Over the Hedge is a computer-animated film based on the United Media comic strip of the same name. Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick and produced by Bonnie Arnold, it was released in the U.S. on May 19, 2006.

Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures (due to Viacom's acquisition of its parent company DreamWorks SKG), the film was rated PG for some crude humor and mild comic action by the MPAA.

A soundtrack, featuring music by Ben Folds, was released by Epic Records and Sony Music Soundtrack.

Racoon RJ, after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a vending machine, ventures into the cave of the hibernating bear Vincent. Attempting to steal Vincent's cache of good, red wagon and blue cooler, and accidentally destroying them, the awakening bear gives Rj an ultimatum: replace all everything within a week, or get eaten himself. RJ finds the new suburban development El Rancho Camelot Estates, where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of foragers led by the practical turtle Verne awaken from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges — Hammy the screwy squirrel; Stella the attitudinal skunk; Ozzie the hambone opossum and his daughter Heather; and Minnesota-accented porcupines Lou and Penny, and their offspring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo — to start their yearly search for food to store. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a hedge. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treaures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ gets the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and caper movie antics, they sucessfully snatch a wagon full of Girl Scout-like cookies. Seeing this, the whole group except Verne joins in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, SUV-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps.

All this prompts the ire of home-owner association president Gladys Sharp, who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontaine, who calls himself The Verminator. Seeing this, and disgraced at the other animals' behavior, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen — leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a canister of barbecue propane, and a backyard slide that launches the wagon, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, mushroom-cloud fireball

On the last day before Vincent comes for him, RJ stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of big backyard party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella the skunk disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen. They're almost in the clear when R.J. spies a can of Spuddies — Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list — and in trying to retrieve it keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's traps catch all of the animals — all except RJ, who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods. As the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully conning the suckers and getting what he needed. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind — which finally pushes RJ to do the right thing and, using the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van, launch a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him.

This climactic chase scene swings back to the housing development, with Gladys, the Verminator, and a network of laser-tripwited traps on one side of the hedge, the fleeing animals and Vincent on the other, and RJ essentially in the middle. He uses a highly caffeinated cola to push the already adrenaline-rushing Hammy, leading to a scene (a type used previously in U.S. TV's The Twilight Zone and with the DC Comics character The Flash) in which the world appears to stand still, while Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed, adjusts the trap controls. As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to him), RJ and Verne execute the final part of a plan they'd devised together, leading Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the Rockies, Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the dog from before. RJ, having redeemed himself, finds a place with his new surrogate family.

After the credits, the characters return to the vending machine RJ visited during the opening scene, now fully stocked. The entire vending machine is emptied in one shot to the delight of all, but the PUSH bar cannot be moved and no food can be retrieved. Hammy deems the scene "anti-climactic."

Critical reaction was mostly positive. Film critic Michael Medved gave the film three stars (out of four) and said even though "...the P.C. messages that families come in all shapes and sizes is a bit gratuitous and heavy-handed...." Overall he found the movie "...surprisingly satisfying...." Critic Frank Lovece of Film Journal International found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features". Ken Fox of TVGuide.com called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch"

The film's opening weekend grossed $38,457,003 in 4,093 theaters. As of June 1, 2006, the film had earned $91,710,656.