'Over the Hedge' = 'Toy Story' Rip Off?

Last week I watched Over The Hedge for the first time in years. Me and my sister enjoyed it immensely as children but over the years as I’ve reflected on the film, I presumed that it wasn’t exactly the animated classic I thought it was at the time. When I watched it again I realized my presumptions were correct. However, throughout the film I noticed certain qualities that were reminiscent of another, more acclaimed animated film. Toy Story.

It was an epiphany. I couldn’t believe it. Both films featured dogs as antagonists. Both films featured a vehicle flying up into the sky. Same characters. Same setting. Same story. I had to write about it but not just for the provocative sake of accusing a film of being a rip off, but to show how far the computer animated film medium has come in terms of the types of stories it can tell.

The Characters

While different in terms of personality and appearance, in terms of their purpose in the story the characters in Over The Hedge are exactly like those in Toy Story.

RJ and Verne for example, are pretty much Over The Hedge’s Woody and Buzz. Verne lives a comfortable life in a forest with a pack of animals where he has authority and respect. Just like Woody. Woody lives a comfortable life in Andy’s bedroom with a bunch of other toys where he has authority and respect. RJ is a racoon from beyond the forest and when he arrives the pack is immediately attracted to his character and experience, stealing Verne’s pedestal. Just like Buzz Lightyear. Buzz is a new toy from beyond Andy’s room and when he arrives the other toys are immediately attracted to his character and gadgets, stealing Woody’s pedestal.

As well as having similar protagonists to those in the Pixar film, the antagonists in Over The Hedge are also similar to those in Toy Story. In both films humans are the antagonists and both the toys and the animals try everything to hide from them and not get caught. Over The Hedge also borrows a character from Toy Story 2, which was released in 1999, a good six years before Over The Hedge’s 2006 release. The bald, overweight animal exterminator Dwayne is not that different from the bald overweight toy collector Al. Both are antagonists, and both want to capture the main characters.

The Story

Specific plot points from Toy Story manifest in Over The Hedge, some more obvious than others. For example, most of the plot and comedy in Over The Hedge arises from the interactions between Verne and RJ. Both of them compete for authority in the animal pack throughout the first and second acts. Woody and Buzz do the same, competing for authority among the toys and respect from their owner Andy.

The main plot point Over The Hedge borrows from Toy Story is Woody’s loss of his authority and respect. After the cowboy’s attempt at trapping Buzz behind a desk backfires, he and Buzz end up in Sid’s house where, having asked the other toys to help them from a window, he is rejected by his peers and loses his authority and respect. Verne has a similar experience. Fearing for the pack’s safety after witnessing some humans install deadly traps in their garden, he takes all the food RJ brought to the pack and returns it to the humans. When the pack discovers this, they are devastated and turn against Verne, taking his authority and respect, just as the toys did to Woody.

Being the first completely computer-generated film, it’s no wonder filmmakers saw Toy Story as a template, hence the various rip offs that followed. Now of course Over The Hedge isn’t a complete rip off of Toy Story, it has its own jokes, ideas, characters and a satirical view on consumerism. Whenever a new art forms emerges, such as computer animation, I think films like Over The Hedge have to be made. A new art form can be scary for artists as no rules are present to guide them. Hence they play it safe and copy the only existing example. After a few imitations however, artists gain the confidence to experiment and create something new. It’s been over 20 years since Toy Story was released, and since then we’ve seen a few films do just that. Films such as Antz, Shrek, The Lego Movie and Ratatouille have presented new stories and ideas in the medium and touched audiences in their own unique way.