The Open Season gang is back with another fun filled adventure, minus all the Hollywood bells and whistles.
Elliot is all set to marry the doe of his dreams, Giselle. But, a bad case of broken antlers causes Elliot to catch a case of textbook wedding-day jitters. Luckily, a kidnapped Mr. Weenie gives Elliot the excuse he needs to dodge the altar, sending his friends on another fun adventure.
Boog, McSquizzy, Buddy, and the other woodland creatures return join Elliot in Open Season 2. Though the creatures of the wood are back, the actors, directors and writers have all jumped ship in typical animated-sequel fashion.
Usually when an animated film gets a sequel exclusively made for home release, we expect a entirely new creative team with new talent to deliver a poor runner-up to the original. Let me first say that the voice acting, though not Hollywood fab, is still great. Joel McHale replaces Ashton Kutcher as Elliot, and Mike Epps takes over for Martin Lawrence as the voice of Boog. Kutcher’s voice and personality is easily replaced and won’t be missed by fans of the original Open Season. Martin’s unique character may be lost, but Epps does a great job taking on the Boog mantle. In the end, neither Kutcher nor Lawrence were so unique as to hold a candle to Eddie Murphy as Donkey in Shrek or Robin Williams as the Genie in Alladin.
The writing, however, does take a hit as David I. Stern takes over for Steve Moore and John Carls. It’s hard to make the comparison here since Stern is compared against a team of writers who delivered the original Open Season. The sequel doesn’t deliver as smart a comedy as the original, which may turn off some adult viewers. However, Open Season 2 still delivers a fun-filled laugh fest.
There is one drawback to the story. For some reason, Stern tries to force some raunchy jokes throughout Open Season 2 that just fall flat, and border on annoying. Elliot delivers an opening monologue dedicated to his “rack.” Some parents may find this a touch too racy for children, but get past the first ten minutes and a cool adventure lies underneath.
The Blu-Ray release comes with a “Save Mr. Weenie!” game. If you ever played the game “Frogger,” you will notice that this is a direct translation. You move your character up, down, left, or right to help him get through different terrain and avoid getting snagged by different obstacles.
Open Season 2 is a fun adventure that’s worth watching, but the switch in writing staff makes this movie fall short on replay value. A few excessive raunchy jokes, may have parents wondering if this movie should have received a PG-13 rating instead of PG.
Special Features:
- Going Wild! with the voice cast of Open Season 2
- How to Draw Your Favorite Characters: Boog, Elliot & Fifi
- Open Season 2 “Who Let the Dogs Out” Music Video
- 3 Deleted Scenes
- Exclusive Blu-Ray Game: Save Mr. Weenie!
Title: Open Season 2 [Blu-Ray]Starring:Joel McHale, Mike Epps
Director: Matthew O’Callaghan, Todd Wilderman
Writer: David I. Stern
Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date:January 27, 2009
Rating: 6.5 / 10
it really upsets me that they try to add so much adult humor into movies that are for children. i really did NOT like Shrek. They kept using the “he must be compensating” joke and it got tiresome.
I wish they would make up their mind and decide if a movie is for adults or for children. if it’s for adults with adult humor then stop the merchandising blitz forcing children to want to see it. It’s really appalling. Which is why i care less if they strike. they should just stay on strike.
I really liked Open Season 1. I know people like to bash on sequels, but I’ve loved a lot of sequels like the Return of Jafar. I don’t think the change in actors hurt it at all.