Amazon.co.uk Reviews
Open Season - Growing up can be a confusing journey fraught with difficult choices. Boog (Martin Lawrence) is a domesticated grizzly bear who leads a perfectly happy life inside of Park Ranger Beth's (Debra Messing) garage, but a chance meeting with an overly energetic mule deer named Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) quickly changes everything and lands Boog high in the forest a few days before the opening of hunting season. Devoid of even the most basic survival skills, Boog and Elliot stumble through the woods and find themselves at the mercy of every forest animal from skunks to chipmunks as well as an evil hunter named Shaw (Gary Sinise). After unintentionally inciting and endangering an entire forest full of clever animals, Boog and Elliot come to the realization that only by banding together do the forest animals stand a chance of outsmarting the hunters and ensuring their own survival.
Open Season is the first animated film from Sony Pictures Animation, and takes its inspiration from cartoonist Steve Moore (In the Bleachers) and features animals with human-like intelligence, a vibrant colour palate, and skilled animation that makes everything from the wind blowing Boo's fur to the animals' wild trip down the falls simply breathtaking. While it doesn't quite live up to Over the Hedge, Open Season is an entertaining production that explores the difficult process of maturation, the universal need for acceptance, and the true value of friendship. --Tami Horiuchi
Customer Reviews:
FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY.......2007-10-13
I was very much looking forward to seeing Open Season on it's first weekend, but I was a bit worried when I saw only a 5.5 on IMDb, because normally, most of the users are right about these movies. But my friends and I still wanted to see this fun looking picture, so we saw it tonight and may I say that I am surprised by you IMDb users who didn't like this film, everyone is entitled to an opinion, I agree. But seriously, how could you not like this film? It has amazing animation, fun characters, and hilarious jokes for kids as well as adults!
After a bear, Boog, saves a deer, Elliot, from becoming another trophy for an evil hunter, Shaw, they become instant friends. But since Boog is a pampered bear, Elliot wants in on the room service, but ends up getting Boog in some trouble and back into the woods, together they decide to get back to civilization, trying their best to avoid open season from other hunters as well as getting away from Shaw. My favorite character is the porcupine, he was just so cute, "Buddy!". Especially, the scene where the dame explodes causing a huge wave of water to splash over the woods destroying everything and moving all the animals away from their safe place and the porcupine sees Boog and Elliot and just smiles and happily screams "Buddy!" while getting swooped up into the wave as well! It was so funny!
Seriously, people, learn to have some fun, I know this was a kid's movie, but my friends and I had a great time watching this movie. This is one of the best movies I have seen of 2006, hopefully, the rating will go up. To those who loved this movie, thank you for having a good sense of humor, to those who didn't like the movie, just give it another shot, please! :D
Not bad, but follows the usual formula for recent films.......2007-08-12
Open Season is an a good start for Sony to make in the 3D animation world. It is fast, funny and looks great. The only downside is that it has all been done before. The directors must have been aware of the similarities in storyline to other recent films because they go out of their way to make it really clever, the dam bursting and the attack on the hunters are examples of this. I don't think kids will be disappointed though and recommend giving it a try.
'Open Season' was not so memorable but acceptably funny.......2007-07-03
The family and I went out to see 'Open Season' at the theater and thought it was okay. The film was very entertaining for the kids because of the two lead characters but as for my husband and I it was bearable. I have to admit I did doze off a couple of times but only for a few minutes. I have noticed that this is the first completely computer-generated motion picture to be created by Sony Pictures Animation (SPA).
Boorg (voiced by Martin Lawrence), is the lovable bear who was rescued by a ranger and raised basically like a pet dog, has gotten too big and is now released into the wild during Open Season, which is the time when the humans come into the forest to hunt the animals. Boorg must now typically adapt to his surroundings, including using the bathroom outside (which is hilarious), finding food, among other things. His side-kick Elliot (voiced by Ashton Kutcher), a down-on-his-luck deer who has been kicked out of his herd and is being hunted by The Big Bad Hunter. Elliot just wants some friends, and wants Boorg to be his friend. The whole time I couldn't help thinking that the character of Elliot was a direct rip-off of the Donkey from Shrek. However, Donkey and Shrek are themselves a rip-off of every buddy-film of all time.
The supporting characters are hilarious, but perhaps a tad underdeveloped. Honestly, the movies' best lines and jokes were in the previews that I've seen many times. I hate when that happens! My main complaint about the film was the pacing of the story. The story itself left something to be desired, because it was very predictable and filled with clichés. However, something was off in the end. For all the build-up, it was a disappointing end, almost like it was too easy. The end needed some tweaking, that's for sure.
The animation was pretty impressive. Boorg the bear was done very well, especially with his fur, which looked completely realistic. When you don't notice the fur and it becomes part of the character that is when you know that you've done a good job.
'Open Season' is not even close to the Pixars of the animated world due to its predictable script. Nevertheless, it's entertaining enough, the animation is of course stellar, and it will definitely entertain the kiddies. I just wish the story would have been more thought out.
AMAZINGLY FUNNY.......2007-06-16
BEST KID'S FILM ON THE PLANET. FAULTLESS. FANTASTIC CHARACTERS AND VOICES. DO NOT MISS THIS FILM. BRILLIANT FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS.
5 STARS? NO WAY! MORE LIKE 5 MILLION STARS, HONESTLY!
GO WATCH IT NOW!
Plenty of fun and laughs for the entire family.......2007-06-08
Plenty of laughs and some really impressive animation make Open Season a film that just about anyone, young or old, will enjoy watching. The only problem is the fact that it really has nothing to make it stand out from the crowd. Boog and Elliot are great characters, but they just remind me a little too much of Shrek and Donkey, and Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher are pale imitations of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. I actually had a little trouble with the voices. Sometimes Boog sounded like Martin Lawrence, and sometimes he didn't; on the other hand, Elliot never sounded very much like Ashton Kutcher to me (which is actually a good thing). The two make for a good team, but the chemistry between them doesn't always seem to come naturally. The supporting cast of voice actors is pretty impressive, though. It's always a kick to hear Georgia Engel's unique voice, but Billy Connolly absolutely steals the whole show time and time again as the voice of McSquizzy, the leader of the squirrels (who is always itching for a fight).
Boog is a grizzly bear living the life of an ursine Riley, having been raised by Park Ranger Beth (Debra Messing). Then a deer named Elliot, desperate to escape the clutches of an evil hunter (Gary Sinise) shows up, and he has a rather destabilizing effect on Boog's life. Suddenly, Boog finds himself rooted out of his idyllic, pampered existence and left in the forest to survive on his own. It doesn't go well, as he and Elliot find themselves chastised and laughed at by all manner of woodland creatures (especially McSquizzy and the squirrels). Then things take an even more dramatic turn for the worst, as hunting season officially opens. Eventually, Boog faces the most obvious of moral choices: return home on his own to try and reclaim his old life of leisure or turn around and help the other animals band together and fight the hunters at their own game.
Don't expect any real surprises with the story, as it plays out pretty much according to formula. That's okay; after all, the old formula still works pretty effectively. You won't bust a gut laughing, but you will laugh. The film also imparts good lessons on friendship and teamwork, which is another mark in its favor. I just hope the film helps to inspire at least a few young people not to become hunters when they grow up.
Customer Reviews:
Nice picture quality, story a bit weak.......2007-11-26
This movie is a perfect way to show off your hi-def equipment. The blu-ray film is superb, presented in 1080p with excellent sharpness and good saturation without being washed out. The sound quality varies between good and ok, I thought the voices were a little lost sometimes during action sequences.
The story is a bit weak and over simplified, but you get what you expect, some funny sequences, some beautifully crafted scenery and some sad parts. It's suitable for all the family with some jokes for grown ups too.
Five stars for picture quality, three for the sound and three for the story. If you are not sure about this movie, you should buy it just to see what blu-ray video is capable of.
DVD:
- Peppa Pig - Muddy Puddles And Other Stories
- Peppa Pig Triple (Piggy in the Middle, My Birthday Party, Bubbles)
- Peter Pan (2 Disc Special Edition) [1953]
- Pingu - Pingu Forever
- Pocahontas (Special Edition) [1995]
- Postman Pat - In A Muddle And Other Stories
- Prenatal Yoga [2005]
- Random Harvest [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Robin Hood [1973]
- Robots [2005]
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