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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

So are kids kinda fond of Wanda?


Wanda Sykes
 (BPI / The Spokesman-Review)
Jen Chaney The Washington Post

Wanda Sykes has publicly proclaimed that she doesn’t like kids. In fact, she wrote those very words – “I don’t like kids” – in her 2004 book, “Yeah, I Said It.”

So it seems a bit out of character for the famously blunt stand-up comedian and actress to be the voice of a skunk in “Over the Hedge,” a new animated movie undeniably aimed at the under-11 set.

“At that point in time when I wrote the book, I was being honest and saying, ‘I don’t want kids, you know, I don’t like kids,’ ” explains Sykes, 42. “But you change. You grow older. The more you live, you have different experiences.

“So to answer your question … I still don’t like kids, no.”

She bursts into hearty laughter, and it’s impossible not to join her. Because, let’s face it, Sykes – the woman who stole the comedy “Monster-in-Law” out from under Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez, who gives Larry David a run for his funny-money every time she appears on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and who Entertainment Weekly called one of America’s 25 funniest people in 2004 – is pretty darn hilarious.

But Sykes is fairly reserved and often serious in person, which is why she follows up her kidding about kids with more earnest words about her first major foray into animation.

“It’s very cool to be part of a film that the whole family can go to … and the kids will laugh at it for one reason and the parents will laugh at it for another reason,” she says of “Hedge,” which explores suburban life through the eyes of woodland creatures.

“It’s going to at least spark some type of dialogue where the kids are going to ask their parents about a few things. Like, ‘Why do we throw this stuff out?’ and ‘Why do we have this big truck and there’s only two of us riding in it?’ “

This summer, Sykes can be heard in “Hedge” and another animated feature, “Barnyard,” and seen in the comedies “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” and “Clerks II.”

Even so, she still sees live comedy as the core of her career.

“I love doing stand-up, and I’m able to make my living doing stand-up,” Sykes says. “So I have the opportunity to only take projects that appeal to me.”

She would love to host “Saturday Night Live,” and much as she likes playing the wisecracking sidekick, she hopes to star in her own film someday.

For now, Sykes is especially eager to take her nieces and nephews to see “Over the Hedge.”

“It was kind of hard to see ‘Pootie Tang’ in the theater (with them) because it wasn’t there that long,” she says, referring to the largely unseen 2001 comedy in which she co-starred with Chris Rock.

” ‘Come on, baby, we’re going to go to the 3 o’clock show.’ Then you show up and, ‘Hey, what happened to the movie?’ “

The birthday bunch

Actor Michael Constantine (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) is 79. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 68. Actor Michael Sarrazin is 66. Actress Barbara Parkins (“Peyton Place,” “Valley of the Dolls”) is 64. Singer Morrissey is 47. Actress Ann Cusack (“A League of Their Own”) is 45. Model Naomi Campbell is 36. Actress Anna Belknap (“CSI: NY”) is 34. Singer Donell Jones is 33.