Nobody expects family films to be groundbreaking.
Entertaining? Yes. Cute? Sure. Chock full of jokes about flatulence? Probably.
So when a family film comes out that does manage to break new cinematic ground — like the original "Shrek," the entire feature-length Pixar repertoire — it isn't surprising if the things that make that film unique pop up in subsequent films (cough, Disney's "The Wild," cough.)
Though it does manage to deliver a competent commentary on rampant consumerism and suburban sprawl, DreamWorks' "Over the Hedge," released May 19, finds its critter characters pilfering other films' plot points, in addition to trash-can food scraps.
"Over the Hedge" tells the tale of RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis), a con man of a raccoon (or con raccoon, if you will) who, in a failed late-night raid, destroys the food supply of Vincent the bear (Nick Nolte). Vincent gives RJ a week to replace his stolen pic-a-nic basket stockade … or else.
A predator charging a lesser animal to a time-constrained replacement of his food supply, with dire consequences, sound familiar? Some of the details may have changed, but it's definitely the same complication that kick-starts "A Bug's Life."
To meet Vincent's demands, RJ heads toward a newly-built subdivision. Within the neighborhood's one area of undeveloped wilderness, he meets a mixed-species "family" headed by Verne (Garry Shandling), a paternally hard-nosed turtle. Verne and company have awoken from hibernation to find a massive hedge separating their forest from the endless tracts of McMansions, and RJ acts as the family's guide to all things human, teaching them the joys of junk food and unwittingly enlisting them to collect it for Vincent.
Of course, Verne sees right through RJ's ruse, which predictably gives way to genuine feelings.
Unfortunately, Verne's mistrust — and that mistrust's eventual consequences — mirrors the dynamic between a certain talking cowboy doll and his spaceman rival.
The rest of Verne's ad hoc family provide the film's best performances. William Shatner garners the biggest laughs as Ozzie, an opossum who gives particularly melodramatic flair to playing dead.
Christopher Guest's mockumentary regulars, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara, are also present, playing the parents of the porcupine family-within-the-family. Their lines are mostly heavily-accented "golly-gee's" and "dont'cha knows," but as a duo, O'Hara and Levy are undeniable comic gold.
The film manages to convey its messages without getting preachy, which is a relief given the potential for "FernGully"-style environmentalist posturing within the subject matter. It's also thankfully devoid of the winking self-awareness that suffocated "Shrek 2."
Nonetheless, "Over the Hedge" remains a pretty mediocre offering. The laughs are never as big as they could be, and every major twist or turn has been done in earlier, better films.
Even the songs by piano rocker Ben Folds feel like they're lifted from the Pixar playbook, serving to prove the terrifying prospect that Folds may be turning into Generation X's answer to Randy Newman.
"Over the Hedge" scores with its target audience — the animals are endearing, and Steve Carell's spazzy squirrel, Hammy, will have kids in the theater in stitches. If only the film had a little more for those of us who are old enough to remember Pepé Le Pew pulling off the "skunk painted to look like a cat" gag.
