film | Hawkin' the suburbs

It's more than a little bit hypocritical of OVER THE HEDGE — this month's computer-animated endeavor featuring a menagerie of wisecracking critters voiced by recognizable Hollywood talent — to offer a snarky commentary on fatass middle-American consumption while promotionally shackled to Trix, Crunch 'n Munch, Wal-Mart and Wendy's Kid's Meals. And it'd be distracting to the point of irritation, too, were Over the Hedge not first and foremost a gleefully winsome romp beyond the backyard, buoyed by lively characterizations and moments of manic invention that recall the antics of Roadrunner and Pepé le Pew from classic Looney Tunes shorts. Besides, Shrek, you'll remember, peppered its looks-don't-matter social message with a plethora of height jokes aimed at its diminutive villain, so moralistic glibness ain't no stranger to this new breed of family film.

Bruce Willis' smart-aleck machismo is a nifty fit to his cartoon counterpart, a crafty raccoon who's caught red-pawed looting the Alpine larder of an ill-tempered grizzly bear (Nick Nolte). He pledges to restock all the food within a week or be torn to shreds, so he dupes an unwitting flock of genial forest-dwellers — including a nervous turtle (Garry Shandling), a sassy skunk (Wanda Sykes), a hyperactive squirrel (the incomparable Steve Carell), and yokel ma and pa hedgehogs (Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy) — into looting nearby suburbia of its throwaway pizza crusts, caffeinated beverages and high-calorie snacks.

This lightweight scenario lacks the surprising poignance and stirring emotional kick of, say, Finding Nemo or Toy Story, but it's fast-paced and funny, and it deftly provides William Shatner, as a possum whose play-dead defense mechanism lapses into Shakespearean overkill, with a clever outlet to parody his own hammy screen persona. Even better, the movie doesn't rely on the same tired cinematic spoofs and pop-culture references you've come to expect from its ilk. Over the Hedge's best gags actually stem from its mischievously pointed lampooning of unhealthy bourgeoisie eating habits. In one scene, a bag of chips is torn open, resulting in a gargantuan mushroom cloud of real nacho cheese flavoring, and it's kinda sad — and somewhat fitting — that it makes you hungry for Doritos, eh? B