A touch of animal magic

If you're after the originality and exuberance of Wallace and Gromit, Toy Story or Shrek, then this jolly piece of animation will not be for you. It brings more moderate efforts, such as Madagascar, to mind: good for children, not too tiresome for accompanying adults and chock-full of the statutory star voices.

Chief among these is Bruce Willis, cast as a troublesome raccoon called RJ. He has stolen the hibernation foodstore of Vincent the bear (Nick Nolte), but promises to replace it. This he will forage from the suburban sprawl that has destroyed half the forest in which he and Vincent live.

So he gathers a group of his squirrel, skunk and porcupine friends to go on the raid with him. The human residents are not best pleased and one employs a Verminator (Thomas Hayden Church) to deal with the invasion. 'I want them exterminated as inhumanely as possible,' she shrieks.

But don't worry: it all turns out to be as bland as the piles of junk food that the forest dwellers steal. And its attempt to mask the product placement with an attack on consumer society is pretty vague.

Though there's a smart remark about SUVs: 'How many people are there in an SUV?' asks one of the invaders. 'Usually one,' is the reply.

There is some nice, if obvious, characterisation and the film is rich in both foreground and background detail. The famous voices do well, too.

Of the action sequences, the best is the car chase, with baby porcupines dancing on the steering wheel in a desperate attempt to steer the vehicle they have commandeered in the right direction.

If Over the Hedge is meant to convey the superiority of the animal kingdom, it just about passes muster. But it's really just light entertainment and the young target audience should be suitably diverted.

Over The Hedge
Cert: U