SummaryA domesticated grizzly bear finds that there's more to life than being the star attraction of a mountain town nature show when a fast-talking mule deer offers him a crash course in woodland living.
SummaryA domesticated grizzly bear finds that there's more to life than being the star attraction of a mountain town nature show when a fast-talking mule deer offers him a crash course in woodland living.
Though silly and predictable, this animated comedy has stunning visuals, a catchy soundtrack and charming characters that are family-friendly crowd-pleasers.
On the plus side, Open Season enjoys a clear narrative, real rooting interest and good interspecies rapport. On the downside, there’s a surfeit of cruel bunny-rabbit gags.
Little more than paint-by-numbers filmmaking, and it fails in the most important charge of any children's movie: to transport its young and impressionable audience to a world where anything is possible, rather than to one where everything’s been thought of already.
It's a tired rehash of animation cliches that distinguishes itself only by the extent to which it's crammed full of scatology and gleeful violence to animals, and otherwise panders to the worst instincts of its audience.
In the peaceful town of Timberline, 900-pound (408 kg) grizzly bear Boog enjoys a captive, but pampered existence and spends his day as the star attraction of the town's nature show while at night living in the garage of park ranger Beth, who raised him since he was a cub. One day, the sadistic hunting fanatic Shaw drives into town with the one-antlered deer Elliot strapped to the hood of his truck. Boog frees Elliot at the last minute and against his better judgment, before Shaw can go after him. Boog never expects to see his "buddy" again. Elliot follows Boog home and finds him sleeping in the garage and starts to throw rabbits at the window. He tells him to be "free" from his garage captivity and introduces Boog to a world of sweet temptations outside of the garage that he has unknown. When Boog becomes sick from eating too many with candy bars, events quickly spiral out of control as the two raid the town's grocery store. Elliot escapes before Boog is caught by a friend of Beth, police officer Gordy. At the nature show, Elliot who is being chased by Shaw, sees Boog who attacks him, causing the whole audience in the show to panic. Shaw attempts to shoot Boog, but Beth sedates them with a tranquilizer gun before he can. Shaw flees before Gordy can arrest him for shooting a gun in the town. The two trouble-makers are released into the Timberline National Forest, only three days before open season starts, but they are relocated above the waterfalls, where they will be safe.
Since he lacks any outdoor survival skills, Boog reluctantly takes Elliot as his accident-prone guide to get him back home to Timberline to reunite with Beth. But in the woods, they quickly learn that it is every animal for itself. The two run into their share of the forest animals including skunks Maria and Rosie, ducks Serge and Deni, panic-stricken rabbits, the Scottish-accented squirrel, McSquizzy and his rogue gang, Reilly and his beaver construction worker team, a porcupine named Buddy who is in search of a friend and the herd of deer led by Ian and Giselle (who Elliot is in love with) With each adverse encounter, Boog learns a little about self-reliance and Elliot gains self-respect and they start to become friends. Day by day, Elliot attempts to lead Boog out of the forest, but it becomes evident that he has no clue where they are going. After winding up at Reilly's dam, Boog and Elliot are confronted by Shaw, Boog then loses his toy bear, Dinkleman, as the current makes the doll flout out of Boog's paw. They end up in a waterfall, which floods and sends the forest animals falling down it.
At first everyone blames Boog who accuses Elliot of lying to him about leading him home. Elliot admits he thought that if Boog spent time with him, he would befriend him. Boog leaves to unwittingly find Shaw's log cabin. Shaw returns and talks to his gun "Loraine" and says he would take back what is his, discovers him (like Goldilocks and the Three Bears), and pursues him to the city road where Boog happens upon the glowing lights of Timberline. Instead of deserting his companions, Boog helps the other animals defend themselves using supplies taken from Bob and Bobbie's (two "scientists" looking for Bigfoot) RV while their pet dachshund Mr. Weenie joins the wilds. The next day, Boog leads a revolution against the hunters, sending them running after McSquizzy blows up their trucks with a propane tank named "Mr. Happy". Shaw returns for a final confrontation and shoots Elliot in the process, which enrages Boog to tie up Shaw with his own gun. Boog rushes over to Elliot's body but soon finds that Elliot survived the shot, only losing his second antler in the fracas. Beth returns to take Boog back home where he will be safe, but instead he stays with his friends and all of the animals in the forest.
During the credits, Shaw is seen tarred, feathered and tied on the top of Bobbie and Bob's RV, who mistake him for Bigfoot.
I liked it, but the middle wasn't great. They had a amazing start, and the ending was pretty good. It had funny moments, mostly at the start. It is worth a watch.
A decent and, yet, enjoyable film for 2006. Open Season opens the film featuring a bear and a deer teaming up against the human hunters. Oh... very original! I want another theatrical film of this franchise.
Let's face it. Pixar and Dreamworks Animation are still both the kings of CGI animations (Pixar's movies weren't bad. However, only one CGI movie from Dreamworks was bad, but some of their films turned out to be as good as Pixar's films). However, year after year, in the middle of the 2000s, other CGI animation studios tried to cash in by releasing their own CGI animated features. This is one of them and trust me, it was that bad and I was shocked to see that it was made by Roger Allers (director of Disney's The Lion King). (sigh) I'm going to talk about the plot first before I make my opinion and some of you already know what it was about.
Boog, a grizzly bear, lives in a perfect world with a park ranger named Beth. One day, he saves a deer named Elliot from a hunter and one night, he returns the favor by helping him escape from his owner. Realizing that Boog has reverted to his wild nature, she releases him in the woods before hunting season begins. Boog and Elliot make a bond not only for themselves but for the other animals in the forest as they rally them up to drive the hunters out of the forest.
This was the first CGI movie from Columbia Pictures and at their first try, they were unsuccessful. The characters were very annoying, the dialogue was just plain laughable, it had a lot of overused clichÃs and there were a lot of plot holes.
I will give Columbia Pictures credit for the CGI animation and art design, but they were overshadowed by a poorly written storyline, same old slapstick jokes, and really pathetic acting.
For the kids, it's worth watching, but as for others, it isn't. It's just a stupid CGI movie with no character and no plot at all. That is until it was followed by two sequels. Two sequels? Two sequels?! This clichÃd, unfunny movie had two sequels?! Oh, goodie. I want to see how much they **** just like this one.
2/10