Based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T Lewis, Over The Hedge is an enjoyable, fast-paced computer animated fantasy that falls short of the visual invention and wit of The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Shrek.

Younger viewers will no doubt take great delight in the pratfalls of a hyperactive squirrel, and a possum that loves to fake his own death, but there's very little material in the screenplay to engage parents and older children.

Infuriatingly, amid the gentle laughs, there are flashes of brilliance: one animal's breathless rant about the greed and wastefulness of modern society, a spectacular slow motion sequence involving that squirrel and a high energy drink.

However, these are few and far between.

The animation is extremely colourful and the various critters are cute and cuddly, with their large glassy eyes and sparkling toothy grins.

Human characters are similarly cartoonish and exaggerated in appearance.

At the heart of the story is Verne the turtle (voiced by Shandling), who emerges from hibernation to discover that a new housing development has encroached on his woodland habitat.

A gargantuan hedge now separates the houses from the greenery.

"We want nothing to do with anything that's over that hedge!" Verne declares.

His chums melodramatic possum Ozzie (Shatner) and his daughter Heather (Lavigne), energetic squirrel Hammy (Carell), sassy skunk Stella (Sykes), and porcupines Lou (Levy) and Penny (O'Hara) and their children all agree, turning their attention to collecting enough food for next year's stores.

Scheming outsider RJ the raccoon (Willis), who has been spying on the misfit group, desperately needs to collect enough food to replace the goodies he stole from Vincent the bear (Nolte).

So he hatches a daredevil scheme to hoodwink Verne and co into stealing and plundering supplies from their new human neighbours.

Ever the pessimist, Verne tries to warn the others of impending disaster but once they have tasted their first bag of cheesy nachos, the creatures are putty in RJ's paws.

The four-legged rebels soon attract the attention of homeowners' association leader Gladys (Janney), who calls in pest control expert Dwayne (Church) to eradicate the infestation.

Over The Hedge is distinguished by a couple of well-executed set pieces and some lively vocal performances, especially Carroll and Shatner.

The writers trot out all of the obvious puns and double entendres ("Wanna help me find my nuts?" inquires Hammy) and milk the best laughs when they view human behaviour through the eyes of the animals.

They also randomly throw in references to Citizen Kane and A Streetcar Named Desire.

Ben Folds' original songs, which have winsome titles like Family Of Me, chirrup quietly in the background.