but how often to most people actually agree with critic's opinions. For me, I have yet to agree with a critic.
I had been anticipating the release of Over the Hedge for months. I love cartoons and with Dream Works I usually never go wrong. However with Over the Hedge I am still undecided as to whether or not I am satisfied. The movie is about a group of animals that live in a local forest, and hibernate over the long winter. When they wake up in Spring, they find that the local habitat that they have grown accustomed to is gone and has been replaced with the lastest in suburban homes. They meet a new friend, RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis), an overly confident racoon, who is indebted to a bear for stealing his food. Verne, a very timid turtle, has his reservations about allowing RJ into his life and the lives of his friends, Stella, (voiced by Wanda Sykes), a skunk with attitude; Hammy (voiced by Steve Carrell), a hyperactive squirrel that goes into overdrive with the tiniest bit of sugar, and many others.

The movie, although a little slow in the beginning, takes its audience into a world of animals that survive off of searching for their food--animals that people constantly find digging through their trash. I found the movie to be mildly entertaining, with certain characters drawing more interest than others. Often the conflict between passive Verne and aggressive RJ creates an interesting story line on its own. This cartoon, like many others, invites its audience to care for the animals in such a way that concern is soon drawn to their survival.

Overall, the movie is not made for an attentive audience over the age of 12 (unless you are some one like me, a really big kid). There are few parts of the movie which may be amusing to adults, but unless the movie is watched with children, I find it hard to believe that the audiences attention will be held.

(This is my opinion of how the movie will be viewed, however, I am still a grown up child, so my opinion of how the movie will be viewed is different from how I actually viewed the movie)