Open Season -- A Delightful Movie Review

Overall 4.00 of 5 view all 2 reviews

skbreese
Chattanooga, TN

Survival In The Wild: Open Season

a movie lover, into action flicks, a music lover, a pet owner, Movie Reviewer, a bargain hunter, a movie guru

Pros

Warm, humorous, family friendly films

Cons

Silly subplot

JAN

2009

Open Season -- A Delightful Movie —

The 2006 feature length animated film, Open Season, is a warm and funny coming of age story about a domesticated Grizzly, who learns to survive in the wild, with the help of some new-found friends. An all star cast including Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Debra Messing, and Gary Sinese, help bring their woodland characters to life in Sony Pictures animated film debut.

Boog, (Martin Lawrence) a 900 lb Grizzly Bear, has led a carefree life of ease and comfort in the garage of a Park Ranger, Beth (Debra Messing) until he meets an adventuresome deer named Elliot, (Ashton Kutcher) who introduces him to the lure of the wild, just days before the opening of hunting season. Lacking basic survial skills, Boog, with the help of his new-found woodland friends, must learn fast, as the animals stage an all-out war against an overzealous hunter, Shaw, (Gary Sinese) and his companions.

The quality of the animation in this film rivals that of Dreamworks and Pixar, with vibrant, colorful, 3-D images and eye-catching cgi effects. The vocal performances are also first rate, especially Martin Lawrence as Boog and Ashton Kutchar, as Elliot. The only drawback is a sily subplot involving a restless Dachshund, Mr. Weenie, who continuously tries to escape from a smothering female camper, Bobbie. (Georgia Engle)

This humor in this film features a nice mixture of slap-stick and visual humor, along with a healthy dose of action and adventure, including hand to paw combat between the animals and hunters, exploding trucks, and flying underwear. It also promotes some positive kid-friendly values such as teamwork, friendship, and survival.

Overall, Open Season is a "deer" of film. It is an entertaining, heartwarming, family-friendly film that will stand up to repeated viewings. In fact, I found it to be more realistic and humorous, the Dreamwork's 2006 release Over The Hedge, a film with a simlar plot and theme, in which woodland animals stage an all out attack on suburbia.

Last edited on Feb 01, 2009