Over the Hedge was a 2006 animated movie based mostly on the sketch of the identical identify by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. The film follows a raccoon named RJ who, in an try to pay his debt again to a bear, manipulates a bunch of animals that had not too long ago woke up from hibernation to find their habitat has been taken over by a newly constructed suburb. RJ exhibits the animals the wonders of the suburbs, placing lots of them at risk and at odds with the animals’ chief, a neurotic turtle named Verne.
The film was launched when DreamWorks Animation was at its top, turning into a serious participant in animation. Over the Hedge was given a chief summer time launch date and upon its launch, it gained strong opinions from critics. It holds 76% on Rotten Tomatoes and even acquired three stars from acclaimed critic Roger Ebert. Yet in contrast to different DreamWorks properties like Trolls, Kung Fu Panda, or The Croods, Over the Hedge by no means gained a sequel or perhaps a television spin-off collection like Monsters vs. Aliens. Take a have a look at why Over the Hedge by no means received a sequel regardless of being a success.
Background on Over the Hedge
Over the Hedge is a singular movie for DreamWorks Animation. The collection was tailored from a syndicated sketch, and whereas Shrek was additionally an adaptation, the studio primarily made unique tales in-house. The different was the truth that the film was initially arrange at twentieth Century Fox by means of their animation division, however was scrapped after the field workplace disappointment of Titan A.E. DreamWorks picked the movie up and initially set Jim Carrey to voice the raccoon RJ earlier than the actor dropped out and was changed by Bruce Willis.
DreamWorks stuffed out the solid with high-profile expertise, including Steve Carell, who had not too long ago turn out to be a serious comedy star the yr prior with the discharge of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and the premiere of The Office. The solid additionally included Wanda Sykes, William Shatner, Nick Nolte, Allison Janney, current Academy Award nominee Thomas Hayden Church, and pop celebrity Avril Lavigne in an effort to spice up the enchantment of the movie.
Released in a Crowded Summer
Over the Hedge opened on May 19, 2006. It opened the identical day because the extremely anticipated adaptation of The DaVinci Code and due to this fact took the quantity two spot on the field workplace with $38 million in its opening weekend. The movie was quantity three on the field workplace for 2 weeks going through competitors from X-Men: The Last Stand and The Break-Up. Yet by the center of June, it shortly fell out of the highest 10 and was overshadowed by Pixar’s Cars.
Over the Hedge grossed $155 million domestically and $339 million worldwide, which paled compared to Cars, which grossed $244 million domestically and $461 million worldwide. The factor is, at the moment, even making almost six instances its unique price range does not essentially imply a movie is a success.
Over the Hedge Wasn’t a Flop, Just a Disappointment
Over the Hedge was thought of a disappointment by DreamWorks Animation when it was launched, notably its $38 million greenback weekend which was beneath the opening weekend of Shrek ($42 million) and Shrek 2 ($108 million), and even current DreamWorks movies like Shark Tales and Madagascar, which each opened to $47 million. The ultimate worldwide gross of Over the Hedge was properly beneath these 4 DreamWorks Animated movies, and even at the moment is on the decrease finish of the field workplace and is beneath not simply each How To Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda movies but in addition Trolls, Home, and Monsters vs. Aliens.
While Over the Hedge had a price range of $80 million, which is on the decrease finish of budgets for DreamWorks Animated movies, that doesn’t imply it’s a direct hit. Traditional field workplace metrics are likely to say {that a} film must make double its price range again to be thought of worthwhile and Over the Hedge’s home complete is about $5 million shy of doubling its price range. While the worldwide field workplace actually could have helped, the film was not the hit that DreamWorks was anticipating. In 2007, one yr after the movie opened, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg stated they have been very near greenlighting a sequel, but it surely didn’t transfer ahead as a result of movie’s field workplace efficiency.
The Time for Over the Hedge 2 Might Have Passed
DreamWorks Animation has actually taken its time with sequels. The Croods: A New Age opened in theaters seven years after the discharge of The Croods. Recently, Puss and Boots: The Last Wish opened in theaters 11 years after Puss and Boots, so the studio may all the time make a sequel to Over the Hedge regardless of it opening 16 years in the past. However, there are a number of elements stopping the film now.
The largest is relating to the 2 stars. Gary Shandling, who voiced Verne the Turtle, handed away in 2016. Bruce Willis, who voiced the raccoon RJ, not too long ago retired from performing in March 2022 after he was recognized with aphasia, which impacts language cognition and would forestall him from voicing the character. While the 2 stars of the movie may theoretically get replaced with new voice actors, the mixed issue of the 2 largest leads now not with the ability to be within the movie with the 16-year hole and its preliminary field workplace disappointment make a sequel to Over the Hedge unlikely and never a precedence for DreamWorks Animation. Most seemingly, Over the Hedge is solely over.