Boog & Elliot a caccia di amici

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.

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 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!

OK, this year alone probably saw a record number of talking animal animations, with countless of punchlines filled with pop culture references, and big name stars attached to the projects, that it's about time we give the genre a good break, rather than churning them out continuously with more misses than hits.

And Open Season, probably the last one on offer this year from a Hollywood studio, suffers from this glut, unfortunately. Heck, with so much similarities between the movies, you can even spot a familiarity or two from the story lines, taking a a leaf from one of the earlier flop - The Wild, in having one of its stars here, part of a popular animal attraction, and another part from Over The Hedge, where a group of animals must band together for survival and a fight against adversity.

The leads for Open Season are a domesticated grizzly bear who has its own teddy bear soft toy (don't ask), and a mule-deer with one half of its horn sawn off. An unlikely pairing, a "loser and a loserer", voiced by Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher respectively. It's strange that there's a reversal of voice roles here, as Lawrence's Boog the Bear is uptight, while Kutcher's Elliot the deer is built in the same old wise cracking mould as Eddie Murphy's Mushu in Mulan, or Donkey in Shrek. In other words, Boog frequently gets punk'd by Elliot.

It's one of those recycled plots about loneliness, and having two misfits finding themselves in each other, relying on strengths from the other party in order to survive in new environments. A misadventure sees Boog go back to the wild, with Elliot in tow, and the two have to find a way to get back to civilization where Boog belongs. Along the way they encounter other critters in the woods of course, paving the way for some comedy and more recycled themes of bullies and the likes. Don't believe the trailers though, as the war between animals and humans, doesn't take up much screen time.

The sad part though, is that there aren't many funny moments to distract you from the rehashed story lines and subplots, but then again, it's a made for children movie. As always, there are some of the weaker characters which get used as punching bags, and here, this role belonged to the mindless rabbits, which some might find irritatingly adorable. My vote however goes to the nasty Irish-accented squirrels, defenders of their pine trees with their nuts, and in second place, those insane beavers.

At least the animals don't break out singing songs every now and then, though there are some nice musical numbers that went along with the movie. But all in all, this movie isn't as entertaining as, say, Over The Hedge, and neither is it as bad as The Wild. But don't say I didn't warn you if you find this a tad too boring.

Wait for the DVD, and rent it. Oei!

Matin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher rock as the big bear "Boog" and the comic sidekick deer "Elliot". Unfortunately, the story was bland and the jokes were only mildly funny, so it will not be one of the best kids movies you're going to see this year. The "Laugh out loud" index was maybe a 5-10 (laughs per movie). "Over the Hedge" was closer to 20-30 for comparative purposes. "Boog" and "Elliot" were well played. The Scottish squirrels, Beavers and Rabbits were funny, but the rest of the characters didn't make much of an impression. Although somewhat entertaining, it was quickly forgotten after we left the theater (with the exception of the Austin Powers like shadow scene behind the curtain). If you need to take the kids out to a movie, this is funny enough to make it worthwhile, but don't get your expectations up to high.