O Bicho Vai Pegar

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.