Open Season (film)
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| Open Season | |
|---|---|
 Open Season promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Roger Allers Jill Culton Anthony Stacchi |
| Written by | Steve Bencich Ron J. Friedman |
| Starring | Martin Lawrence Ashton Kutcher Matthew W Taylor Jon Favreau Gary Sinise Debra Messing Jane Krakowski Billy Connolly Georgia Engel Patrick Warburton |
| Music by | Ramin Djawadi (score) Paul Westerberg (songs) |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | September 29, 2006 (US, CN) October 4, 2006 (NL) October 5, 2006 (IL) October 6, 2006 (BR, VE) October 13, 2006 (UK, PL, MX) |
| Running time | 1 hr. 39 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$85 million |
| Preceded by | Monster House (in cinemas) |
| Followed by | Flushed Away (in cinemas) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Open Season is a computer-animated film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and directed by Roger Allers, Jill Culton and Anthony Stacchi. It was released on September 29, 2006 by Columbia Pictures. It features a role reversal, with woodland creatures that are traditionally hunted teaming up against hunters, much like the classic Warner Bros. shorts. It has also been released in the IMAX 3D format. A video game for the film was released on multiple platforms.
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[edit] Summary
Boog (voiced by Martin Lawrence), a happily domesticated grizzly bear, has his perfect world turned upside down after he meets Elliot (voiced by Ashton Kutcher), a scrawny, fast-talking wild mule deer.
In the tranquil town of Timberline, 900-pound Boog enjoys an idyllic existence. He spends his day as the star attraction of the town's nature show and spends his nights living the life of luxury in the garage of park ranger Beth (voiced by Debra Messing) who raised him since he was a cub. Boog also tries to show a big, loud roar to impress Beth to think that he is a tough, strong, reluctant animal but he still has to learn how to roar like a grizzly. Every town has a bully and Beth knows about the meanest, most fantical tormentor there is: Timberline's paranoid, mullet-sporting hunter, Shaw (voiced by Gary Sinise) who believes that animals conspire against humans so he has to "get them before they get us".
When Shaw drives into town, he has the one-horned Elliot strapped to the hood of his truck and when Boog meets him, he uses a stick to touch him and wakes up and the two end up screaming in terror. With Boog reluctant to intervene, Elliot begs Boog to get him free and escape Shaw. Only then, before Beth can drive her truck to the town's nature show, Boog--against his better judgement--frees Elliot before Shaw could go after him.
Boog never expects to see his "friend" again.
But Elliot has other plans. He follows Boog home and finds him sleeping in the garage and starts to throw rabbits at the window. Elliot goes in as Boog turns on the garage light and is intent on returning the favor by "freeing" Boog from his garage "captivity". Elliot introduces Boog to a world of sweet temptations he has never known. When the grizzly's true instincts begin to emerge, events quickly spiral out of control as the two started to mess up the town's food store and Elliot runs out of the store before Boog gets caught by a friend of Beth, police officer Gordy. After Boog is taken back home, Elliot fails to free him but he still has another plan.
At the nature show, Boog meets up with Elliot as he messes with his career after he gets chased by Shaw. Boog attacks the mule deer, causing the whole audience in the show to panic before Boog threatens to kill Elliot but Shaw has them and prepares to shoot Boog but he is shot by Beth with a tranquilizer gun and she shoots Elliot as well. The two trouble-makers are put into the Timberline National Forest and became lost for 3 days before the start of hunting season and the arrival of Shaw, who escaped before police officer Gordy could arrest him.
Without any bear skills, Boog takes Elliot as his hapless guide to get him back home to Timberline for Boog to reunite with Beth. But in the woods, they quickly learn that it's every animal for itself. The two run into their share of the forest animals including hot-tempered skunks, psychotic ducks and panic-stricken rabbits. They also run into critters such as the Scottish-accented squirrel, McSquizzly (voiced by Billy Connolly) and his rogue gang, and meet up with Reilly (voiced by Jon Favreau) with his beaver construction worker team, as well as a porcupine who is in search of a friend. With each adverse encounter, Boog learns a little about self-reliance and Elliot gains self-respect. After their run-in with Ian, a militaristic mule deer who has forced Elliot out of his herd(voiced by Patrick Warburton), they realize that they've obtained something even more important and that is true friendship.
With hunting season upon them and Shaw in hot pursuit, Boog and Elliot use their new-life lessons to unite the woodland animals. In a rowdy, madcap battle, they make the forest safe once and for all by turning the hunters into the hunted.
[edit] Characters
Boog: The reluctant hero and main character of Open Season. He is a 900-pound grizzly bear who wants nothing more than to continue living in the tranquil town of Timberline with his beloved owner, park ranger Beth, who raised him since he was a cub. Boog has developed skills at living around humans and is the local Timberlines Nature Show's attraction but he absolutely has no skills in surviving in the Timblerine woods and would be at a complete loss if he ever had to "rough it" in the woods. It would take a force of nature to get Boog out of Timberline since doesn't want to be alone when he is separated from home. And that is where his "friend", Elliot, comes in. When hunting season opens, Boog, Elliot, and all the forest animals ban together to drive the hunters out of the forest. Shaw, however, still roams the forest grounds, and wounds Elliot. Outraged, the pure animal instincts within Boog are awakened, and Boog attacks Shaw like a real grizzly, and even roars like one, before taking his rifle, and tying up his limbs with it. Boog and the rest of the animals choose to stay in their natural habitat.
Elliot: A scrawny, fast-talking mule deer. Elliot gets hit by a truck driven by Timberline's top hunter, Shaw, and arrives in town with a missing antler and is strapped to the hood of Shaw's truck. As the runt of the Timberline woods, Elliot comes across as a pest, but all he really wants is to be accepted. After he persuades Boog to free him, neither of their lives are ever the same. Elliot soon starts an unlikely frienship with Boog to help the other animals to live. When he and the rest of the forest animals drive the hunters out of the forest, Shaw steps in, and is about to shoot Boog, but Elliot intervines, and nearly takes the bullet. He is only stunned however, and when Shaw is dragged out of town, Elliot stays in the forest with all his animal friends. At the end of the movie, Elliot ends up losing his other antler.
Jack Rabbits: These creatures have a lot of appearances since there are thousands of them around the Timberline woods, watching and waiting behind any rock and under every bush. The Jack Rabbits are afraid of any threats and thrive on panic. There is also no escape from those creatures. Out of all the animals in the film, they clearly take the most abuse, expecially when rabbit-fights begin (replacement of snowball fights).
Porcupine: This character is seen when Boog gets his buttocks on his quills and he was a loner who wanted to have friends and constantly wants to give a hug. The Porcupine always says "buddy" and speaks in complete sentences when spooked or excited about something. The Porcupine also doesn't understand that he is downright painful to be around.
Reilly: The construction foreman of the woods, Reilly is an extreme perfectionist North American Beaver who takes great pride in the building of the largest dams in the world. He is also a tough worker who gets the job done come high water...and has plenty to say when Boog and Elliot mess up his work.
Giselle: The most beautiful mule deer doe in the Timberline woods, she is also quick-witted and strong-willed. Giselle puts up with the rantings of the strong and tough mule deer buck, Ian, and secretly longs for a little sensitivity in her life. She is the living object of Elliot's affection, which puts Elliot at even greater odds with Ian.
Ian: The leader of a mule deer herd who is bold and opinionated. A tough, muscular Alpha male, Ian easily intimidates the herd into submission, and like the quarterback of a football team picking on a class nerd, he has forced Elliot out of the herd and told him never to come back. Fed up with his browbeating, the rest of the herd would love it if someone stood up to Ian as a "tough guy"...but none of them will. Although a bully when Boog first meet him, Ian later became friends with the bear and deer and had helped Elliot lead the deer herd to an attack against the hunters as a steed.
Serge and Deni: Two psycho mallard ducks, they hadn't been the same since Deni was shot in the buttocks by a hunter during the "Great Migration" and refused to fly. Eventually, the shell-shocked pair get their chance at payback when Boog and Elliot enlist them to ward off the hunters back to town.
McSquizzly: A squirrel who speaks in a Scottish accent, McSquizlly is the leader of the Furry Tail Clan, a group of hundreds of squirrels, and is the Guardian of The Pine. He may appear small but he makes up for it with a fierce temper. McSquizzly and the Furry Tail Clan own many trees that no one will ever touch or climb on because nobody--and they mean nobody--messes with McSquizzly.
Maria and Rosie: Two female Striped Skunks, Maria and Rosie are not to be messed with and they sometimes argue and fight over something. If someone dares to be around them, they will spray their foul-smelling gas from their tails to make someone learn not to mess with them. If any hunters run, they cannot hide.
Mr. Weenie: A domestic Dachshund accustomed to a pampered good life. Mr. Weenie has a personality to match his name. While taken captive, when on vacation with his owners, Bob and Bobbie, he discovers that he has been living a lie and beggs to join Boog, Elliot and the other creatures of the woods to take him with them. During the plan to run the hunters back to town , Mr. Weenie had never felt so alive.
Beth: Boog's beloved owner and park ranger of Timberline, Beth is a kind woman who always watches for Boog and raised him since he was a cub. Ever since Boog threatened to kill Elliot when the mule deer messes up his Nature Show career, Beth is concerned that Boog shouldn't live in Timberline anymore and soon puts him somewhere in the Timberline woods where he will be safe before hunting season.
Shaw: Timberline's fanatical hunter, Shaw is the main villain of Open Season and is an arch-rival to Beth and never listens to the rules that hunting season begins in 3 days. During hunting season, Shaw hunted many animals as trophies and was the one responsible for hitting Elliot with his truck. When hunting season opened, he invaded the forest that Boog and Elliot protected, and fought Boog. He was about to shoot him, until Elliot intervined, and was stunned. For wounding his friend, Boog became a real grizzly, and attacked Shaw and tied him up with his own rifle. At the end, Shaw is strapped to the roof of an RV and hasn't been the same since. He never started hunting again.
'Salmon: they are "super elite ninja assassins" they are messed up in the head
[edit] Critical reception
Open Season received mixed reviews from critics - on Rotten Tomatoes, critical opinion was split almost evenly in half. All commended the film's animation but some slated its use of crude humour, celebrity voiceovers and similarities to other CG films such as Shrek, Ice Age, Madagascar and Monsters, Inc. (the Boog and Eliott pair are similar to both Donkey and Shrek, Sulley and Mike, Manny and Sid and Alex and Marty.) Some critics did, however, think that it was well suited for its younger audience as well as keeping adults from being bored.
Audiences were similarly divided but were slightly more approving - as of January, 2007, the film has been given a weighted average of 5.1/10 by 1,769 voters on the Internet Movie Database. Some audiences praised the film for its snappy comic timing and good intentions, but many noticed the instances of deja vu in the storyline.
[edit] Box Office performance
The film opened to a surprise US$ 23 million in its first week, in over 3,833 theaters. In its second week, it made US$ 16 million. To date, Feburary 8 2007, it has made over US$ 84 million within the United States, along with around $103 million at the foreign box office.[1]
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack includes original music scored by Ramin Djawadi with help by and original songs written by Paul Westerberg, formerly of The Replacements. You may listen to the songs here.
| # | Song | Artist | Where Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Meet Me In The Meadow" | Paul Westerberg | Credits |
| 2 | "Love You In The Fall" | Paul Westerberg | Credits |
| 3 | "I Belong" | Paul Westerberg | Film |
| 4 | "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" | Deathray | Film |
| 5 | "Better Than This" | Paul Westerberg | Film |
| 6 | "Wild Wild Life" | Talking Heads | Film |
| 7 | "Right to Arm Bears" | Paul Westerberg | Film |
| 8 | "Good Day" | Paul Westerberg | Film |
| 9 | "All About Me" | Paul Westerberg | Film |
| 10 | "Wild As I Wanna Be" | Deathray | Credits |
| 11 | "Whisper Me Luck" | Paul Westerberg | Film |
| 12 | "I Belong" (Reprise) | Pete Yorn | Film |
| - | 13"Wild As I Wanna Be" | Paul Westerberg | iTunes exclusive |
[edit] RingTales
The Open Season website contains 2D cartoon shorts called RingTales. The following is a list of all RingTales shorts:
- How to drink out of a stream
- McSquizzy's remote
- Hide in plain sight
- Dynamite
- Camouflage
- Security camera
- Duck call
- Quack
- Rabbit Ball
- Pull my antler
- Whites of their eyes
- This old dam
- Pepper spray
- Hacksaw
- Hunting no hunting
- You had to be there
- Poor reception
- Danger signs
- Shoot me
- The cliff
[edit] Vehicles
- Toyota Land Cruiser
- generic automobiles
- 1957 GMC Pickup
- International Harvester Scout
[edit] Animals featured
[edit] Living animals
- Grizzly Bear (Boog)
- Striped Skunk (Rosie and Maria)
- Mule Deer (Elliot, Giselle and Ian)
- North American Porcupine (Kevin)
- Mallard (Serge and Deni)
- Rabbit (Seen throughout the Timberline woods)
- American Beaver (Reilly)
- Squirrel (The Furry Tail Clan)
- Human (Beth, Shaw, and various others)
- Salmon (Seen beating up Boog, and later the hunters)
- Dachshund (Mr. Weenie)
[edit] Dead Specimens
- Jackalope (Seen in Shaw's basement)
[edit] Inaccuracies
- Porcupines can't shoot their quills.
- Beth was concerned about letting Boog free just before open season, but in both Canada and United States hunting grizzly bears is illegal.
- Grizzly bears aren't the largest carnivores in North America--polar bears are.
[edit] Ratings
- Brazil: The movie received a rating of Livre (general public) by the Department of Justice.
- Finland: The film received a K-7 (for those aged 7 and above) certification from the Finnish Board of Film Classification.
- Ireland: A Parental Guidance rating was given by the Irish Film Censor's Office.
- Netherlands: The film received an AL (suitable for all ages) rating from the Kijkwijzer system.
- Singapore: The movie was given a Parental Guidance rating from The Media Development Authority.
- Switzerland: The movie received a 7+ rating (no one under the age of 7 admitted) in both, Canton of Vaud and Canton of Geneva.
- United Kingdom: The film received a Parental Guidance rating from the British Board of Film Classification.
- United States: The film received a Parental Guidance rating from the Motion Picture Association of America for some rude humor, mild action, and brief language.
[edit] DVD and Blu-Ray
This movie was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 30, 2007. It includes a new animated short called "Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run", deleted scenes, Audio Commentary, I Wanna Lose Control music video, Swept Away documentary and other disc extras. More information (including cover art) can be found at this link.
[edit] Trivia
- Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher never met during production.
- Out of the three directors Roger Allers was the only one who had experience in feature film directing before.
- The Sony animation team developed a digital tool called shapers that allowed the animators to reshape the character models into stronger poses and silhouettes and subtle distortions such as squash, stretch, and smears, typical of traditional, hand-drawn animation.
- This film was loosely based on the comic, "In the Bleachers".
- Mr. Weenie, a black and tan dachsund possessed a heavy German accent (Dachsunds were bred in Germany and Eastern Europe) this was either a personal choice of the voice actor or the writers.
- All cellular phones in the movie were Sony Ericssons.
- Kutcher and Lawrence both ad-libbed in some scenes where both of their characters appear in the frenzied scenes.
- Open Season and Over the Hedge are seen by some as having a number of similarities. Boog resembles Vincent, Rosie and Maria resemble Stella, the porcupine resembles Penny, Lou, Quillo, Bucky and Spike and the Furry Tail Clan resemble Hammy.
[edit] External links
| Sony Pictures Imageworks |
|---|
| Sony Pictures Animation feature films: Open Season (2006) • Surf's Up (2007) Sony Pictures Imageworks shorts: The ChubbChubbs! (2002) • Early Bloomer (2002) • Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run (2006) |
