Hammy (film)

Hammy is a 2009 American computer-animated slapstick comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Buddy Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. This film is based on the comic strip of the same name by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick from a screenplay by Len Blum and David Hoselton. It is intended as a spinoff of Over The Hedge (2006). The film features the voices of Steve Carell, Amy Poehler, Larry King, Christopher Knights, Stefan Kapičić, Katy Mixon, Sandra Bullock and Rupert Everett along with Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Wanda Sykes, William Shatner, Avril Lavigne, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara and Omid Djalili.

It received generally positive reviews from critics, and grossed $974 million on an $90 million budget. After the success of Hammy, it spawned into a expanded franchise.

Plot
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Voice Cast

 * Steve Carell as Hammy, a hyperactive American red squirrel, whose mouth moves as fast as his feet. He is naive and childish in nature, with an extremely short attention span. Also, the character becomes aware he is in a franchise.
 * Amy Poehler as Hella, a beautiful yellow squirrel and Hammy's girlfriend.
 * Larry King as Wennie, a sexy-drag queen raccoon.
 * Christopher Knights as Nut, a smart-talking squirrel.
 * Stefan Kapičić as Sasha, a russian wolf.
 * Katy Mixon as Vanessa, a orange squirrel with a ability to manipulate luck.
 * Sandra Bullock as Violet, the main antagonist and Purp's wife.
 * Rupert Everett as Purp, a genius inventor and Violet's husband.

Supporting Characters

 * Bruce Willis as RJ, a raccoon who is duplicitous, selfish, a con artist, and extremely intelligent.
 * Garry Shandling as Verne, a naturally cynical ornate box turtle, the leader of the foragers.
 * Wanda Sykes as Stella, a short-tempered, sassy striped skunk.
 * William Shatner and Avril Lavigne as Ozzie and Heather, a Virginia opossum father and daughter who see the world from different points of view; Ozzie often embarrasses Heather when he constantly feigns death to get away from danger.
 * Eugene Levy as Lou, a North American porcupine. He is Penny's husband and the porcupine family patriarch with an overly friendly and optimistic attitude.
 * Catherine O'Hara as Penny, the porcupine family mother, Lou's wife, and matriarch of the porcupine family
 * Omid Djalili as Tiger, a Persian cat. His full Persian name is "Prince Tigerius Mahmoud Shabazz."

Development
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Writing
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Voice Casting
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Animation
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Music
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Soundtrack
The film's score was composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams and songs by Ben Folds. The soundtrack was released on September 16, 2009.

Marketing
Due to the film's limited marketing budget, Steve Carell worked closely with DreamWorks Animation's marketing chief Ryan Bradley to use the Internet to their advantage and come up with cheaper, "Hammy-based" ways to market the film. This included unique trailers, unconventional billboards, promotional tie-ins with Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Roman Pizza and other food and drink companies along with an extensive social media presence.

Release
The film was released in the United States on September 18, 2009 by DreamWorks Animation and Buddy Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Box Office
Hammy grossed $569 million in the United States, and $720 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $974 million, making the first DreamWorks film to become a highest-grossing film.

Critical Response
Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 100% approval rating based on the 424 positive reviews, and its average rating is 9.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Fast, funny, and gleefully profane, the fourth-wall-busting squirrel Hammy subverts slapstick comedy animated film formula with wildly entertaining results." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 98 out of 100, based on 69 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Home Media
Hammy was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 1, 2009, by Buddy Home Entertainment, DreamWorks Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.

Video Game
Main article: Hammy (video game)

A video game based on the film was released on September 24, 2009. Developed by Buddy Games and Edge of Reality, it was published by Activision for PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Steve Carell were the only one to reprise their roles for the video game while everyone else was voiced by different voice actors.

Sequels
Main article: Hammy (franchise)

Three sequels were released over the years – Hammy 2: Time Stopping Madness on February 14, 2014, Hammy 3: Drink To The Max on September 13, 2022, and a untitled fourth Hammy film on March 13, 2026.

Television Series
Main articles: The Adventures Of Hammy and Hammy's Time Travel Quest

A 2.5D-animated television series based on the film, titled The Adventures Of Hammy, debuted on February 14, 2018 on Netflix. The original cast from the film will reprise their roles, with the exception of Verne, who would be voiced by Patton Oswalt.

A second animated series, this time cg-animated, was announced titled Hammy's Time Travel Quest, set to be released simultaneously on Netflix and Buddy+ on October 2, 2021. Steve Carell will only reprise the role of Hammy and new characters will be in the series.

Trivia
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