Over the Hedge
Those who grew up in the 2000s like me will refer to this as a victory lap for Dreamworks. Those with taste at least. But with a current IMDb rating of 6.7 and a rather low score on Letterboxd across the board, I feel it’s become a bit under appreciated, especially since many animated films since have tried to juggle subtle adult humor with childlike wonder but not nearly as well. 711
Outside of Pixar’s most memorable efforts, specifically Ratatouille (which granted is the high art version of this), Over the Hedge is one of those fun family films that neither insults your intelligence nor tries pulling on your heartstrings. It’s not quite on the level of the first two Shrek films, but it does follow that similar formula of suggestive humor with a goofy enough tone for children whose worldview is so tiny and pure to enjoy. RJ does come across as a way bigger asshole now as an adult, but pretty much everything else had me longing for the days I used to throw this on. Nostalgia’s a powerful drug and I will never apologize for going with my heart with some of these ratings.
2006 Ranked 583