Open Season

Theatrical Release Date: 2006 09 29 (USA - IMAX 3D) / 2006 09 29 (USA)

UPC: 043396156944

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Scatological Humor]

Summary: A domesticated grizzly bear finds that there's more to life than being the star attraction of a mountain town nature show when a fast-talking mule deer offers him a crash course in woodland living in Sony Pictures Animation's first full-length animated feature. Raised by kindly park ranger Beth (Debra Messing) since he was a just a cub, 900-pound grizzly Boog (Martin Lawrence) is content to spend his days entertaining Timberline tourists and his nights nestled safely in Beth's luxurious garage. Boog's life is about to get much more complicated, however, when paranoid hunter Shaw (Gary Sinese) returns from a recent foray in the woods with a frightened, one-horn mule deer named Elliot strapped trophy-like to the hood of his truck. Though at first reluctant to answer Elliot's desperate cries for help, gentle giant Boog eventually frees the thankful creature, who in turn decides to teach his hulking friend what it truly means to be free. Subsequently tranquilized and relocated into the wilderness after momentarily reverting to his true animalistic nature, Boog is forced to team with seasoned forest-dweller Elliot in order to find their way out of the woods before hunting season starts and Shaw comes gunning for all creatures great and small. Things are different in the woods than they were back in the safe confines of park ranger Beth's garage, though, and in order to find their way back to Timberline, Boog and Elliot are going to have to rely on the kindness of their fellow creatures, a rowdy and unruly bunch that includes an army of Scottish squirrels led by rogue critter McSquizzy (Billy Connolly), and a productive beaver construction team whose foreman, Reilly (Jon Faverau), is more than willing to lend a helping tail. With hunting season now upon them and time running out as the hunters close in, the unlikely duo of bear and mule deer put their new life lessons to good use by turning the tables on the gun-toting gamesmen, and once again making the woods safe for the furry critters who call the forest home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Children's/Family

Awards: Film Presented – Rome International Film Festival

Features: Wheel of Fortune: Forest Edition game
Inside the Animals Studio
Behind the Trees - The Making of Open Season
The Voices Behind the Stars featurette
Voice-A-Rama - see what the characters sound like with different accents
"I Wanna Lose Control" music video
Swept Away - scene deconstruction
Deleted scenes
Commentary with the filmmakers behind Open Season
Ring Tales
Art gallery
Beat Boards
DVD-ROM link to more fun online
A Surf's Up sneak peek
Includes Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run exclusive all-new animated short

Open Season

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 01/30/2007

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 86 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Open Season [WS] [Special Edition]
1. Start [2:56]
2. Boog & Elliot [3:03]
3. Bedtime [3:12]
4. Inside/Outside [2:07]
5. Punimart [2:20]
6. Party's Over [3:15]
7. Bringing Down the House [4:31]
8. Goodbye [2:13]
9. Timberline Is Missing [2:50]
10. McSquizzy's Army [1:46]
11. Partners [3:17]
12. Forest 101 [2:18]
13. "Let the Bear Do His Thing" [3:04]
14. The Great Migration [1:17]
15. Herd Mentality [3:27]
16. Once There Was a Magical Elf [3:50]
17. Shaw Sees the Future [2:08]
18. Going in Circles [2:37]
19. Swept Away [3:08]
20. "We're Done" [3:22]
21. Civilization [5:10]
22. Open Season [3:48]
23. Brothers in Arms [1:52]
24. Charge! [2:59]
25. Mr. Happy [1:31]
26. The Mighty Grizzly [2:44]
27. Boog's Decision [2:03]
28. Home [9:13]

-1

The year 2006 had already borne witness to so many "animated animals teaming up" movies, it wouldn't have been a surprise if audiences were ready to side with the hunters when Open Season came out in late September. Add to that the two polarizing personalities (Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence) providing the lead voices, and you might have heard triggers cocking in darkened theaters across America. But both performers bring plenty of warmth to their first animated roles, and Open Season, with its rich palette of Starbucks greens and browns, is as pleasant to endure from a character perspective as it is easy on the eyes. This Sony Pictures Animation offering simply pops off the screen, its canvas deep and sumptuous, its characters wild and angular. A particular masterpiece of vulgarity is the villainous hunter Shaw, snarled by Gary Sinise. A lanky hillbilly in an orange vest, he's all legs and teeth. His relentless pursuit of the buck (Kutcher) who escaped from the hood of his pickup -- with a little help from a certain domesticated bear (Lawrence) -- propels numerous imaginative set pieces in the American everywoods, including a terrific raging rapids sequence that features a truck doubling as a white-water raft. But as much as there is to take in visually, let's admit that the reluctant bond between the two main characters is pretty nicely done as well -- particularly the apparent reversal of their roles. Kudos to the filmmakers for letting Lawrence play the proud straight man, Kutcher the skittish pipsqueak. Kutcher's demeaning sidekick role certainly would have gone to Lawrence if they were just operating on procedural autopilot. Despite having all surface appearances of such conformity, Open Season is a definite breath of fresh air, the woodsy scent of pine needles seeming to emanate from the very screen. ~ Rovi

Cast and Crew: Roger Allers  Director 
Nat Mauldin  Screenwriter 
Paul Westerberg  Composer (Music Score) 
Steven Dean Moore  Executive Producer 
Michelle Murdocca  Producer 
Jill Culton  Director 
Jill Culton  Screenwriter 
Steven Bencich  Screenwriter 
Ron J. Friedman  Screenwriter 
Ramin Djawadi  Composer (Music Score) 
Jenny Fulle  Executive Producer 
Anthony Stacchi  Director 
Anthony Stacchi  Screenwriter 
John Carls  Executive Producer 
Martin Lawrence  Actor 
Ashton Kutcher  Actor 
Gary Sinise  Actor 
Debra Messing  Actor 
Billy Connolly  Actor 
Jon Favreau  Actor 
Georgia Engel  Actor 
Jane Krakowski  Actor 
Gordon Tootoosis  Actor 
Patrick Warburton  Actor 

Country: USA