OVER THE HEDGE

Over the Hedge is based on the comic strip of the same name by Michael Fry. If you've read the first book, you'll recognize a lot of the gags and such but it's all put into a much larger context. Yes, OTH has managed longer storylines than some other strips. Certainly not on par with like For Better or Worse but longer than, say, Garfield. It can get a bit plot heavy at times... same problem you have ANY time a comic strip is translated to a movie. Peanuts worked well for some reason but Garfield and FBOW and Beetle Bailey all suffered when they were expanded. I never liked Dennis the Menace as a strip OR as a cartoon, live action show OR movie. Even Opus, my personal favorite character, had trouble with the christmas cartoon "Opus and Bill: A Wish For Wings That Work" even though it was based on a book. The creators seem to worry about putting TOO many gags a la Airplane and instead strive to make it more Disney-fide. Yes, OTH gets that way but it's ok... the plot works.
Bruce Willis is RJ, the racoon and main character in the movie. This is really HIS story. The other characters are all there and wonderfully voiced by some surprising talents (Avril Lavigne in particular as the daughter possum and Nic Nolte as the bear) and they all get some moments to shine but when it comes to STORY, it's all RJ. The comic relief comes from Steve Carell as Hamm, the squirrel, and he DOES get the BIGGEST laughs... and even the climactic moment belongs to Hamm but still, the story is all RJ.
RJ screws up an attempt to steal all the food the bear has tucked away from when he wakes up from hibernation... screws up by getting it all destroyed. The bear gives him one week to recover EVERYTHING that was lost EXACTLY as it was. This leads him to find the other critters who wake a week earlier than the bear (hence the time limit given to RJ) and begin to collect their food for the NEXT hibernation. Excet they discover their forest isn't QUITE as big as it once was... it seems a housing development sprung up while they slept. RJ knows what everything is and offers to help show them how to collect all the food they need in ... yep... ONE WEEK. It's the prefect set up and is a simple plot device to get the characters to mix and mingle as raccoon fights turtle for leadership, basically.
The voices are top notch. The animation is fantastic. Considering these are highly stylized 2D drawings they are based on, the characters have a solidity to them but still maintain the characteristics of the strip versions. You actually RECOGNIZE them (unlike Garfield...granted, they don't have to blend in with live action actors which makes it easier).
Overall, if you don't plan to see Davinci, then see Over the Hedge. If you've already SEEN Davinci, then go see Over the Hedge. But do it soon... cause X3 opens friday!!!
Ok, that's seriously all you get... I really AM sick (damn you, Bonnie!)