View source for Over the Hedge (comic strip)

{{Short description|Comic strip}}
{{Distinguish|Over the Edge (disambiguation){{!}}Over the Edge}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox Comic strip
| title= Over the Hedge
| image= Over the Hedge Comic.png
| caption= ''Comic Strip Header'' <small>(2017)</small>
| creator=[[Michael Fry]]<br />T. Lewis 
| current=
| status=Running
| syndicate=[[United Feature Syndicate]]
| genre=Humour<br>[[Gag-a-day]]
| first=June 12, 1995
| last=
| website = {{URL|https://GoComics.com/over_the_hedge}}
}}
'''''Over the Hedge''''' is an American [[print syndication|syndicated]] [[comic strip]], written by [[Michael Fry]], and drawn by T. Lewis. It tells the story of a [[raccoon]], a [[turtle]], a [[squirrel]], and their friends, who come to terms with their woodlands being taken over, by [[suburbia]], trying to survive the increasing flow of humanity and technology while becoming enticed by it at the same time. The strip debuted June 12, 1995.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holtz|first1=Allan|title=American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide |date=2012|publisher=The University of Michigan Press|location=Ann Arbor|isbn=9780472117567|page=302}}</ref>

The comic strip was adapted in the 2006 animated film [[Over the Hedge (film)|''Over the Hedge'']], produced by [[DreamWorks Animation]].

==History==
Cartoonists [[Michael Fry]] and T. Lewis began collaborating through an agent who represented both of them. At the time, Lewis was a children’s book illustrator, and Fry was a freelance writer. They originally conceived another comic strip called ''The Secret Life of Pigs'', featuring two anthropomorphic pigs. This idea was rejected by editors, who thought that readers would not relate to the strip’s rural setting or the use of pigs as characters. In response, the two changed the lead characters to an ordinary raccoon and turtle, and in 1995, the strip was approved by [[United Feature Syndicate]].

According to the ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'', one factor in the strip’s initial success was the ending of ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'' in December 1995; when that strip ended, over 110 newspapers chose to run ''Over the Hedge'' as its replacement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/99313596|title=Readers have a say: Quirky 'Over the Hedge' replacing 'Calvin & Hobbes'|work=[[Detroit Free Press]]|author=Neal Rubin|date=January 1, 1996|accessdate=May 19, 2022|pages=1E, 6E}}</ref>

==Main characters==
* '''RJ''' — RJ is a [[raccoon]] [[Confidence trick|con artist]].<ref name=Comic-2018May03>{{cite comic|url=https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/05/03|strip=Over the Hedge|writer=[[Michael Fry]]|artist=T. Lewis|date=May 3, 2018 |syndicate= [[United Feature Syndicate]]|quote="RJ is a racoon who likes Twinkies. He also naps a lot. The end."}}</ref> He takes pride in being extremely apathetic. He apparently envisions himself as an intellectual; however, his "facts" are obviously false. He is sometimes shown without a brain, using his brain cavity to store his "[[Handkerchief|hanky]]" and [[Mint (candy)|breath mints]]. He loves to burgle human homes for food, as well as watch them, and their televisions, through the windows. He enjoys commenting on human life, and has studied humans, and knows their ways of getting food, and even has slightly imprinted on them. He was shown to care for Clara, even before she was born (after he learned that babies can hear some things outside of the mother from Verne) by reading ''[[The Hunchback of Notre-Dame]]'', and singing a horrible version of "[[Stairway to Heaven]]". RJ is shown to have the ability to expand to fit a massive amount of food, and is known as "that horrible raccoon kid" on Halloween. His favourite food is [[Twinkies]].<ref name=Comic-2018May03 />
* '''Verne''' — Verne is a cautious, easy going, lactose abhorrent [[ornate box turtle]], who is reflective, and prone to allergies. Verne is a true renaissance turtle, an intelligent and quick witted observer with a deep spiritual side and a tingling feeling in his tail when something is not right. He is one of the most caring characters (second to "The Tree That Knows Stuff"), but he sometimes lacks basic common sense. His proudest achievement is gathering all of the air conditioners out of Suburbia, and shouting, "LET THE GLOBAL COOLING COMMENCE!!!", just as RJ was about to plug them all in. He is a computer nerd, and he once "broke" the Internet. Most recently, his shell was used as a hotspot for Queen Izzy, the [[Ant Queen]], and her ant subjects, forcing him to first wear one cereal box of [[Lucky Charms]], and then one [[The Utilikilts Company|utilikilt]].
* '''Hammy''' — A hyperactive [[Eastern gray squirrel]], Hammy is the least intelligent, although also the most lovable character in the strip, spouting random comments at random moments. His comments usually state an unusually short lecture on a topic of little interest to the other characters. The character started the strip as "Hammy". He was later renamed as "Sammy", one [[continuity error]] that was assigned a fanciful explanation, when the film was in production, in May 2005.<ref>{{Citation |last=Fry|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Fry|author2=T. Lewis|author2-link=T. Lewis|title = Over the Hedge|url=https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2005/05/14|access-date=9 October 2010|date=14 May 2005}}</ref> The character swapped places in December 2005, with his duplicate, also named "Hammy", from the other side of a mirror.<ref>{{Citation |last=Fry|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Fry|author2=T. Lewis|author2-link=T. Lewis|title=Over the Hedge|url=https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2005/12/15|access-date=2 August 2010|date=15 December 2005}}</ref> RJ has addressed the character as "Hamilton".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2016/07/14|title=Over the Hedge by T Lewis and Michael Fry for Jul 14, 2016 - GoComics.com|date=14 July 2016|website=Gocomics.com|access-date=27 August 2017}}</ref>
* '''Clara''' — A human infant, who can speak to and understand the animals, with surprising intelligence. She gets along best with RJ, often adding insight to his plans.

==Film adaptation==
{{Main|Over the Hedge (film)}}
An animated [[Over the Hedge (film)|film adaptation]], produced by [[DreamWorks Animation]] and distributed by [[Paramount Pictures]], was released on May 19, 2006 (June 30, 2006 in Britain). The film adaptation features RJ befriending a group of woodlanders (two of whom are Hammy and Verne) and introducing them to suburbia, with an ulterior motive of helping him replenish the food supply he stole from a bear named Vincent.

[[Bruce Willis]], [[Garry Shandling]], [[Steve Carell]], [[William Shatner]], [[Wanda Sykes]], [[Eugene Levy]], [[Catherine O'Hara]], and [[Nick Nolte]] star as RJ, Verne, Hammy, Ozzie (an [[opossum]]), Stella (a [[skunk]]), Lou and Penny ([[porcupines]]) and Vincent (a [[bear]]), respectively. The film features [[Avril Lavigne]]’s first major film role, as Heather, Ozzie's continuously embarrassed teenage daughter.

The film grossed $336 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1785300481/|title=Over the Hedge|website=boxofficemojo.com|date=2 October 2020|access-date=2 October 2020}}</ref> Following DreamWorks acquisition by [[Comcast]] in 2016, the film's rights are now owned by [[Universal Pictures]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://GoComics.com/over_the_hedge}}

{{Over the Hedge}}
{{United Media Comics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Over the Hedge}}
[[Category:Over the Hedge| ]]
[[Category:1995 comics debuts]]
[[Category:American comic strips]]
[[Category:American comics adapted into films]]
[[Category:Gag-a-day comics]]
[[Category:Works about friendship]]
[[Category:Comics set in forests]]
[[Category:Comics about anthropomorphic raccoons]]
[[Category:Comics about anthropomorphic squirrels]]
[[Category:Comics about anthropomorphic turtles]]
[[Category:Comics about talking animals]]