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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/over_the_hedge_poster.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TagLine Taking back the neighborhood one snack at a time.]]'']]
3''Over the Hedge'' is a 2006 film released by Creator/DreamWorksAnimation and loosely based on [[ComicStrip/OverTheHedge the comic of the same name]].
4
5It follows the adventure of a handful of [[WoodlandCreatures woodland animals]]: a turtle named Verne; a raccoon, RJ; and Hammy, a squirrel are a few of them. The animals have to deal with their home being turned into suburbs. The film stars Creator/BruceWillis as RJ, Creator/SteveCarell as Hammy, and Creator/GarryShandling as Verne. The plot of the movie involves Verne and the others as RJ gives them their first introduction to the neighborhood that has been constructed around their home, accidentally taking over Verne's role as leader. In truth, he's just using them to gather food for a bear whose winter reserves he accidentally destroyed.
6
7Like many other animated movies of [[TurnOfTheMillennium its time]], it got its own [[VideoGame/OverTheHedge video game adaptation]].
8
9----
10!!The ''Over the Hedge'' film contains examples of:
11
12* AbsurdlyBrightLight: The Depelter Turbo's activation causes tans, pops popcorn, and can be seen from space, specifically from ''[[ExaggeratedTrope outside the Milky Way galaxy]]''.
13* AccidentalMisnaming: When RJ needs to get the Spuddies from Gladys and Verne tries to warn him out of it, RJ calls Verne "Vincent" before correcting himself.
14* AccidentalPublicConfession: While arguing with Verne over a can of Spuddies in Gladys' pantry, RJ snaps angrily and accidentally exposes his ruse to Verne and the others.
15-->'''Verne''': What's going on RJ?\
16'''RJ''': NOTHING!\
17'''Verne''': Well then, let's get out of here because we have what we need!\
18'''RJ''': No, we don't!\
19'''Verne''': What are you talking about? We have more than enough!\
20'''RJ:''' Hey, listen! I've got about ''this'' long to hand over that wagon load of food to a homicidal bear! AND IF THESE SPUDDIES AREN'T ON THE MENU, ''I WILL BE!'' ''' NOW LET GO OF MY TAIL!'''\
21'''Verne''': ''What?''\
22'''RJ''': LET GO!
23* ActorAllusion:
24** When things go bad for RJ, he goes into a planning monologue, just like [[Film/DieHard John McClane]] does all the time.
25*** When RJ escapes the house with a cart of goodies including a beach umbrella and a propane tank and is chased by the dog, the resulting disaster leaves RJ performing the classic John [=McClane=] 'ejection seat' move from ''Film/DieHard2'', down to the camera angle.
26*** Film/HudsonHawk as a raccoon.
27** Ozzy is an overacting LargeHam when it comes to playing dead. Did we mention he's voiced by Creator/WilliamShatner?
28** Hammy suggests that they name the hedge Steve, which was a rather cute nod to his voice actor Creator/SteveCarell.
29--->'''Hammy:''' Let's call it Steve!\
30'''Verne:''' Steve?\
31'''Hammy:''' It's a pretty name.
32* AdaptationExpansion: Several more characters were added beyond the strip's core cast (RJ, Verne, Hammy). Lampshaded in one of the comics published shortly after the movie's release that included a reproduced photo of Stella and Ozzie interacting with the normally drawn regular cast.
33* AdaptedOut: Some characters from the comic, like The Tree That Knows Stuff, are absent from the movie.
34* AffablyEvil: Dwayne, to an extent. While he's an exterminator who uses illegal and extremely painful-looking lethal traps and devices to kill animals, not only is he a very jolly person but, when he captures the animals alive, he intends to humanely put them to sleep. And although Gladys insists it be done as ''inhumanely'' as possible, there's no indication Dwayne intends to do as she says. Of course, he still wants to ''kill'' them, humanely or not.
35* AllTakeAndNoGive: RJ, at first. His only concern until he's accepted by the Hedgies is self-preservation. Alluded to in the song "Heist."
36-->"We make a good team\
37Me and you, we do\
38You can scratch my back\
39And I'll scratch my back too"
40* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The movie uses [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi_jwRgx11M "Key of Heart"]] as its Japanese theme and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_xog20ur2I "People Say"]] as its Korean theme. Both were sung by Music/{{BoA|Korea}}, who was the voice of Heather the opossum in both versions, making this a DoItYourselfThemeTune.
41* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Heather is none too fond of how her father [[LargeHam plays dead]] responds to even the ''slightest'' things that happen to him (such as a bit of snow falling on his head or whenever someone mentions the phrase "to die for").
42* AmericanGothicCouple: Hammy draws an animal version on a whiteboard in the credits.
43* AmusingInjuries: In Gladys's house, Hammy zips straight across the kitchen floor and straight into the wall. Topped off by what he says next: "That hurt."
44* AnimalStereotypes: [[ScrewballSquirrel Squirrels]], [[RascallyRaccoon raccoons]], [[ShyShelledAnimal turtles]], [[SmellySkunk skunks]], [[PlayingPossum opossums]] and [[BearsAreBadNews bears]] are played straight. Subverted with the playful, (overly) friendly rottweiler.
45* ArcWords: "Enough is never enough." It's said once in the beginning, once more towards the middle, and once during the climax. It also reflects the film's lesson about love and family over avarice and self-preservation.
46* ArmedWithPepperSpray: RJ's plan to have Hammy scare away girl scouts and steal their cookies goes awry when they fight back, hitting Hammy with a book and then pepper spraying him in the face.
47* AssShove: Heavily implied to be the spot where the gang jammed the cork up into Stella.
48* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: "But I like the cookie!"
49* AudibleGleam: How the Spuddies land in a ''perfect stack'' on the group. RJ is delighted until they're crushed unceremoniously by falling debris.
50* AxCrazy: Gladys. Is willing to risk arrest to kill a small group of animals, demands that they be killed as ''inhumanely'' as possible, and starts resisting arrest when she's arrested for something that the exterminator had ''warned'' her was illegal and seems to be extremely surprised that she's being detained at all. Sounds like someone [[TooDumbToLive too dumb to think clearly]].
51* BarelyChangedDubName: In the German dub, RJ's name got changed to "Ritchie".
52* BearsAreBadNews: Vincent, who demands that RJ replace his food stash after it gets smashed in traffic, and goes on a mad car chase after RJ sacrifices the food to save the animals.
53* BeautifulAllAlong: Subverted when Stella needs a make-over to become very beautiful and seduce a pedigree cat. Becomes a DoubleSubversion; Tiger doesn't care that she's a skunk or what she really looks like, he loves her anyway.
54* BecomingTheMask: RJ pretends in front of the animals that he's a good person who lost his family a while ago, and now wants to look out for their well-being. While he's never had a family before, he ''does'' come to bond with them as [[FamilyOfChoice the family he never had before]].
55* BerserkButton: Do not call Stella filthy.
56* BigBadEnsemble: Consists of Gladys and Dwayne as a BigBadDuumvirate and Vincent as a separate villain.
57* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Verne tries telling the Hedgies that RJ is just using them, leading them to danger and taking back the food because the humans (mostly Gladys and Dwayne) are trying to kill them. The Hedgies pointed out that they worked hard on getting the food with RJ's help and how RJ helped them get used to the Suburb and discover new things.
58* {{Bowdlerise}}: A heavily edited version of the Music/BenFolds song, "Rockin' the Suburbs" plays during the credits with all the swearing removed.
59* BrandX: All the junk foods seen in the film are fictional brands, a surprising aversion of the expected ProductPlacement.
60* BreakTheCutie: Hammy's reaction to Verne yelling about his family being too stupid to realize RJ is scamming them. Hammy gets sad puppy eyes and says "I'm not stupid."
61* BrickJoke: At the start of the film, Hammy says he buried some nuts in the woods and runs off to find them. At the end of the film, he finds them... and there were apparently enough to fill ''the whole log.''
62** Also, the cookie that RJ says is junk, but Hammy wants. [[spoiler: Hammy can pick it up during his FTL jaunt.]]
63** RJ initially gets into the animals' good books by claiming that he lost his family in a tragic weed hacker incident [[spoiler: which he made up]]. Come to the climax of the film, Gladys is brandishing an actual weed hacker.
64* BuffySpeak: Heather:
65-->"We, like, worked our tails off, y'know? Like a lot! And the food we gathered was totally... you know! And you're, you're all whatever!"
66** Dwayne in a fake commercial. He calls one of the traps the "Choppy Knifey Slicy Thing."
67* ButtMonkey: Verne. Every time he goes over the hedge something bad happens to him. This may be justified though because he does not understand how suburbia works.
68** Downplayed with RJ. Though things can go wrong for him he quickly thinks of a new plan.
69* CallARabbitASmeerp: Averted. Verne first refers to humans as primates.
70* CanonImmigrant: Pretty much every character that isn't RJ, Verne, and Hammy.
71* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Invoked by RJ at the start of the film. To stop Vincent from killing him over the destruction of his food stash, RJ promises to replace everything and points out that "if you kill me, ''you'd'' have to do it!" Vincent concedes the point and gives RJ until the full moon to make good on his word, but tells him in no uncertain terms that if he fails or tries to escape, he ''will'' die.
72* CastingGag: During the credits, the cast watches TV and gives a reference to the franchise that gave Creator/WilliamShatner fame.
73-->'''Hammy:''' Just like Khan in ''Film/{{Star Trek II|TheWrathOfKhan}}''! The Genesis project was in the hands of the Enterprise, but Khan had his perfect plan to steal the invention of renewable life!\
74'''Verne:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Well, that was specific.]]
75* CatStereotype: Tiger is snooty and standoffish.
76* CatsAreMean: Subverted with Tiger. He starts as an antagonist but as he grows a relationship with Stella the Skunk he reforms [[spoiler:and even joins the other animals to live with them]].
77* CelebrityParadox: During the end credits, Hammy mentions ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''. Creator/WilliamShatner, who voices Ozzie, played James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise.
78* ChekhovsGun:
79** A throwaway line from Tiger about his breed having such a flat muzzle that it can lead to trouble breathing. [[spoiler:In his case, it's left him without a sense of smell.]]
80** The Depelter Turbo has settings for mice, rabbits, raccoons, deer and bears. [[spoiler:The last of these is how the hedgies finally defeat [[BearsAreBadNews Vincent]].]]
81** RJ warned Hammy that the last thing he needed was caffeine. Guess what Hammy uses to activate the Depelter Turbo...
82** After Verne first enters the suburbs, the camera at one point pans upwards to reveal the roofs of countless houses - floating above one of the houses is several large balloons [[spoiler:that later carry Vincent away near the film's climax]].
83* ChewingTheScenery: Gladys' OhCrap moment. "SKUNK!"
84** Also, from Tiger when Stella suddenly leaves him. "STELLAAAAAAA!"
85* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Hammy, OF ''COURSE.''
86* ColorCodedCharacters: the Hedgies: RJ (grey), Verne (green), Hammy (orange), Stella (black), Ozzie and Heather (white), the porcupines (brown).
87* CommendedForPushback: When Tiger calls Stella filthy, she goes on an angry rant about how sick she is of everyone calling her dirty. Tiger says that no one has ever talked to him like that before... and he likes it because of how bold it is, and falls in love with Stella.
88* CompanionCube: Subverted. "Steve" the hedge is ''really scary'' to Verne and company. They accidentally mistake it as talking when they overhear a mother scolding her son on the other side of the hedge.
89* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Gladys Sharp is a Corrupt Homeowners' Association President (we never do learn what her day job is). She crosses the line after buying an exterminator system that (according to Dwayne) "is illegal in every state, except Texas." And then when she's arrested, she starts fighting the police officers, getting herself in even more trouble, since now the cops can add resisting arrest to all the criminal charges she'll be facing, which might also include animal cruelty [[note]]Dwayne ''did'' offer to deal with the animals humanely, but she insisted on them being killed in "the most inhumane way possible".[[/note]].
90* TheCorrupter: RJ gets the group to be addicted to human food, especially junk food. If TheStinger is any indication, they still crave junk food.
91* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: When you stop and think about it, RJ's plan to con the Hedgies into helping him assemble Vincent's shopping list is unnecessarily complicated; even if it works, how is he then supposed to take the food to Vincent, given he's been tricking the Hedgies into believing it's ''theirs''? Whilst RJ admittedly couldn't have trusted (or at least brought himself to trust) that they would just help him out of pure generosity, he still could have been honest about his needs and cut a deal: they help him appease Vincent, and he teaches them the secrets to urban foraging. After all, they ''need'' his skills; their woodland home is literally a fraction of the size it was, so if they don't want to starve, they ''have'' to venture into the strange new world of suburbia, which the family subtly acknowledges by showing how Verne's efforts to forage in their shrunken home pay pathetic dividends. The film even lampshades this trope when the Hedgies return to their home after RJ rescues them towards the finale, with Verne telling RJ that they would have ''given'' him the food if he'd been honest and told them it was to pay off a murderous bear. RJ even admits he should have thought of that first.
92* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: Along with removing the profanities, Ben Folds' "Rockin' the Suburbs" is changed to make it a criticism of the suburban life instead of a parody on generic teen angst bands.
93* CreditsGag: The triplets use a boomerang to correct the "LAYOUT" subheading.
94* CrossdressingVoices: One of Lou and Penny's three sons Quillo was voiced by Madison Davenport.
95* CutAndPasteSuburb:
96** From the theme:
97--->''We're rocking the suburbs''\
98''Around the block just one more time''\
99''We're rocking the suburbs''\
100''Cause I can't tell which house is mine...''
101* DancePartyEnding: One of the only Creator/DreamWorksAnimation films from this era to avert this (though Vincent does do a little dance at one point during the credits).
102* DarkIsEvil:
103** Gladys has black hair and dresses in black clothing a lot, except for her red pajamas.
104** Vincent is a black bear who threatens to kill RJ and later spreads his anger to the other animals.
105* DarkIsNotEvil: RJ. He may be grey and stealing from those around him, but of course, he does still have to survive. Of course, exploiting the group for his means wasn't exactly the right thing to do, and [[HeelRealization he does acknowledge this]], but he does at least redeem himself.
106* DeathFromAbove: Inverted. [[spoiler: After the Depelter Turbo was activated with Gladys, Dwayne, and Vincent the Bear inside it, its activation results in a large light beam that shoots out of the atmosphere (taking out a passing satellite) and is visible from outside the Milky Way Galaxy, and the heat is hot enough to instantly create popcorn as well as burn the fur off Vincent.]]
107** PlayedStraight with the fake commercial narrated by Dwayne. He calls the flamingo trap "Pink Death From Above".
108* DeathGlare: "You're the devil."
109* DiabolusExMachina: Hilariously done. At one point, RJ, Verne, and the snack wagon are sent high in the air (ItMakesSenseInContext) because they have rocketed up a slide by a propane tank - high enough to be seen by a passenger jet flying by at cruising altitude - and falling. Fortunately, there was an umbrella on the top, so they rode it down. While they do so, some chips fly out of their can. However, the snack wagon crashes onto Gladys's car so hard (coupled with the fact that the wagon has a propane tank) that it causes a fireball to erupt, which launches the chips back in the air. Not only do the chips impale the umbrella, the fire they picked up from the explosion burns the umbrella altogether, leaving them no choice but to [[IFellForHours fall back to earth]].
110* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: When RJ suggests Stella could use her feminine charms to get Tiger's collar, Hammy bursts out laughing and then abruptly stops himself, embarrassed.
111-->'''Hammy''': ''[laughs loudly, then stops himself]'' Was that out loud?
112* DinkyDrivers: The critters have to drive Dwayne's van after he gets knocked unconscious; the porcupine kids steer [[IKnowMortalKombat using skills acquired from playing]] ''[[CaptainErsatz Auto]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto Homicide 3]]''.
113* DirtyCoward:
114** Gladys, at the end.
115** RJ could have ended up this, but ''luckily'' CharacterDevelopment prevented it.
116* DisproportionateRetribution: Vincent threatening to kill RJ for stealing (and later destroying) all of his stuff.
117* DistantReactionShot: To the point of RunningGag. Several of them involve space.
118* DiurnalNocturnalAnimal: The main animal characters sleep the night, despite many of their species being active during those times. RJ, a ''raccoon'', even rests for the night after being chased off of Gladys' property.
119* EccentricExterminator: The Verminator, Dwayne [=LaFontant=], whose personality puts the "Franchise/{{Terminator}}" in "exterminator". Although a bit jumpy - he shoots the heads of plastic flamingos, as he keeps mistaking them for real birds - he has an innate ability to detect which animals have recently been in the area (a skill acquired while studying for an associate's degree from [=VermTech=]), and sells Gladys a "Depelter Turbo", a supercharged animal trap that is illegal in every state (except Texas).
120* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
121** Gladys' introduction.
122--->(driving down the street in an SUV, coffee in one hand, her shoulder pressing her phone to her ear)\
123'''Gladys''': No, I can talk. I'm just ''driving.''
124** RJ's as well:
125--->(eyes Vincent's cave, knowing that it's full of goodies)\
126'''RJ''': No no no, bad idea! Bad idea!\
127(His stomach growls. He clutches it despairingly and figures it's worth it to avoid starving.)
128*** Furthermore, even though he's gotten clean away with stealing Vincent's food, he ''must'' have the can of Spuddies Vincent is cradling.
129* EverythingMakesAMushroom: Even opening a bag of the Doritos BrandX equivalent produces a mushroom cloud visible from space that blankets the entire East Coast.
130* EvilIsPetty: When Vincent orders RJ to replace the stuff he got destroyed, he implies RJ has to get him a ''blue'' cooler, and it has to be blue. Same with the wagon, which has to be red.
131* EvilTakesANap: Vincent is dozing in his cave as part of his winter hibernation. A desperate R.J. tries to raid Vincent's food stash and almost gets away with it. However, R.J. made the mistake of opening a can of Spuddies, which awakens Vincent. R.J. is given one week to replace every crumb in Vincent's stash or become Bear Chow.
132* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The Depelter Turbo does exactly what it implies: removes all your hair.... very fast.
133* FakeRabies: R.J. uses whipped cream on Hammy and ruffles his fur to scare off some Girl Scouts and get their cookies. It is very effective as a scare strategy.
134* FamilyOfChoice: Verne and friends. At first, RJ's "family of choice" is... himself, as expounded on by the song "Family of Me."
135* FantasticNuke: Made of taco cheese dust.
136* FastFoodNation: Vincent's entire stash is composed of junk food, with Pringles {{expy}} Spuddies regarded as the epitome of foodstuffs. When RJ the raccoon has to replenish this stockpile, he and his friends raid human suburbs, where junk food seems to be their sole staple. In particular, RJ's monologue about the humans towards the beginning of the film is a satire of American consumerism.
137-->'''RJ:''' So, you think they have enough? Well, they don't. For humans, enough is never enough! And what do they do with the stuff they don't eat? They put it in gleaming silver cans, just for us! Dig in!
138* FoodPorn: The film itself is an allegory on American consumption and treatment of food, especially during the scene where RJ teaches the animals this.
139* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Dwayne brings out the Depelter Turbo, he mentions that it's illegal in every state except Texas. At the end of the movie, [[spoiler: Gladys gets arrested for using it.]]
140* ForWantOfANail: Essentially, most of the plot happens because of RJ attempting to steal from Vincent, and ''that'' only happened because RJ couldn't get a bag of nacho cheese chips out of a vending machine near Vincent's cave. It's only after Vincent gives RJ the ultimatum of replacing everything in a week or getting killed that the vending machine finally gives up the chips, much to RJ's frustration.
141* FreezeFrameBonus: In the scene where Hammy pretends to be rabid, the Girl Scout guidebook briefly opens to a page mentioning that "[[CaptainObvious Rabies is bad for you!]]".
142* FreudianSlip: RJ makes a couple to Verne before accidentally blurting out the truth, including "slip of the bear", after which he has to warn the others there is no bear.
143* {{GASP}}: The gang, a few times, during Stella's encounter with Tiger.
144* GenkiBoy: HAMMY. So much that he runs faster than time itself after he drinks a caffeine drink.
145* GirlScoutsAreEvil: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. RJ gets Hammy to act rabid in hopes of scaring off two girl scouts and stealing their cookies, but they end up ''attacking'' the poor squirrel instead. Only when Verne intervenes does the plan work.
146* GlassSmackAndSlide: Downplayed; the animals sans RJ try to get out of Gladys' house through her patio door, but as it closed and they don't know that glass is in the way, they run straight into it and slide down their height.
147* GoryDiscretionShot: Whenever the Depelter Turbo is activated. When Dwyane tests the trap on a teddy bear, we only see the horrified look on RJ's face as the toy is burnt and caged. Later when Gladys, Dwayne and Vincent accidentally trigger it, the view cuts to the Hedgies watching their defeat play out.
148* IdeaBulb: Done with glow bugs when RJ gets the idea to replace Vincent's stash of food using those from the suburbs and later when [[spoiler:RJ and Verne decide to give Hammy a dose of a super caffeinated energy drink to defeat the BigBadEnsemble.]]
149* IKnowMortalKombat: The porcupine kids know how to drive a car from playing a ''GTA'' clone.
150* IWillFindYou:
151-->'''Vincent:''' Full moon. ALL my stuff. And don't even think about running away, because if you do, I will ''[[IllKillYou hunt you down and kill you]].''
152* ImagineSpot: On the evening of the day Verne gets the wagon of food destroyed, RJ looks up at the full moon and imagines a constellation next to it turning into Vincent, who says, "Moon's full, RJ. See ya in the morning!" before picking up the moon and crunching it like a Spuddie.
153* IncorrectAnimalNoise: When we hear the humans' perspective of Ozzie melodramatically "dying", we hear that to them he's making squeaks like a mouse would. Opossums don't squeak in real life. They hiss and growl.
154* InsistentTerminology:
155** Verne is a reptile. Not an amphibian. He'll be quick to tell you that.
156** It gets a CallBack when Dwayne sniffs, initially saying, "Amphibian" - Verne mutters, "Reptile", but to his surprise, Dwayne says, "No... ''[[GenreSavvy reptile]]''!" It's an EstablishingCharacterMoment for Dwayne, indicating he knows his stuff when it comes to extermination.
157* InterspeciesRomance: Stella and [[spoiler: Tiger]], who conveniently has no sense of smell.
158* IShallTauntYou: [[spoiler: RJ taunts Vincent with a Spuddie at the climax to trick him into lunging [[TitleDrop over the hedge]] and into the range of the Depelter Turbo.]]
159* {{Jerkass}}:
160** RJ. The filmmakers had a difficult time making RJ deserving of sympathy, even revising or adding scenes just to make him less of a jerk. Even Vincent called RJ's major jerk move "the most vicious, deceitful, self-serving thing [he'd] ever seen". However, at the end of the movie, he turns out to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
161** Verne, for that matter. Half of the problems experienced after RJ joins the group of animals is caused by Verne's condescending sense of knowing better than anyone else around him, and his refusal to listen to anyone because his "tail is tingling". He too turns out to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, and, after some CharacterDevelopment, eventually steps down and lets RJ take over as TheLeader of their group.
162* JerkassHasAPoint: While Verne lost any support he had from the other hedgies when he tried to return their food to the humans and called them stupid in a fit of rage, he is completely correct in guessing that RJ is indeed manipulating their naivete to get food for himself.
163* JumpingOutOfACake: Stella does it one step better: she literally ''explodes'' out of a birthday cake, posed like a dancing girl before bending over and waving her rear around in a skunk's threat pose.
164* KarmaHoudini: Subverted with Dwayne [=LaFontant=]: [[spoiler:While Gladys Sharp and Dwayne [=LaFontant=] are being arrested by the police for their illegal trap that [[HoistByHisOwnPetard they got themselves caught inside with some help from Hammy]], and in the case of Vincent, sent to a wildlife shelter, Dwayne [=LaFontant=] tried to escape while exploiting Glady's attempt at fighting a Police Officer and succeeded in going over the fence... only for him to step on a squeaker and presumably end up tackled by Nugent the Playful Rottweiler. The creators say he most likely escaped the dog, only to get arrested.]]
165* KickTheDog:
166** When Gladys first encounters the gang on her patio, she attempts to whack them with a broom.
167** Gladys does it again later when she kicks Heather down the stairs in her house and into a wall, fooling even Ozzie into thinking she had been killed.
168** Her cherry on top is [[spoiler:when Dwayne [[PetTheDog offers]] to deal with the captured animals humanely, Gladys insists she wants the animals exterminated as inhumanely as possible.]]
169* KnightOfCerebus: While the other two antagonists are fairly laughable, Vincent is a lot more menacing and serious, and few of his scenes are played for laughs. he is THAT intimidating.
170* LargeHam: Ozzie, played by ''Creator/WilliamShatner''. His character is a possum. They play dead. Think about that. And naturally Hammy. [[spoiler:Later Heather copies her father's routine, fooling even him into thinking she was dead.]]
171* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
172** When Hammy, pretending to have rabies, is squashed with a book, some of the whipped creams on his face sticks to the "camera."
173** The last shot of the movie is him ''running into the camera!''
174* LikeASurgeon: While the animals are giving Stella the skunk a makeover, RJ calls out for tools while the sound of an EKG plays in the background. The sound gets faster until it's revealed that it was coming from a video game the baby porcupines were playing.
175* LivingLieDetector: Verne and his twitchy tail, which tips him off that RJ is less than trustworthy ([[CassandraTruth not that it makes much of a difference)]]. [[spoiler:This is also how he convinces the crew that RJ's HeelFaceTurn is genuine: his tail isn't twitching.]]
176* LowCountGag: The forest animals are awed at the sheer size of an SUV, which RJ states humans ride around in because they're slowly losing the ability to walk. When asked how many humans can fit in such a massive thing:
177-->'''RJ:''' Usually... one.
178* ManipulativeBastard: RJ has most of the characteristics of one.
179* MinnesotaNice: Lou and Penny are just super-duper, ya know!
180* MissingMom: Not only is Ozzie a single father, but his wife is never mentioned in the film. She is briefly mentioned by Heather in the video game, but the continuity of that is debatable.
181* MonsterClown: "Scary clown!" Or, rather, a monstrous bear descending on top of a clown balloon.
182* MoodSwinger: RJ. In one scene he goes from relaxed, to panicked, to ashamed, then to ''extremely panicked'' in ten seconds.
183* MotorMouth: Hammy, combined with being a CloudCuckooLander.
184* MundaneMadeAwesome: The very universe of the movie. RJ doesn't even have to [[Manga/DeathNote eat a bag of potato chips]] for it to be epic. He only needs to ''open it'', [[DistantReactionShot causing a mushroom cloud of nacho cheese dust the size of a continent]].
185* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
186** Verne after he lost all of the food and accidentally called his friends stupid.
187** RJ, after he sees the traps Gladys and Dwayne have set for the gang.
188* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Verne's tail.
189* NeverMyFault: When Gladys and Dwayne are getting arrested, Gladys attempts to deflect blame for the De-Pelter Turbo onto Dwayne, but the police officer is having none of it, pointing out that it was in her yard and she paid for it.
190--->'''Police Officer''': Now, you do realize that was a De-Pelter Turbo.\
191'''Gladys''': Officer, please, it was that Verminator! He sold it to me! This has nothing to do with me!\
192'''Police Officer''': Hey, hey, it was in ''your'' yard, your name's on the contract, so you can tell it to the judge.\
193'''Gladys''': No! It's not my fault! Let go of me! '''''I CAN'T BE ARRESTED! I'M PRESIDENT OF THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION!!!''''' ''[She begins attacking the police.]''
194* NeverSayDie: Averted. Vincent repeatedly makes it clear throughout the movie that if RJ doesn't gather the food, he ''will'' kill him.
195* NonFatalExplosions: The De-Pelter Turbo produces quite the fireball for a machine that just leaves its victims hairless. There's even a beam of light from the device that takes out a passing satellite, and is visible on the ''galactic level!'' Yet it's still non-lethal ''somehow''.
196* NoodleIncident:
197** The ''Weedhacker Incident''. [[spoiler:RJ made it up, but still.]]
198** When Dwayne accidentally shoots the head of a plastic flamingo.
199--->'''Dwayne''': Aww! Not again! Dang it! Those things are ''so'' lifelike! Curse you, plastic moldsmen.
200** Apparently, Dwayne [[CrackOhMyBack injured his back]] dancing to jazz music at some point before the movie.
201* NotSoDifferentRemark: Vincent says this to RJ after the raccoon gives him all of the stolen food. Unlike most examples of this trope in movies like this, he's ''completely correct'', and this completes RJ's HeelRealization.
202* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Whilst watching television channels with the other animals as a [[BecomingTheMask loving family]], each channel shows a dramatic scene where someone [[LiarRevealed reacts]] to another's betrayal [[EtTuBrute badly]]. RJ feels uncomfortable at imagining ''this'' is how his new-found family will react if they knew he was exploiting them. It doesn't help when the last channel has a Dr. Phil-esque host who says "If you feel like a dirtbag, it's because you ''are'' a dirtbag."
203* OhCrap:
204** RJ at the beginning when Vincent's red wagon, which has all of Vincent's goodies in it, is hit by a truck and destroyed.
205** "What ''is'' this place?!"
206** RJ when Vincent grabs him out of the tree he's sleeping in and realizes Vincent is about to kill him. Luckily for him, it was AllJustADream.
207** Verne when he's hiding under a car and sees Dwayne get out of the Verminator van.
208** A fair few of them one after the other later. RJ when he goes to the log and finds it empty. Then when he falls on Nugent's chain while fighting with Verne over the wagon. Again when Verne steps on a squeaky toy and Nugent appears. A fourth time when the doll he's hiding behind snags on a stick and it says "Let's play!", alerting Nugent to his presence.
209** When the burning chips burn RJ and Verne's umbrella, they frantically try to blow out the flames, only for the umbrella to burn to a crisp. Then Verne glares at RJ as both are about to plummet several meters from the sky.
210--->'''Verne''': You're the devil.
211** Gladys when she comes across Stella in the kitchen, seconds before Stella lets loose her stink.
212** And finally, there's Dwayne's reaction when he realizes that the Depelter Turbo is about to go off with him, Gladys, and Vincent all on the receiving end.
213* OffendingTheFool: After Verne yells at everyone for trusting RJ, Hammy the {{Cloudcuckoolander}} visibly takes it the hardest. At first, he whimpers, "I'm not stupid..." gloomily, but when Verne tries to apologize, he says it again in a [[DisappointedInYou disappointed]] tone.
214* OnlyKnownByInitials: RJ. It's not revealed what they stand for, or if indeed they stand for anything.
215* OverlyLongGag: According to the director commentary, they just decided to "keep going until it's funny, and then ''keep going some more''.":
216-->"Now, the traps are set here...here...here...here...here....here...here...here...here...here...and here...here...here...here...here...big one here...here...and maybe a few over here."
217* PassThePopcorn: RJ and Verne share some popcorn watching the Depelter Turbo, which they popped using the heat coming off it.
218* APetIntoTheWild: By the end of the film, Tiger, Gladys' cat, decides to live with the animals across the hedge.
219* PictorialLetterSubstitution: Gladys's license plate reads "GLADY$".
220* PlayingPossum: Ozzie's main shtick is playing dead in a dramatic LargeHam manner. Heather also does it later on.
221* PokemonSpeak: Nugent is seemingly incapable of saying anything other than "play".
222* PokingDeadThingsWithAStick: {{Discussed|Trope}} after Ozzie the opossum feigns being struck by a car. A boy suggests poking Ozzie with a stick, but this proves unnecessary, as Ozzie hams up his playing-dead role. This corny act keeps the humans distracted while Verne and company make their escape.
223* PopStarComposer: Music/BenFolds wrote three songs ("Family Of Me", "Heist", and "Still"), re-wrote one ("Rockin' The Suburbs"), and covered another (Music/TheClash's "Lost In The Supermarket") for the soundtrack. It's considered one of the film's biggest highlights.
224* PowderGag: RJ opens a bag of potato chips, [[DistantReactionShot causing a mushroom cloud of nacho cheese dust the size of a continent]]. Feel free to call it the nuclear cheese blast.
225* PowerUpFood: Soda for Hammy. He's normally so fast it's [[FlashStep almost teleporting]], but with one Jolt-style double-caffeinated soda, ''he can out'''walk''' lasers''. That's right, a [[FasterThanLightTravel 343,000,000,000 mph]] squirrel.
226* ProductPlacement:
227** Played [[LargeHam DEADLY STRAIGHT]] with ''Creator/{{THX}}''. And they're not even trying to be subtle.
228** Subverted with the fact that the producers ''wanted'' them to be Pringles, but the Pringles company declined to allow their snack to be in the film. Hence, "Spuddies" were born. A trailer shows they were at one point going to be called "Jingles" (with the red can of Pringles Original, along with the Pringles face with a jester's hat).
229** The chip that RJ shows to the group is unmistakably Dorito-shaped.
230** Also subverted with the inclusion of a Hewlett-Packard printer and camera. Even though [=DreamWorks=] Animation has had a partnership with HP since 2002 that allows their technology to be used to complete DWA's films, the HP products depicted here are branded as "Hip" ones instead.
231* ProperlyParanoid: While RJ convinces the other animals to steal from humans, Verne assumes he has ulterior motives - which is true, as RJ needs this food to pay back Vincent.
232* PutOnAPrisonBus: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Dwayne and Gladys]] are taken into police custody.
233* RedIsViolent: Hammy gets attacked by scouts wearing red uniforms, and later Gladys (wearing her red pajamas) tries to attack the animals with a weed hacker.
234* RemovableShell: Verne loses his three times, the first by getting thrown out of a street cleaner, the second by falling off a tree with RJ holding it, and finally when [[spoiler:Hammy, under a caffeine-induced [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL]] frenzy, takes it off to protect RJ from being chomped apart by Vincent.]] Also, Bucky and Spike steal it and play Monkey in the Middle with it in the credits.
235* RipVanTinkle: Hammy does a PottyDance and runs off to go wee-wee (twice) after waking up from hibernation.
236%%* RuleOfThree
237* RunningGag: Verne, a reptile, gets mistaken for an amphibian by animals and humans alike.
238* SassyBlackWoman: Stella the skunk has a lot of sass; Wanda Sykes, her voice actress, often plays this role which helps.
239* SanitySlippage: Part of the three villains' [[VillainousBreakdown breakdowns]].
240** Vincent. He goes from calm speaking, yet threatening to feral and beastly by the climax.
241** Gladys. She goes from a demanding, bossy, and possibly unhinged Homeowner's Association president to a screaming and disheveled mess, using a weed-hacker to ruthlessly kill the animals.
242** Dwayne. He goes from a jolly, awkward but professional exterminator to a {{Determinator}} who uses a cattle prod to try to wipe out the animals.
243* ScavengedPunk: RJ uses all materials taken from humans for surprising uses (special mention to his pocket fisherman grappling hook).
244* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Whatever you do, please ''don't'' make a drinking game out of RJ's girly screams. Taking a shot for every one of them during the van chase scene alone may leave you with alcohol poisoning. {{Justified|Trope}}, as Creator/BruceWillis has a distinctly deeper voice and was asked to pitch it up to make RJ more believable.
245* SheCleansUpNicely: Stella, since she spends all of the film up till then resigned to her unattractiveness.
246* ShockStick: Dwayne attempts to use a cattle prod to kill the animals.
247* ShoutOut:
248** When Stella runs away from her new cat friend, Tiger, he shouts "STELLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" in a reference to ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire''.
249** Is it possible that the makeover scene [[Film/HowStellaGotHerGrooveBack got Stella her groove back?]]
250** Ozzie's over-the-top playing dead scene ''finally'' ends with him whispering [[Film/CitizenKane "Rosebud"]] before collapsing.
251** Dwayne [=LaFontant=] identifies himself with The Franchise/{{Terminator}}. Too bad he's fat, middle-aged, and balding.
252** Dwayne [=LaFontant=]'s name is one to the late [[Creator/DonLaFontaine Don "Movie Trailer Voice" LaFontaine]].
253** ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto Auto Homicide III]]''
254** You know the column of light at the end which appears when the exterminator's machine backfires on its creator? Looks like ''Film/TheFifthElement'', another movie including Bruce Willis.
255** That [[http://i40.tinypic.com/15p3gq8.png mask]] they put on Vincent before they cart him off looks [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs extremely familiar...]]
256** Stella (a skunk) and Tiger (a cat)'s InterspeciesRomance can be a bit similar to that of an inverse, [[GenderFlip Gender Flipped]], more consensual version of WesternAnimation/PepeLePew.
257* ShowSomeLeg: Stella is given a make-over by RJ so that they can implement her "feminine charms" (cue makeover montage) to [[DistractedByTheSexy distract]] Tiger the Persian cat by passing her off as a beautiful stray cat.
258* SlowLight: Towards the climax of the movie, Hammy the squirrel downs an energy drink. His regular speed is already something like a FlashStep, on caffeine [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXr7J7Ss8lA he's able to]] leisurely out-stroll ''lasers''.
259* SoProudOfYou: Ozzie to his daughter [[spoiler:when she fools even ''him'' into thinking she's dead.]]
260-->'''Ozzie:''' ''(warmly)'' That's my girl.
261* SpitTake: Gladys when she steps out of her house and sees the whole neighborhood littered with overturned trash cans.
262* StellarName: Stella, of course.
263* TheStinger: [[spoiler:The Hedgies go back to the vending machine RJ was raiding at the start of the film to get more food for the log. They get all the snacks this time...[[YankTheDogsChain which is unfortunately enough to block the slot.]]]]
264-->'''Hammy''': [[LampshadeHanging Kinda anti-climactic.]]\
265'''RJ''': Shoot!
266* StockAudioClip: The characters use the same audio clips from earlier in the film twice, from Ozzie's distinctive "playing possum" gasps to any noise Verne makes.
267* TakeThat: After viewing a talk show featuring a Dr. Phil analog, who tells his subject to admit to being a "dirtbag," Lou the Porcupine remarks, "You know, I don't think that guy is a real doctor."
268* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: The Depelter Turbo not only traps animals in cages, but ''burns their fur off (if not killing them) with deadly lasers while leaving a large crater in the backyard''.
269* TheWallAroundTheWorld: The hedge becomes this to the animals, but it's not long before they find a way over it to find the housing community.
270* ThisIsGonnaSuck:
271** Dwayne faced with the Depelter Turbo. "Prepare for a lot of stinging!"
272** Also, when RJ and Verne's patio umbrella parachute is burned to a crisp. Verne gives RJ a withering look and simply says "You're the devil." RJ prefers to scream as they plummet to earth.
273* TitleDrop: Sort of. After escaping from Gladys, Verne calls RJ out for bringing him and the other animals through the hedge and into the neighborhood.
274-->'''Verne''': We want nothing to do with anything that's ''over that hedge''!
275* ToiletHumor: Stella when letting out a stink bomb in the house.
276* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Stella (Tomboy) and Heather (GirlyGirl).
277* TooDumbToLive:
278** Vincent thinks this of RJ, saying he hopes RJ isn't dumb enough to try and steal from him. It's actually a subversion, though; RJ knows it's a bad idea, but he's ''just that desperate''.
279** When two girl scouts believe Hammy has rabies, they decide to ''attack'' him, which is the exact opposite of what their guidebook instructed (try not to panic, get away from the animal and inform an adult immediately). This is a good way to get bitten by an animal, rabid or otherwise.
280** Despite already being clearly hidden by Gladys while raiding her house, Heather decides to ''jump out in front of her'' and copy her dad's PlayingPossum routine. She gets kicked down the stairs, but to Ozzie's relief, she was faking death, having learned from the best.
281* TrademarkFavouriteFood:
282** Spuddies seems to be this for Vincent, seeing as how he insists RJ get him some more when RJ says he will replace the stash.
283** Cookies for Hammy. After RJ introduces him to one and then throws it on the roof, Hammy gets distracted trying to get it at two points in the film. The first time, RJ uses a laser pointer to redirect him. The second, he successfully gets it after he takes the opportunity to grab it during his TimeStandsStill stint.
284* TrueCompanions: The animals. There are two friends-as-family groups involved: a father and daughter (Ozzie and Heather) and a nuclear family (the porcupines).
285* TruthInTelevision: Animals living in urban environments will start relying more on human food and garbage as their natural food sources become harder to find.
286* UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000: The porcupine kids have been playing a stolen Game Boy Advance knock-off, and when they later get behind the wheel of a real auto, one of them figures out the controls and remarks to the others, "It works just like Auto Homicide III!"
287* VengefulVendingMachine: The film features RJ struggling with the chip machine at the beginning of the movie. [[spoiler:The entire crew struggles with it in TheStinger.]]
288* VillainousBreakdown: All three antagonists go through this, especially during the climax:
289** Vincent's sanity goes off the edge when RJ destroys the party food supply he and the animals gathered, turning into a feral beast, a far cry from his first appearance.
290** Whatever mind Gladys had was gone the second the exterminator van crashed into her house. Her willingness to use a weed-hacker to kill the animals further cements this trope. (Although, the animals' interference in various parts has dealt blows to her sanity as well).
291** While not as severe as the top two, Dwyane does use a cattle prod to get the animals back, indicating he's gone a little off the deep end.
292* VillainousGlutton: Vincent, who has removed all of the "Do Not Feed The Animals" signs from his habitat and still has a hoarded pile of junk food that's bigger than he is at the end of his hibernation.
293* VillainRespect: Vincent outright congratulates RJ on his skullduggery, calling it the most "vicious, self-serving, deceitful thing (he's) ever seen." His tone makes it clear he doesn't see this as a bad thing, but it [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame serves as a wakeup call for RJ]].
294* VisibleOdor: Stella's [[SmellySkunk skunk spray]] is portrayed as a translucent green mist.
295* VisualGag: Notice that RJ breathes into a bag of '''OH-NO's''' when hyperventilating.
296* WhatTheHellHero: Verne has one of these moments later into the movie, [[spoiler:calling his friends "too stupid and naive", and while floundering around for a more tactful way of calling them too innocent to know better than to listen to RJ, "ignorant"]].
297-->'''Hammy:''' ''(dispirited)'' I'm not stupid.
298* WhatYouAreInTheDark: After [[spoiler: the animals have been captured]], Dwayne tells a fuming Gladys they can be dealt with humanely, only for the latter to insist that she wants the inhumane option instead. [[spoiler:The animals are the only ones besides Dwayne to sadly witness the extent of Gladys's cruelty.]]
299* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Where is El Rancho Camelot? It has just generic shots from space that show it's somewhere near the Great Lakes, in Indiana, right around Terre Haute, but aside from that, there are no defining traits anywhere. [[http://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2005/05/09 According]] to the comics, ''"Over the Hedge"'' takes place [[TheUnreveal "behind a suburb near you"]].
300* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: RJ tends to do this when [[OhCrap he realizes he's screwed.]]
301* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Vincent congratulates RJ on his treachery, making a NotSoDifferentRemark, prompting RJ to go back to save his friends.
302-->'''Vincent''': So I was on my way down here to kill you, but I stopped to watch the show, and I gotta say... that, right there, is a thing of beauty. That is the most vicious, deceitful, self-serving thing I've ever seen. (''chuckles maliciously'') Classic, RJ. You take the food, and ''they'' take the ''fall''.

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