Over the Hedge

This article is about the comic strip. For other uses, see Over the Hedge (disambiguation).

Over the Hedge is a syndicated comic strip written and drawn by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. It tells the story of a raccoon, turtle, a squirrel, and their friends who come to terms with their woodlands being taken over by suburbia, trying to survive the increasing flow of humanity and technology while becoming enticed by it at the same time. The strip debuted in June 1995.^[1]

Main characters

RJ

A raccoon con artist, RJ takes pride in being extremely lazy. He apparently envisions himself as an intellectual; however, his "facts" are obviously false. He loves to ransack human homes, as well as watch them and their televisions through the windows. While he enjoys commenting on human life, most of his statements are false as well, although he has studied humans and knows their ways of getting food, and even has slightly imprinted on them. He was shown to care for Clara even before she was born, (after he learned that babies can hear some things outside of the mother from Verne) by reading The Hunchback of Notre' Dame' and singing a horrible version of Stairway to Heaven. He is sometimes shown without a brain, using his brain cavity to store his "hanky", and breath mints. He is shown to have the ability to expand to fit a massive amount of food, and is known as "that horrible raccoon kid" on Halloween. It was revealed in one strip that he is an immortal god, and once confessed to Verne for "lighting the fuse" to the Big Bang, which he explained was because "The matches were right there, and the sign said "Don't light this fuse!!!", so...". He also said that the universe will have to reschedule the time when the Sun will burn out, as he has a tail rinse that day.

Herb

Herb had a serious dislike for RJ, but eventually, he becomes his best friend and partner in crime. A sensitive, philosophizing, lactose abhorrent turtle who is reflective and prone to allergies. Herb is a true renaissance-turtle, a cautious and critical observer with a deep spiritual side and a tingling feeling in his tail when something is not right. He is one of the most intelligent characters (second to "The Tree That Knows Stuff" see below), but he sometimes lacks a basic common sense. His proudest achievement is gathering all of the air conditioners out of Suburbia, and shouting, "LET THE GLOBAL COOLING COMMENCE!!!", just as RJ was about to plug them all in. He is a computer nerd, and he once "broke" the Internet. Most recently his shell was used as a hotspot for Queen Izzy, the Ant Queen, and her ant subjects, forcing him to first wear a Lucky Charms cereal box, and then a utili-kilt.

Hammy

A hyperactive squirrel, Hammy is the least intelligent, though also the most lovable character in the strip, spouting random comments at random moments. His comments usually state an unusually short lecture on a topic of little interest to the other characters. The character started the strip as "Hammy," but the character was replaced by "Sammy." ^[2] The character was known for some time thereafter as "Sammy", until he swapped places with his duplicate, also named "Hammy," from the other side of a mirror. ^[3]

Locations

El Rancho Camelot (Suburbia)

The suburb near the strip's forest. It is more like an actual city than a suburb, with malls and the like. A massive hedge serves as the "wall" between the city and the forest. It also features a golf course, which R.J. uses to set up "Extreme Golf."

Nate and Noreen's House

The most featured home in the strip, with Clara's room outlooking to the forest, and the living room also visible from the forest. Whenever they are away, R.J. and Verne typically invade, taking furniture, watching TV, and the like.

R.J. and Verne's Forest

A large forest outside of the city, home to all of the forest animals. The forest has shrunken in size, although this has never been touched on in the strip. A notable spot is R.J. and Verne's tree, which is near a pond (R.J. sleeps in a hammock, while Verne spends time in the pond). There is also several fields, a cliff where R.J, Verne, and sometimes Hammy watch the sunset, a route to a nearby golf course, and more. There is a hill which is where the "Tree That Knows Stuff" reside, with a pond near it. Due to its inhabitants interest with human technology, many areas have things that are usually found in a house, such as TVs, a kiddie pool, Verne's computer, and more.

Wal-Mart

Most recently, a Wal-Mart store has appeared in the strip, in which the Ant Queen Izzy became very interested.

Film

Main article: Over the Hedge (film)

A computer-animated film adaptation, written by Travis Gibbons and T. Lewis, and produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, was released on May 19, 2006 (June 30, 2006 in UK). The film adaptation features RJ befriending a group of woodlanders and introducing them to suburbia, with an ulterior motive of helping him replenish the food supply he stole from a bear. Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes and Nick Nolte star as RJ, Verne, Hammy, Ozzie (an opossum), Stella (a skunk), and Vincent (a bear) respectively. The film is also notable for containing Avril Lavigne's first major film role, as Heather, Ozzie's continuously embarrassed teenage daughter.

The film grossed $155,000,000 in the United States and $180,000,000 overseas, making the gross $335,000,000. It received a 74 certified fresh on RottenTomatoes, a 7.1 rating on IMDB, and a 67 on metacritic, indicating favorable reviews.

References

1. ^ Over the Hedge production notes for the film
2. ^ Fry, Michael; T. Lewis (14 May 2005), Over the Hedge, http://comics.com/over_the_hedge/2005-05-14/, retrieved 9 October 2010 
3. ^ Fry, Michael; T. Lewis (13 December 2005), Over the Hedge, http://comics.com/over_the_hedge/2005-12-13/, retrieved 2 August 2010 

External links

• Over the Hedge comic
• Over the Hedge blog