Though it shares the DNA of animated beasts like Shrek, Ice Age and the Toy Stories, this adaptation of the newspaper comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis scampers along at a lively pace and benefits from astute casting which adds another dimension to the characters.

Bruce Willis leads the way as RJ, a sneaky raccoon who foolishly pilfers a food stash belonging to grouchy grizzly Vincent (Nolte). RJ has a choice: replace the goodies... or bear the consequences.

All looks lost until he comes across a 'family' of gullible log-dwellers who have woken from hibernation to find an endless, flat-topped shrub running through their woodland home.

RJ takes advantage of their need to stock up on nosh by persuading them to venture to the other side of this so-called 'hedge' and steal food from the human fat-cats.

The magic of MSG - mmm, nachos! - is enough to win over Hammy the hyperactive squirrel (Carell), melodramatic possum Ozzie (Shatner) and his daughter Heather (Avril Lavigne), Stella the skunk (Wanda Sykes), and porcupines Lou and Penny (Levy and Catherine O'Hara) and their three kids.

But, having experienced the man-made terrors on the far side, Verne the turtle (Shandling) thinks they're all nuts.

He doesn't like this mask-faced interloper and his worst fears are realised when horrid homeowner Gladys calls in Dwayne the pest-controller, aka 'The Verminator'. And big Vincent is hungry.

These days, where there's animation, there's a 100% recycled message. Trust and friendship are good; jealousy and deception are bad. Humans make rubbish; humans are rubbish. Etc.

Happily, Over The Hedge tames its preachiness and overcomes a shortfall of originality with fab animation and gently satirical wit. It even survives the naff lyrics of Ben Folds' mercifully sparse songs.

Vocally speaking, Shatner's death-fixated possum and Omid Djalili's pampered Persian puss stand out from the impressive herd.

Worth foraging for.

Elliott Noble