Boog, a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear, finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.
After falling head over hooves in love with Giselle, Elliot's road to the altar takes a slight detour when Mr. Weenie is kidnapped by a group of pampered pets determined to return him to his owners.
A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating...and learns a lesson about family himself.
Directors:
Tim Johnson,
Karey Kirkpatrick
Stars:
Bruce Willis,
Garry Shandling,
Steve Carell
The story of an uptown rat that gets flushed down the toilet from his penthouse apartment, ending in the sewers of London, where he has to learn a whole new and different way of life.
In a robot world, a young idealistic inventor travels to the big city to join his inspiration's company, only to find himself opposing its sinister new management.
Barry B. Benson, a bee just graduated from college, is disillusioned at his lone career choice: making honey. On a special trip outside the hive, Barry's life is saved by Vanessa, a florist in New York City. As their relationship blossoms, he discovers humans actually eat honey, and subsequently decides to sue them.
Directors:
Simon J. Smith,
Steve Hickner
Stars:
Jerry Seinfeld,
Renée Zellweger,
Matthew Broderick
When a son of a gangster shark boss is accidentally killed while on the hunt, his would-be prey and his vegetarian brother decide to use the incident to their own advantage.
A woman transformed into a giant after she is struck by a meteorite on her wedding day becomes part of a team of monsters sent in by the U.S. government to defeat an alien mastermind trying to take over Earth.
Directors:
Rob Letterman,
Conrad Vernon
Stars:
Reese Witherspoon,
Rainn Wilson,
Stephen Colbert
The canine star of a fictional sci-fi/action show that believes his powers are real embarks on a cross country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real.
When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with the bird of his dreams.
Director:
Carlos Saldanha
Stars:
Jesse Eisenberg,
Anne Hathaway,
George Lopez
A happily domesticated grizzly bear named Boog, has his perfect world turned upside down after he meets Elliot, a scrawny, fast-talking one-horned wild mule deer. They both end up stranded together in the woods during hunting season and it's up to the duo to rally all the other forest animals and turn the tables on the hunters.Written by
Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}
This was Sony's 11th number one opening movie of 2006. It performed particularly well at IMAX theaters where it took in about $1.4 million. This averages about $22,000 per screen versus $6,000 for conventional theaters. See more »
Goofs
At the beginning of the movie Beth loads a large blue cooler and a smaller red one into the back of her jeep. They are nowhere to be seen when Boog jumps into the back a few minutes later. See more »
Quotes
[about the coffee he found in the dumpster]
Elliot:
Yuck. Yuck. Yuck! It's terrible and wonderful at the same time! It's like freedom in a cup!
See more »
Crazy Credits
Prior to the cast listing, it says, "No rabbits were harmed in the making of this movie." See more »
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.
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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.