Open Season (movie) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Open Season |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Jill Culton Roger Allers Anthony Stacchi |
| Produced by | Michelle Murdocca Amy Jupiter Steve Moore John B. Carls |
| Written by | Steve Bencich Ron J. Friedman |
| Starring | Martin Lawrence Ashton Kutcher Gary Sinise Debra Messing Jon Favreau Maddie Taylor Jane Krakowski Billy Connolly Georgia Engel Patrick Warburton |
| Music by | Ramin Djawadi |
| Cinematography | Daryn Okada |
| Editing by | Ken Solomon Pam Ziegenhagen |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (USA) |
| Release date(s) | September 29, 2006 |
| Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $85 million |
| Money made | $197,309,027 |
Open Season is a fun animated comedy movie from 2006. It was directed by Jill Culton, Roger Allers, and Anthony Stacchi. The movie came out on September 29, 2006. People had different opinions about it, but many found it very entertaining!
Contents
Movie Release Around the World
Open Season first premiered in countries like Trinidad and Tobago, China, and the USA on September 29, 2006. After that, it was released in many other countries throughout October, November, and December of 2006, and even into January and February of 2007. For example, it came out in the UK on October 13, 2006, and in Japan on December 9, 2006.
What the Movie is About
In the quiet town of Timberline, there lives a huge grizzly bear named Boog (Martin Lawrence). He weighs 900 pounds! Boog is the star of the town's nature show. At night, he lives a fancy life in the garage of Beth (Debra Messing), a park ranger who raised him since he was a tiny cub.
One day, a hunter named Shaw (Gary Sinise) drives into town. He has a one-antlered deer named Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) tied to his truck. Boog accidentally wakes Elliot, and they both scream! Elliot begs Boog for help. Even though Boog doesn't want to get involved, he frees Elliot just before Shaw can catch him. Boog thinks he'll never see Elliot again.
But Elliot follows Boog home and finds him sleeping. He throws rabbits at the window to wake Boog up! Elliot wants to "free" Boog from his garage life. Boog doesn't want to go, but Elliot tempts him with a chocolate bar, calling it a "Woo Hoo Bar." He promises they can find more outside.
Elliot shows Boog a world of yummy treats he's never known. They head to "Puni Mart," a convenience store. Boog and Elliot make a huge mess inside! Elliot escapes, but Boog gets caught by Sheriff Gordy (Gordon Tootoosis), a friend of Beth. Back home, Gordy tells Beth that Boog should really be in the wild.
During the nature show, Shaw chases Elliot backstage. Elliot locks the door. Boog gets angry, remembering all the trouble Elliot caused. Boog attacks Elliot, making the audience panic. It looks like Boog is hurting Elliot behind the curtain! The two crash out from behind the curtains. Shaw gets ready to shoot Boog, but Beth shoots both Boog and Elliot with tranquilizer darts. She shoots Elliot six times in the butt!
Lost in the Wild
Boog and Elliot are then released into the Timberline National Forest. This happens just three days before "open season" begins, which is when hunting is allowed.
Boog wakes up and realizes he's in the forest. He's furious at Elliot for getting him into this mess. Boog threatens to throw Elliot off a cliff, but instead, he just throws him into the air! Elliot's antlers get stuck in the ground. Boog wanders around, trying to find his way back to Timberline. Elliot tries to get unstuck.
Boog tries to get used to the forest. He tries to climb a tree but is attacked by McSquizzy (Billy Connolly), a Scottish red squirrel, and his squirrel gang. Boog finally gives up and frees Elliot. He decides to let Elliot be his guide back home to Beth.
But in the woods, they quickly learn that it's every animal for itself. They meet all sorts of forest animals:
- Hot-tempered skunks (Nika Futterman and Michelle Murdocca)
- Crazy ducks (Danny Mann and Maddie Taylor)
- Scared rabbits
- Reilly (Jon Favreau) and his beaver construction team
- A porcupine (Maddie Taylor) who wants a friend
With each new animal they meet, Boog learns to be more independent. Elliot also starts to feel better about himself. Elliot even finds a crush, a pretty female deer named Giselle (Jane Krakowski). But he also runs into Ian (Patrick Warburton), the "jock" leader of the deer herd who had kicked Elliot out before. Boog and Elliot walk away from Ian's teasing, realizing they have become true friends.
The Big Battle
Elliot tries to lead Boog out of the forest, but they get lost. Boog realizes they keep seeing the same animals over and over. They end up at Reilly's dam, where Shaw, the hunter, finds them again. Boog tries to run over the dam, but it's not strong enough. It breaks under his weight! The rush of water washes everyone in the forest, including Shaw, down to a clearing.
Everyone blames Boog, but Boog blames Elliot for lying about leading him home. Elliot admits he just wanted Boog as a friend and thought spending time together would make it happen. Angry, Boog leaves to find Timberline on his own. He accidentally finds Shaw's log cabin. Shaw discovers him and chases him!
Boog runs to the city road and sees trucks full of hunters speeding by. He soon sees the bright lights of Timberline. Instead of leaving his new friends, Boog decides to take Elliot with him. But the other animals want to live in the garage too! They realize there's no way out because hunters are all around the forest.
Boog decides they should fight back! They gather supplies from Bob and Bobby's (two scientists) RV. Their pet dachshund, Mr. Weenie (Cody Cameron), even joins the animals!
The next day, Boog sees the hunters coming. He signals the animals by flinging one of the deer into the air. Elliot gets the signal and sends out the ducks, who are carrying skunks. The skunks spray stinky green air all over the forest! Meanwhile, Elliot and the squirrels ride on the deer and charge. On the other side, Boog and the other animals charge too, causing a big commotion!
The ducks drop a tank of gas (which McSquizzy calls "Mr. Happy") onto one of the hunter's trucks, but it doesn't explode. So, McSquizzy throws some dynamite, and all the trucks blow up! The hunters all run away. All the animals start celebrating!
Suddenly, Shaw appears and tries to shoot Boog. But Elliot shoots things they stole from the RV. One object hits the gun, and it falls away. Shaw then attacks Boog with his hunting knife. Boog fights him off with a golf club that Elliot shot. Shaw grabs his gun again and tries to shoot Boog. Elliot bravely takes the bullet meant for Boog! This makes Boog furious. He tackles Shaw, roars loudly in his face, and then ties him up with his own gun.
Boog finds that Elliot survived, only losing his second antler in the fight. Beth returns to take Boog back home, but he chooses to stay with his friends. They both realize that the bear truly belongs in the forest with his new family.
Characters and Voice Actors
Here are some of the talented people who gave voices to the characters in Open Season:
- Martin Lawrence as Boog
- Ashton Kutcher as Elliot
- Gary Sinise as Shaw
- Debra Messing as Beth
- Billy Connolly as McSquizzy
- Jon Favreau as Reilly
- Patrick Warburton as Ian
- Jane Krakowski as Giselle
- Gordon Tootoosis as Gordy
- Georgia Engel as Bobbie
- Cody Cameron as Mr. Weenie
- Danny Mann as Serge
- Maddie Taylor as Deni / Buddy / Others
- Nika Futterman as Rosie
- Michelle Murdocca as Maria
- Jack McGee as Hunter
- Frank Welker as Animals' vocal effects (uncredited)
How the Movie Was Made
The idea for Open Season came from a cartoonist named Steve Moore, who created the comic strip In the Bleachers. Moore and producer John Carls presented the story to Sony in June 2002. The movie quickly started being developed. On February 29, 2004, Sony Pictures Animation announced they were beginning production on their first computer-animated movie, Open Season.
The places in the movie were inspired by real towns like Sun Valley, Idaho and McCall, Idaho, and the Sawtooth National Forest. You can also see references to the Lawn Lake, Colorado, Dam flood and Longs Peak in the movie.
The Sony animation team created a special digital tool called "shapers." This tool helped animators change character models to make them look stronger or more expressive. It allowed for cool effects like squashing, stretching, and smears, which are common in traditional hand-drawn cartoons.
Interestingly, Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher, who voiced Boog and Elliot, never actually met each other while they were recording their lines for the movie!
Movie Releases and Games
Open Season was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and UMD Video on January 30, 2007. A 3D Blu-ray version came out later on November 16, 2010.
A TV show called Boog and Elliot's Big Adventure was planned to air in March 2012.
A video game based on the movie was also released for many different gaming systems in 2006 and 2007.
More Adventures: The Sequels
Open Season has two direct-to-video sequels that continue the story:
- Open Season 2 (released in 2009)
- Open Season 3 (released in 2011)
- There is also a fourth movie, Open Season 4.
