6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes, William ShatnerFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 80% |
Animation | 80% |
Comic book | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: DTS 2.0
Dutch: DTS 5.1
Flemish: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
I thought we'd be dead by step two so this is going great!
Over the Hedge doesn't exactly break new ground or introduce new ideas to the animated realm, but it sure is a lot of fun, anyway.
Directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, the former of whom co-directed Antz, choose to run with the talking animals concept, playing up the
silliness in the creatures' battles against humans, notably a strict and stuffy homeowners association president and a balding exterminator molded
after John Goodman’s character in Arachnophobia. It's a ton of fun and one of DreamWorks' best animated
features.
The thief, the hero.
Over the Hedge makes its Blu-ray debut with a fairly strong and enjoyable 1080p transfer. On the negative side of the ledger is that the image produces some banding in nighttime skies, right out of the gate, in fact, when RJ ascends a mountain to raid Vincent's stash. Additionally, some of the interior walls in the subdivision show banding, too, as do other spots, all of which can rise to a level of significance. Aliasing is also not uncommon, along house siding, on some of the trees, and on other objects scattered throughout the film. Though many spots hold some issue with banding or aliasing, rarely do such concerns rise to a level of interference with the quality of the animation on display. On the flip side, the image is infinitely watchable. Clarity is quite good across the board and the Blu-ray appears capable of bringing out just about all of the fine detail textures the digital artists have created, including individual animal hairs and fur, grasses and shrubbery (including the title hedge), pavement in the neighborhoods, and so on and so forth. Colors are bold and robust, well saturated and finding a good and bold but not overly adjusted contrast. There's good tonal balance across the palette. Greens are of course one of the standouts on the animal side of the hedge, while a more diverse palette finds enjoyable accuracy in the neighborhood, from silver trash cans to colorful art and clothes, including an exterminator's orange jumpsuit. Despite some issues, including banding that can rise to borderline severity, the image looks quite nice. Most viewers should find this a very agreeably point of entry for the film into the physical media HD realm.
Over the Hedge leaps onto Blu-ray with a high intensity DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation more than satisfies requirements and is a very fun, if not also very loud, compliment to the movie. The track opens in style with RJ beating on a vending machine to great sonic effect, which includes a boomerang swishing around the stage in his attempt to retrieve a bag of chips that has become stuck on the coil. Vincent's growls are deep and deliver with high yield low end output. The track offers little natural atmosphere in its quieter wooded scenes but finds some sporadic ambience in the neighborhood. However, it is in the film's numerous comic/action scenes where the track shows full command. There are almost innumerable occurrences of healthy low end output, extensive surround engagement, and wide front end usage. The track frequently explodes into a delight of zany effects that fully compliment the movie's mayhem. It's all in symphonic harmony, too, rather than jut a free-for-all of audio insanity. Dialogue is clear and detailed with firm front-center placement. It is well prioritized even in action.
Over the Hedge contains a commentary track and a handful of legacy featurettes. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with
purchase. No
DVD copy is included. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
Over the Hedge is a hearty, humorous example of its genre. It's cute and colorful, endlessly funny, perfectly paced, and very well voiced. It doesn't get bogged down in needless side stories, remaining laser-focused on its purpose and its gags. With an enthusiastic cast and plenty of jokes that hit, it's one of the best of its kind of the 2000s. Universal's Blu-ray looks good, not great, struggling with aliasing and some moderate to severe banding. Audio blasts and is tons of fun. A good selection of extra content is included. Recommended.
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