Jagdfieber

When I saw "Open Season", my first impression was that the film looked a bit substandard compared to the higher quality Pixar movies which preceded it. While this opinion didn't change much during the course of the movie, I was surprised that I ended up really liking it anyway. Why? Because the writing was so good...and it's worth seeing.

"Open Season" is the story of Boog the Grizzly who was raised by a forest ranger. When he is returned to the wild, Boog is totally out of his element and is assisted by a chatty and occasionally annoying mule deer. As the story progresses, they seem to be doing a horrible job of finding civilization and end up nearly being killed because hunting season has just opened. Can the pair and their many new forest friends manage to survive and thrive against the odds?

The story is in many ways reminiscent of "Ice Age" and "Shrek" where you have a big creature who is constantly annoyed by a smaller and very chatty creature who insists on being friends. Don't expect 100% originality in this department. However, why I enjoyed the film so much are all the wonderful supporting characters--all of which were likable, funny and cute. Overall, quite a bit of fun and despite its shortcomings, a terrific story.

The kids loved it, and I was not bored, and that is more than what you usually end up with these days. The 3D IMAX is truly amazing, if you are already paying the theater admission then IMAX is definitely the way to go. The story is not original, to say the least, but they know it and keep it short. I liked the voice talent, although this "the wiener dog has a German accent" thing gets old fast. A lot of people seem to hate this one with a vengeance (look at the distribution of the votes with all those people giving 1), but it still gets a 5.5 average, so that gives you a pretty good idea. This is no Incredibles by any means, but the two little girls I took enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than Cars. Mostly harmless family fun with a few bathroom jokes thrown in: enjoy!

This movie was released in 2006, so the animations are not up to date, but still watchable. I like styl of the figures and the simple but lovely characters they made. Some jokes are silly, but there are enough jokes for the whole family. I guess it is mainly made for children at the age of 6 to 10 years. Some jokes are only for the parents, so they can have an entertaining time, too. It's no milestone, there were several better animated movies inbetween, like e.g. 'Inside Out' or 'Wreck-It Ralph'. Compareable animated movies about friendship are a dozen each year. In this case I like the two underdogs Boog, the civilized Bear and Elliot the looser elk, who build a partnership to survive in the woods. It's an unequal team like Stan and Ollie. I would recommend that for families with children between 6 to 10 years old. It's a nice movie for rainy days.

The story is nice, looking at hunting activity from the perspective of the ones being hunted. It is also being developed well with having additional complications. But the whole thing doesn't seem to hold together. The funny stuff doesn't really get funny. Martin Lawrence and Ashton's Kutcher's effort for crazy voices did just a little to help the movie to be funny. One strange thing I notice is that only Elliot, the one-antler goofed up mule deer that is the animal which stands on his rear feet beside Boog the Grizzly bear. It's quite normal to see bears and smaller critters like rabbits, squirrels and skunks portrayed standing on their rear feet because bear do that in reality. But concerning Elliot, he is the only other big animal who does that, while the other mule deer, including his love interest Giselle, stands on all four legs.

I can't understand what everyone is fussing about this film for. I saw it on the IMAX 3D and I honestly thought it was hilarious. I caught myself laughing out loud on many occasions. Seriously, this film is not "violent" by any means. To me, I really felt relieved to see some humor and scenes similar to the old Looney Tunes cartoons that used to be considered great, but are now considered evil and horrible.

I took my 4 year old daughter to see this movie as well, and she absolutely loved it. I have no reservations about any of the content in this movie, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with children. Any of the "adult" humor was tastefully done and, honestly how many small kids are gonna pick up it? The animation was well done, the cast was great, and there were some very creative action scenes in this movie. I wish all of these politically correct hypocrites would stop trying to psychoanalyze every damn film that comes out and bash it into the ground! Bottom line: This movie is outstanding, and it is incredibly funny!!!! GO SEE IT!