Boog & Elliot a caccia di amici

Maybe I'm a little forgiving of this movie because of the positive memories it's associated with, but I really do think that Open Season is an entertaining film for parents and children. It has a number of jokes that make me laugh each time I watch it. I hope my kids like it as much as I do.

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!

I'd have to agree with the critics on this one. When you release so many CGI movies with talking animals, there is a point at which mediocrity becomes common place. Open Season is no exception.

It seems to me that a lot of these movies released this past year revolve around this basic formula. 1) A plot involving talking animals. 2) Hire celebrities to do the voice acting (need at least one comedian). 3) Have a main character and an annoying obnoxious sidekick. 4) Have some simple plot in which the main characters are on a journey and have to reach from point A to point B.

When watching Open Season, I couldn't help but notice the parallels to Shrek. Boog (the bear) = Shrek, and Elliot (the deer) = Donkey. Need voice actors? Easy, let's hire two comedians (Mike Myers & Eddie Murphy vs Martin Lawrence & Ashton Kutcher). Plot? Well, let's just make them stranded somewhere and they have to reach from point A to point B. In this case, from the forest to Boog's old home. Of course, I could make the same case with Finding Nemo (comedians Albert Brooks & Ellen DeGeneres, main character and sidekick, travel from point A to point B plot).

Now don't get me wrong, I love Shrek and Finding Nemo. The problem is that when you have two great movies like these released previously, you can't help but notice how much Open Season recycles from previous movies. Open Season lacks any emotional charm or comedic originality. Another problem I had is that a lot of the jokes are based on clichés and stereotypes (Scottish squirrels? Male deers = high school jocks? Ducks = French resistance? Female skunks = black women?).

If there's any redeeming value in this film, it would be the fact that I watched it in IMAX 3D. It looks amazing. Wearing the 3D glasses, I could see each individual patch of fur on Boog's back and the characters literally came out from the screen.

Is this movie good for the kids? Yes. It had some laughs in it and it does bring about a moral message about the preservation of wildlife. It's a good way to kill and hour and a half. But don't expect to see anything new or original in this film.

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.