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The Boyz 'N The Wood are taking another run at big screen glory. Of course we're referring to R.J. and Verne, the raccoon and turtle heroes of Michael Fry and T. Lewis' comic strip Over The Hedge. Fry recently told Comics2Film that the concept has been picked up by Jeffrey Katzenberg at Dreamworks to be developed by Pacific Data Images (PDI). Over The Hedge would be an all-CGI movie like PDI's Antz and the soon-to-be-released Shrek.

"Jim Cox (FernGully) is still producing, but now with his wife Penney Finkelman Cox (Antz, Prince of Egypt) on board as well," Fry told C2F. "We're in a race against the strike to get a writer putting a script together based on an original story by myself, T Lewis and Jim Cox."

The movie had originally been set up at Fox Family Films. However, that studio put the movie into turnaround. "Things look much more promising at Dreamworks," Fry said.

Fry also has a strip called Committed in the works as an animated TV show for the Fox Family Channel. "Nelvana has delivered three finished Committeds to Fox Family with ten more on the way," Fry told us. "We have no set air date yet, but FFC is talking about March or maybe April or maybe early Summer. CTV in Canada is set to begin airing Committed March 10, at 7:00 PM Eastern."

That's not all Fry has in the works. "An older strip of mine, When I Was Short, was made into a pilot for WBTV animation," Fry said. "We're on a short list for midseason replacement for WB Kids! Saturday morning. We should know by March 15."

Comics2Film recently heard from Michael Fry who gave us a status report on the Over The Hedge movie.  Fry created the Over The Hedge comic strip with illustrator T Lewis.  Fry told us that the movie is set up at Fox Family Films, which is where it's been for almost three years.  He and Lewis wrote the first script for the movie, which  was eventually shelved.

However, the movie is now in the hands of executive producer Kevin Bannerman.  A new script is being written by Steve Hibbert (Saturday Night Live)  based on a pitch from Fry and Lewis.

Over The Hedge features a mischievous raccoon named R.J. and his best-friend, a philosophical turtle named Verne.  The website describe the pair as "a couple of boisterous 'Boyz in the Wood' who don't take the encroachment of their habitat sitting down."

Although the development of Hedge has been moving slowly, Fry also reports that his other strip, Committed, is also in the works as an animated TV series.    The irreverent strip about family life is in production at Nelvana. The Fox Family Channel has committed to 13 episodes.  SCTV alumni Catherine O'Hara (Home Alone), Eugene Levy (American Pie) and Andrea Martin (Wag the Dog).

Thanks to Michael Rhode of the Comics Research Bibliography.