Customer Reviews

Over the Hedge: Stuffed Animals

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After an absurdly long delay Lewis and Fry's tales of the wilds of suburbia has finally seen a fourth collection. With Dreamworks about to release a film very loosely based on the strip (Verne is very different) I am not surprised too much. But it is so good to see R.J the racoon and Verne the turtle back in book form and adapting to the new wilds of suburbia. Story arcs in this collection include:

Verne's dating season
The Tree That Knows Stuff
Dogs on the take
Winter survival secrets
The bunny population explosion

Yes, here we get to see how suburbia has made the wildlife soft and lazy. While it can be said that Over the Hedge is like Sherman's Lagoon on land, the parallels are few and there is no intellectual. So pick up a copy and find out what is really going on in your neighborhood.

...on the back cover.

What can I say, it's the 4th Over the Hedge book, and if you liked the first 3 (and the strip IS different then the movie), then you'll like Stuffed Animals. I read it everyday via comics.com (since the Indy Star doesn't actually have "funny" comics anymore) and I look forward to hearing what Verne & RJ are up to.

This is a very fuuny strip that has been around for years and is now a major animated feature. This volume, which has strips that were published before the movie also proves that the crazy squirrel, named Hammy in the movie and everything after that, was originally named Sammy. Why they changed the name is beyond me, but if you enjoy Over The Hedge, this is a great book of collected daily and Sunday strips.

With the recent release of the Over the Hedge movie, more people are being exposed to the characters. Michael Fry does a superb job of showing humanity with all its warts as seen through our furry friends. Great book.

This big book of comics was very, VERY funny! I enjoyed getting a laugh out of this book! Over the Hedge : Stuffed Animals has very funny topics. For example when RJ fishes. I would totally recommend this book, you would love it the same way I do!

Great book. Came in good order. Was very happy with both the product and the service.

The best humor ever. It have me looking at squirrels, turtles and racoons differently now.

I am going to draw a hard line here, and everyone involved with both the strip and the movie, forgive me; Do NOT go straight into comparing the movie to the strip. DO NOT! First impressions of each are far different, and the overall feel of the two separate worlds are vastly different. If you have about an ounce of both insight and decency, and a good sense of humor, you will be able to enjoy the strip having seen the movie first. I did. Illinois does not publish Over the Hedge, anywhere, so I did not find out about it until 2007. It is now my favorite strip (ranking a tie with Calvin and Hobbes). Need I say more?

As for my actual review: This collection is a few years apart from the third, but it is still the same offbeat genius I have come to expect from Mike Fry and T Lewis. Sharing the same insights and differences of opinion, RJ and Verne continue their suburban lives with a new partner in crime, Sammy. They explore such topics as the Dating Season, The Tree that Knows Stuff, the controversy of Stem Cell Research, and Reality TV. Pretty much what every suburbanite faces in their lives, but with a much different perspective. I give props to Mike and T, and I can only hope that another installment is on the way.

Having watched the movie "Over The Hedge" I expected the characters to be just as funny, animated and entertaining. I found the books disappointing, slow and sometimes crass and NOT funny. I believe the screenwriters did a fantastic job in shaping this animated film, a rare case in which the movie is better than the book.