Over The Hedge: False Gods and Hell Disguised as Paradise

Introduction:

It is always the beautiful, the seductive, and the sublime that gently clasps our shoulders to guide us off the well-worn path of hard work to the deceitful ponds of sin. They may be warm, they may envelope us entirely and lull us into a comfort which we have never known, but this is a false comfort and the water is sure to freeze you the moment you dare open your eyes. 

The False God:

“Over the Hedge” (A 2006 hit animated classic) explores this seduction with a precision not yet seen before on the big screen. These animals have toiled. They have scavenged and hunted and have come so close to starvation, the difference would have been seven grapes. Seven grapes separated these animals and death, and just as they are beginning to realize it, a tempting offer arrives. Enter RJ (Bruce Willis): a smooth-talking racoon who makes promises of paradise. He comes in with foods the other animals have never seen (a direct allusion, of course, to the original sin of the apple) and beckons the animals to try, to take and to allow themselves to slip into a gluttony they have never allowed themselves before. The only animal who doesn’t fall for this is the head-of-house, Verne (Gary Shandling). As the audience, we are aware of RJ’s falsehood from the beginning, and that he is using these animals to repay a debt. Unable to do anything, we are then forced to watch their downfall. 

Against Verne’s warnings, the other animals fall for it immediately. They are tired of the hard work they must put in just to survive and lust for an easier life. This easier life came to them at their lowest, and they accepted, not questioning the validity of the savior which presented himself to them. Very soon, the animals are no longer treating RJ as their savior, but their God. They have hope to not only survive but to thrive through another winter. And, they have Doritos. 

In one scene, Verne, frustrated with his families abandoning of him (which is yet again alluding to a departure from morality and goodness) states, “so he has a couple of tricks. It’s not like he can walk on water.” Then, RJ proceeds to walk on water behind Verne and call for the animals to continue onward. What both we as the audience and Verne can see but the animals are blind to is that RJ was using the help of pool floaties to accomplish this feat. The terror builds as Verne realizes how far his family has fallen into temptation. They will believe anything RJ tells them. They will do anything he asks and follow him wherever he goes. 

And they do follow him. After RJ tells them that all of the snacks he has been feeding them are not only in bountiful supply but are close, all it takes is a few words and they are ready to go…Over the Hedge

Hell Disguised as Paradise:

We enter suburbia. With endless rows of green, groomed yards and garbage cans swelling with half-eaten food, this would appear to any animal a paradise meant to indulge in. The animals do not hesitate. After a prompting from RJ, and another unheeded warning from Verne, they descend upon suburbia to partake in its riches. They eat, they hoard, and they play with garden equipment they have never seen before. One animal, a young porcupine, is even able to watch television for the first time. To them, it is a world of endless fun and comfort. It is everything they could have ever dreamed of and more. 

The beauty of this new paradise is used against Verne, who had visited it previously and said it was a deadly, terrible world. He is called a liar, and once again the word of RJ is believed. But Verne has seen the truth. He knows this is no Paradise. This is Hell. His family is enthralled by the spell that RJ and suburbia has weaved through their minds. They are submerged completely in sin and don’t even know it. 

As they sink deeper into gluttony, so deep that there is no escape, the inevitable occurs. 

RJ reveals himself to be a charlatan and the illusion crumbles. Paradise becomes hell and two animals are nearly killed by the gatekeepers of this hell. A darkness falls, the truth is brought to light. Suburbia was not what they thought it was. It is a punishing pit that knows the animals coerced sin and demands retribution. By the time the animals realize the truth, it is too late. They have fallen for RJ’s lies. They have indulged too greatly. They are damned. 

At the climax of this movie, the animals are caged and thrown into a car set to travel deeper into this suburbia-Hell.

Conclusion:

“Over the Hedge” is about so much more than little animated animals and Bruce Willis voicing a golf club wielding racoon. It’s about temptation, and the dangers of falling into it. RJ is a false God to these animals. He promises salvation but brings damnation. He is smooth talking, he offers immense treasure, and he brings new technology. 

The animals are immediately seduced by this and leave behind the morally just and righteous life of hard work with Verne to pursue RJ’s tales. For this, they are punished. The connection to sin and temptation is plain. RJ is a snake, Doritos are the apple, and a group of once good and moral animals are forever lost. 

Over the Hedge is a warning. We live in a world of gluttony, consumerism, and false Gods enticing us to be consumed. This well-crafted narrative begs us to ask: What falsehoods do I currently worship? How easily would I succumb to sin?

Have I already?