The Voices of Over the Hedge

Posted on May 23, 2006

Avril Lavigne is one of the stars of the Over the Hedge movie. It is unusual because until recently Avril Lavigne was the rocker yelling at Sk8er Bois and singing angst-ridden songs. Today, with her recent makeover, she fits in nicely with actors William Shatner and Bruce Willis. William Shatner is the voice of Ozzie the Opossum and Avril is the voice of her daughter, Heather the young opossum with an attitude. Bruce Willis plays RJ the Raccoon. Nick Nolte, Garry Shandling and Steve Carell also did voice work for the film.

Reviews of the film were very good. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars. USA Today also gave the film three stars out of four.

Over the Hedge, DreamWorks' latest animated offering, is a raucous, funny and fresh look at the 3 C's: conservation, consumerism and consumption (of the excessive and conspicuous kind).

The humanistic and relevant message is conveyed by an eclectic and artfully cast ensemble of voices, including Bruce Willis, Nick Nolte, Garry Shandling, Wanda Sykes, Steve Carell, Allison Janney, William Shatner and Avril Lavigne.

The vividly animated film - based on a comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis - has an appealing balance of comic bits and exhilarating action sequences.

And parents will appreciate a PG-rated family movie that is appropriate for the youngest filmgoers and still clever enough for adults to enjoy.

The film had a big box office score of $38 million over the weekend as parents with small children looked for an alternative to the Da Vinci Code blockbuster. You can find more information about Over the Hedge at IMDB.com.

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