RJ the raccoon believes strongly in stealing only what he needs from humans and from animals like Vincent the grizzly bear. In Over the Hedge, RJ scales a jagged cliff using a fishing rod to climb up to a cave and enter quietly as Vincent, who's not set to wake up for another week, hibernates. Unfortunately, the raccoon loses sight of his original belief, and it costs him dearly. 

RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis) has piled Vincent’s (voiced by Nick Nolte) entire stash in the bear’s red wagon along with his cooler. The raccoon intends to make his way out of the cave and down the cliff without waking the bear. But Vincent wakes up to catch RJ in the act. While these two talk, the wagon slides out the entrance to the cave and down the cliff. Vincent is not amused and gives RJ an ultimatum. The food, wagon and cooler must be returned by the end of next week -- which is when he's scheduled to wake up.  Resourceful as RJ may be, this is a daunting task.

In the meantime, Verne (voiced by Gary Shandling) and his blended family of Stella the Skunk (voiced by Wanda Sykes), father and daughter possums Heather (voiced by Avril Lavinge) and Ozzie (voiced by William Shatner), a manic squirrel named Hammy (Steve Carrell), and a family of porcupines led by Lou (voiced by Eugene Levy) and Penny (voiced by Catherine O’Hara) have awakened from hibernation to find a huge green thing sprouted up in the middle of the forest -- and it's something that doesn't end in either direction. 

Nobody knows what this hedge actually is and whether to be afraid of it or not. A suggestion is made to give it a name. "Steve" sounds non-threatening enough. As leader of the tribe, Verne takes it upon himself to be the first to journey over the hedge. The cautious turtle meets with disaster and is nearly killed before returning to the forest. One thing is sure, neither he nor anyone else should make another trip over the hedge.

RJ, who overheard the animals talking about the hedge, produces a map of El Rancho Camelot, the subdivision that has eaten up most of the forest during the winter. He learns that it takes the animals 274 days to gather enough food to fill up a huge log. Sensing an opportunity to have the animals steal enough food to feed a bear, RJ tells them about the most delicious food they will ever taste and informs them that humans eat to live. The hedge, RJ says, is the gateway to the good life.

Verne does not like what RJ is saying. The turtle species has been around for millions of years, so Verne's instincts must be good. Every time something frightening or dangerous looms, his tail starts to tingle uncontrollably. Verne’s tail has not stopped tingling since RJ arrived.

RJ persuades Hammy to act like a rabid squirrel in order to make off with some Girl Guide cookies. Homeowner’s Association President Gladys (voiced by Allison Janney) hears about the squirrel incident and hires the Verminator ( voiced by Thomas Haden Church) to get rid of the animals in the most inhumane way possible.

Verne feels RJ’s methods are not safe and tries to convince the others of this. But the turtle ends up offending everyone by calling them naive, ignorant, and/or stupid. He's branded as jealous. Verne decides to take the food and anything else that was stolen back to the humans to avoid any problems.

Knowing that Vincent will surely eat him, RJ lays out a plan to get it all back. It will not be easy now that traps with invisible laser beams have been set everywhere. However, Hammy is RJ's secret weapon. Until now the squirrel has been too wild to be given drinks with caffeine. But this time Hammy will recieve an added jolt of energy from a soda to make him able to move faster than time itself. While time becomes suspended, he will be able to turn off the laser beams and trip wires to allow the others a safe passage.

Once Hammy does his job, Stella The Skunk will be sent in to look like a cat. Her mission? To get pompous cat Tiger’s (voiced by Omid Djalili) collar which activates the cat door, the animals' only means of entry into a house.

Over the Hedge, based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis, is skillfully executed by directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick. It also features several solid voice performances. Avril Lavinge stands out as a teenage possum who is mortified by the Shakespearean way her father (Shatner) plays dead. 

This is a great family film that will probably keep adults and children laughing from start to finish.  

(Released by Paramount Pictures and rated "PG" for some rude humor and comic action.)