When Taylor Hicks (left) attained media immortality, a strange connection was made between American Idol and Over the Hedge. Both of them are similar products with a similar purpose. Courtesy of Fox.

During the time I was wrapping up a recent column for Animation World Network, two other events were simultaneously taking place. One was the release of DreamWorks’ latest CGI offering Over the Hedge. The other was the finale of the country’s most pervasive cultural artifact of late, American Idol (which is nothing more than a variation on the old TV show Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour). I am not an Idol fan, although I respectfully bow to the show’s ability to transfix a disproportionate majority of our population. I am a Hedge fan, and I freely acknowledge the accomplishments of the SKG troika in recent years (Shark Tale being an exception).

What I did not realize until the moment that Taylor Hicks attained immortality (or what passes for such in today’s culture) was why I somehow felt a strange connection between American Idol and Over the Hedge. Both of them are, at a very basic level, somewhat similar products with a similar purpose. They are also not exactly what they are presented to be. There is a superficial level sold to the public, but underneath, there seems to be another agenda.

It may seem incomprehensible to draw any parallel between a talent search and a digital animated feature, and, at first, I did not until I saw my own wife’s reaction to American Idol. Over the weeks, she had cheered certain contestants, railed against the perceived unfairness of certain eliminations and picked her personal favorites. On the next to last episode, she actually voted from a cell phone. When the final deal went down on May 24, 2006, she was leaping ecstatically as Soul Patrol downed McPheever in what seemed to me like triple overtime.

During those same weeks, I watched my colleagues at work virtually subsist on American Idol. If we had water coolers, there would have been rings worn in the flooring around them. I noted that more people voted in the finale than voted for the president (even though it seems some love-struck individuals voted as many as 700 times using a redial feature). I came to realize that my wife and most of the country were not transfixed by a talent show, a competition or even entertainment. They were not always cheering for ability; they were rooting for (or against) individuals and their personalities as the contestants reached for the hallowed ground of celebrity.

Hicks was the lead item on the news, front-page story on the paper, first word on everyone’s lips on May 25, 2006. Hicks was more than a just guy with a salt-and-pepper mop and a good voice — Hicks was now an A-list celebrity. Within a month, he was featured on TV as a singing pitchman for a major automotive company.

There are inordinate numbers of people in America who can sing, and do so quite well. Perhaps you can, or you surely know someone who does. All of you reading this (especially in Hollywood) are acquainted with someone who could have credibly held their own with at least the semifinalists. American Idol is actually about the creation and maintenance of celebrity. By the time the finalists step forward, they have been imprinted on the national consciousness for weeks on end, and even those who have been eliminated are invited back to encore for their fans.

The inclusion of actual musical celebrities throughout the competition and in the finale suggested the true agenda behind the show. America needs an endless supply of celebrities. American Idol is a factory for future ones. The contestants truly can sing, but this may not even be the main point of the competition.

Over the Hedge featured an engaging story, extraordinary animation and very likeable characters that did not need to be voiced by celebrities, but nonetheless they were. All Over the Hedge images courtesy of DreamWorks SKG.

Over the Hedge is an animated film that features an engaging story, extraordinary animation and very likeable characters. They are, in fact, so likeable that they did not even need to be voiced by celebrities. Nevertheless, every one of them is. It as important to our culture to promote our celebrities as it is to create them, and, because of this, it is nearly unthinkable for Hollywood to cast an animated film without using a surfeit of stars. Bruce Willis, as RJ, needs no introduction. Garry Shandling is a TV and movie star as well as a rather conservative turtle.

Much the same can be said for Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes and Thomas Hayden Church. Nick Nolte is a bona fide celeb, and most of us have followed William Shatner through his various enterprises over the years. Avril Lavigne is a pop music star with no previous animation credits. Catherine O’Hara, at least, has a notable background in cartoon voice work.