Studio: Universal
Release Date: May 19th, 2006 (theatrical) / February 5th, 2019 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 83 mins
Region Code: A
Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS, Spanish 5.1 DTS, Japanese 2.0 DTS, Dutch 5.1 DTS, Flemish 5.1 DTS, Portuguese 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch
Slipcover: Yes
Digital Copy: Yes
Starring: Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes, William Shatner, Nick Nolte
Written by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, Karey Kirkpatrick
Directed by Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Rating: PG (some rude humor and mild comic action)
THE FILM
Over the Hedge is a breezy good time. A film that isn’t trying to do anything but entertain us, and it does. The animation is nice, although a bit dated, with characters and actions clearly defined. The voice acting is really good with a great cast headed by a Bruce Willis who sounds like he actually wants to be in the film, unlike today where we haven’t had a good Bruce Willis performance in years. The comedy is funny and doesn’t talk down to the audience. I do like the fact that the film is a play on heist films as I am a huge fan of heist films. All in all, Over the Hedge, is fun for the entire family.
THE PICTURE AND THE SOUND
Over the Hedge is one of a handful of films that Dreamworks has made that have only seen a blu-ray release fairly recently. Prince of Egypt and Road to El Dorado are a few others that have just recently come to blu-ray as well. I bring this up because the transfers for these films, including Over the Hedge, are not the greatest transfers in the world. Detail is good here, but the colors seem a bit dim at times. In fact, the whole picture seems a bit darker than it should be. Nothing that breaks the bank, but something to be aware of.
The sound, in the form of an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is lively and full. The surrounds don’t get the best workout but they are utilized fairly well.
There are a ton of subtitle options as well.
THE PACKAGING
The front cover is really ugly. Instead of using the film’s theatrical poster (or some variant of it), Dreamworks focuses on two characters from the film, having them in front of a plain purple background. Just ugly.
The disc features the same blandness that we have come to expect from Universal.
The disc is REGION A
THE FEATURES
Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure (4m 44s, SD) R.J. and the others record Hammy discovering a boomerang. It’s fun.
Behind the Hedge (12m 4s, SD) The filmmakers talk about the making of the film.
Meet the Cast (15m 47s, SD) We meet each member of the cast as they talk about the film and their character. We do get to see Willis giving a good performance, so that it nice.
Verm-Tech Infomercial (2m 59s, SD, 1.33:1) Another short film, this time featuring the exterminator character.
The Tech of Over the Hedge (6m 7s, SD) This goes into the nuts and bolts of how an animated film is made.
Feature Commentary with directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, and Producer Bonnie Arnold
OVERALL
Over the Hedge is a fun film that isn’t trying to be anything that it isn’t and that is something nice in the day and age. The vocal performances are really wonderful and the film has a cheerful way of telling its story. The blu-ray is pretty nice as well. The picture and sound quality are good and the special features will help pass the time.
RJ, a raccoon who needs food, accidentally takes food from a hungry bear named Vincent and he wants his food to be found in exactly the same place in a week. He finally finds that an animal family, with a tortoise named Verne as their leader, could help him restore the food from the suburbia, the gateway to the good life. But little does RJ know, there is a woman who has recently hired an exterminator to try to hunt them down.
Over the Hedge is a breezy good time. A film that isn’t trying to do anything but entertain us, and it does. The animation is nice, although a bit dated, with characters and actions clearly defined. The voice acting is really good with a great cast headed by a Bruce Willis who sounds like he actually wants to be in the film, unlike today where we haven’t had a good Bruce Willis performance in years. The comedy is funny and doesn’t talk down to the audience. I do like the fact that the film is a play on heist films as I am a huge fan of heist films. All in all, Over the Hedge, is fun for the entire family.
THE PICTURE AND THE SOUND
Over the Hedge is one of a handful of films that Dreamworks has made that have only seen a blu-ray release fairly recently. Prince of Egypt and Road to El Dorado are a few others that have just recently come to blu-ray as well. I bring this up because the transfers for these films, including Over the Hedge, are not the greatest transfers in the world. Detail is good here, but the colors seem a bit dim at times. In fact, the whole picture seems a bit darker than it should be. Nothing that breaks the bank, but something to be aware of.
The sound, in the form of an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is lively and full. The surrounds don’t get the best workout but they are utilized fairly well.
There are a ton of subtitle options as well.
THE PACKAGING
The front cover is really ugly. Instead of using the film’s theatrical poster (or some variant of it), Dreamworks focuses on two characters from the film, having them in front of a plain purple background. Just ugly.
The disc features the same blandness that we have come to expect from Universal.
The disc is REGION A
THE FEATURES
Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure (4m 44s, SD) R.J. and the others record Hammy discovering a boomerang. It’s fun.
Behind the Hedge (12m 4s, SD) The filmmakers talk about the making of the film.
Meet the Cast (15m 47s, SD) We meet each member of the cast as they talk about the film and their character. We do get to see Willis giving a good performance, so that it nice.
Verm-Tech Infomercial (2m 59s, SD, 1.33:1) Another short film, this time featuring the exterminator character.
The Tech of Over the Hedge (6m 7s, SD) This goes into the nuts and bolts of how an animated film is made.
Feature Commentary with directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, and Producer Bonnie Arnold
OVERALL
Over the Hedge is a fun film that isn’t trying to be anything that it isn’t and that is something nice in the day and age. The vocal performances are really wonderful and the film has a cheerful way of telling its story. The blu-ray is pretty nice as well. The picture and sound quality are good and the special features will help pass the time.
 Blu-ray Review + Screenshots){kind=link}
5 Comments
Well RJ the talking raccoon came back to save Verne the turtle, Hammy the squirrel, Stella the skunk, Ozzie and Heather the opossums, Lou and Penny the porcupines and Bucky, Spike and Quillo the porcupine triplet kids from being put to sleep and exterminated by Dwayne La Fontant by defeating him and Vincent the bear and Gladys Sharp who had the cattle prod and weed hacker knocked out of their hands and were caught in the Depelter Turbo trap which Hammy turned on that shaved Vincent's fur and burned Gladys' hair off and Dwayne got stung by lasers till they were caught in a cage and defeated and the talking forest animals all cheered from the top of the hedge.
ReplyDeleteSeems like Gladys Sharp will be spending her days in prison now she's been arrested for illegal traps and for resisting arrest and assaulting police cops by fighting and beating two of them up while more will pile on Gladys and shove her in the police car and throw her into the dungeons and tie her up and gag her and load her with chains as she's not president of Homeowner's Association anymore which serves her right for kicking Heather which wasn't nice as Heather was okay afterwards and that means Gladys has lost her house and is fired from her job and won't get it now.
ReplyDeleteAnd Vincent the burnt bear will be a prisoner in the Rockies after trying to kill RJ and the other animals like that which was unkind and selfish and now he won't get his food back since RJ gave it back to Verne and Hammy and Stella and Ozzie and Heather and Lou and Penny and Bucky, Spike and Quillo instead and now they've defeated Vincent who can't swipe his paw at them which they dodged and is now a prisoner in the Rockies which is what Vincent gets for being a bad bear to RJ and to the other animals who haven't done anything wrong and now he can't kill them as they win.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for Dwayne La Fontant he'll probably get arrested by the police for extermination and find himself thrown into the dungeons after he got bitten in the leg by Nugent the Rottweiler off screen who was the same dog that chased RJ and Verne earlier but they got away and are safe now with the other animals and Dwayne screamed his head off when Nugent bit him in the leg after Dwayne climbed over the fence once he told the police to get Gladys who was fighting the officers and beating them up meaning Dwayne will be caught and under arrest for being a bad exterminator.
ReplyDeleteWhich means RJ the raccoon, Verne the turtle, Hammy the squirrel, Stella the skunk, Ozzie and Heather the opossums, Lou and Penny the porcupines and Bucky, Spike and Quillo the porcupine triplet kids have done it and they win and are all victorious together and I say they'll get medals since RJ saved them all and apologized for what he'd done to them and now Verne, Hammy, Stella, Ozzie, Heather, Lou, Penny, Bucky, Spike and Quillo all forgive RJ and have welcomed him to the new family along with Tiger the reformed cat since RJ is the new leader and praised as a hero.
ReplyDelete