Open Season (2006)

Review for Parents

Boog the grizzly bear has got it made. Rescued as a cub by park ranger Beth, Boog now lives the life of a nature show star, residing in Beth’s garage with all the comforts a creature could desire. His cozy life seems secure, but he finds out how fast things can change when he meets Elliot.

Boog’s mistake is rescuing Elliot from Shaw, the notorious hunter. Desperate and missing an antler, Elliot convinces Boog to untie him from the hood of Shaw’s truck. Later that night, Elliot entices Boog to leave his happy home for a night on the town – a night which gets both of them sent deep into the forest with no direction home.

Faced with a forest full of unkind animals and open season upon them, the two start the trek back to Boog’s home town of Timberline, but they end up no where. Boog is devastated and just wants to be alone, but in order to survive, he must band together with Elliot and the other animals against their common enemy – the hunters.

Open Season presents somewhat of a risky debut for Sony Pictures Animation. While animated movies developed for both adults and children are the thing now, this film pushes the boundaries of what parents might find acceptable for young kids. Sony kept the humor benign, except for a few jokes with sexual overtones, but the main problem for many parents will be the prevalence of firearms.

The movie also tends to drag in parts, and while there are definitely humorous moments, as a whole the story lacks some component of storyline. Kids will like the movie for the animals and some of the jokes, though, and parents will probably find it a little better than tolerable.

The most egregious offense in this movie, for many parents, will be the numerous scenes containing hunting rifles. Hunters carry rifles, they shoot at animals, and in one scene a hunter goes after an animal with a knife. Several moments of peril could be extremely frightening and unsettling to young children.

• Kids may wonder about hunting and why people would hunt animals. Why do people hunt? Are all hunters like the ones pictured in the film? How are animals in real life different from those in animated movies?
• What does loyalty mean, and how does Boog display this characteristic?
• Change can be hard, but how does Boog make the best of his situation, and how can we do the same? What things can we learn when change occurs, and how does it make us better?