Jane Krakowski Movie:

		List Price: $38.96		Label: Columbia Pictures Salesrank: 17971 Released: January 30, 2007
		Our Price: $12.10
		Used Price: $9.89
		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
In Open Season, the odd are about to get even. Boog (Martin Lawrence), a domesticated grizzly bear with no survival skills, has his perfect world turned upside down when he meets Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) a scrawny, fast-talking mule deer. When Elliot convinces Boog to leave his cushy home in a park ranger's garage to try a taste of the great outdoors, things quickly spiral out of control. Relocated to the forest with open season only three days away, Boog and Elliot must acclimate in a hurry. They must join forces to unite the woodland creatures and take the forest back.

Description of Open Season [Blu-ray]:
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.

This first animated film from Sony Pictures Animation takes its inspiration from cartoonist Steve Moore (In the Bleachers) and features animals with human-like intelligence, a vibrant color 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. Special features include a 15-minute featurette about the animation process at Sony Pictures Animation and Image Works, a 7-minute look at the recording sessions featuring the voices behind the characters, two deleted scenes, three short animated cartoon strips, a short "Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run" that's an extension of the trailer scene in the movie, art gallery, beat boards, humorous commentary from the animals' point of views, and a full length commentary by Producer Michelle Murdocca, Directors Roger Allers and Jill Culton, and others. Activities include a "Voice-A-Rama" where viewers can hear specific lines spoken by alternate voices and a trivia "Wheel of Fortune--Forest Edition" as well as a DVD-ROM link to more online fun. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Open Season [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Great movie
2009-12-10 - Great movie. One of my favorites. Got a good price through Amazon, and it arrived quickly.

Your hunt for a fun movie stops here!
2009-10-16 - Well, it's not quite up to the magic of the best Pixar movies, but it was certainly a worthy effort as Sony Animation's first movie feature. Here's the upside and the downside for ya.

The Upside:

Great animation. I could tell early on by the detail in Boog's fur that the creators were using state-of-the-art technology.

Some really rockin' original songs made just for the soundtrack. I haven't enjoyed rockin' out to the credits so much in a long time. I purchased the soundtrack CD just last week, and it's a lot of fun.

The DVD includes the premium extras one expects from an epic sort of animated feature. There's the "making of" documentary, an additional short feature related to the movie, and a commentary track.

There's some really great gags in this movie.

The Downside:

I thought the bear was cliche. Boog reminded me of part Baloo from The Jungle Book and part Sugar Bear from the cereal commercials that all Baby Boomers should be familiar with. At least this character did change and grow during the story.

The other characters seemed rather one-dimensional, and much of the the humor seemed forced. I wish we'd learned more about Elliot's background. Much of the relationship between Boog and Elliot reminded me of the relationship between Shrek and Donkey. I don't have the cinematography vocabulary to describe why so much of this movie sort of worked but didn't become magical like the great 3D classics like Toy Story or Up.

But the bottom line is that this movie is a lot of fun, and it stands up to a second viewing and a it's worthwhile to watch the commentary track too, and that counts for a lot.





Great purchase
2009-09-28 - I was very happy with my purchase from this seller. Fast shipment and product was in great condition. It definitely made my son happy!

Funny!
2009-04-20 - I liked this film the first time I saw it, but wasn't enamored. I've now watched it several times and each time I grow to appreciate the comedy more and more. The teaming of Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher was genius. The dialogue was so fast paced I missed a lot the first few times -- but, it reminded me of my reaction to Beverly Hills Cop. This film is touching and funny. Great for adults and kids.

Love the movie
2009-01-31 - When my 5 and 8 yr. old grandsons come for the night this is the movie they watch at bedtime because they know it by heart. They seem to relax because it doesn't take any brain power when you know every word. I put it on one night and there was the today show. I had taped over the VHS so we went straight to Amazon and ordered the DVD. It had come in by the time they came back so all is well and they are usually asleep before the movie is over. Thanks Amazon for saving me-I knew I could count on you!