Open Season (2006 film)

Last updated

Open Season
Open Season.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Story by
Based on
An original story
by
Produced byMichelle Murdocca
Starring
Edited byPamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing [1]
Release dates
  • September 25, 2006 (2006-09-25)(Greek Theatre)
  • September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29)(United States)
  • October 13, 2006 (2006-10-13)(United Kingdom)
Running time
86 minutes [3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$85 million [4]
Box office$200.8 million [4]

Open Season is a 2006 American animated adventure comedy film [5] produced by Sony Pictures Animation, as its debut film, and Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Roger Allers and Jill Culton and co-directed by Anthony Stacchi, from a screenplay by Nat Mauldin and the writing team of Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman, and a screen story by Culton and Stacchi, based on an original idea by Steve Moore and John B. Carls. The film features an ensemble voice cast starring Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Gary Sinise, and Debra Messing. Its plot follows Boog, a domesticated grizzly bear, who is let go into the woods, and teams up with a one-antlered mule deer named Elliot to return back to his old home before open season starts.

Contents

Open Season was released to theaters in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on September 29, 2006. It has also been released in the IMAX 3D format. [6] Despite receiving mixed reviews from both film critics and audiences, it was a box office success, earning $200.8 million on an $85 million budget. A video game for the film was released on multiple platforms. The film was followed by two direct-to-video sequels and one direct-to-video prequel: Open Season 2 (2008), Open Season 3 (2010), and Open Season: Scared Silly (2015). A 2D animated series Open Season: Call of Nature released in 2024. [7]

Plot

In the small town of Timberline, a domesticated grizzly bear named Boog lives with his adoptive caretaker, a park ranger named Beth, who has raised him since he was a cub, and spends his days as the star attraction of the town's nature show. One day, hunting fanatic Shaw drives into Timberline with a one-antlered mule deer named Elliot tied to the hood of his truck. Boog frees Elliot, who becomes convinced that they are friends, and that night, Elliot finds Boog and convinces him to sneak out, and the two end up raiding PuniMart, a local convenience store. Eventually, Elliot runs away while Boog is caught by Gordy, the town's sheriff and Beth's best friend, who returns Boog to Beth and tells her that Boog's feral instincts may be emerging and it may be time to release Boog into the wild.

The next morning, Elliot is being chased by Shaw, and goes to Boog for help at the nature show. Boog tries to get rid of him, but the audience mistakes him for attacking Elliot and goes into a panic. Beth tranquilizes them both just before Shaw fires his own gun, then flees before Gordy can arrest him, and taking Gordy's advice, Beth relocates Boog and Elliot into the Timberline National Forest two days before open season. They are relocated above the waterfalls, where they will be legally safe from hunters.

Boog is initially enraged to have lost his home, but lacking outdoor survival skills, he reluctantly takes Elliot as his guide to get him back home to reunite with Beth. They encounter unwelcoming forest animals, including a Scottish-accented squirrel named McSquizzy and his gang of fellow acorn-throwing squirrels, beaver Reilly and his construction worker team, and Elliot's estranged herd, led by Ian, and Giselle, a doe that Elliot has a crush on. Eventually, Boog and Elliot start to bond after realizing they are both outcasts, and Boog considers letting Elliot stay with him when they get back home.

The next day, Elliot attempts to lead Boog out of the forest, but it becomes evident he has no clue where they are going. The two are confronted by Shaw and accidentally destroy Reilly's dam trying to get away, causing a flash flood which sends the animals and Shaw plummeting down the waterfall into the hunting grounds. At first, everyone blames Boog for sending them into the hunting grounds, until he then accuses Elliot of lying to him about knowing the way home, leading all the animals to turn against Elliot instead. Elliot admits he thought that if Boog spent time with him, he would befriend him. Boog ends his friendship with Elliot and angrily storms off, but unwittingly ends up in Shaw's log cabin, where he is discovered by Shaw, Goldilocks and the Three Bears style. Boog escapes to a nearby road leading back to Timberline. Realizing the danger the animals are in, Boog returns to the woods, reconciles with Elliot, and rallies the animals to defend themselves against the hunters. They scavenge supplies from an RV owned by a traveling couple named Bob, who is mute and Bobbie, who are looking for Bigfoot, while their pet dachshund Mr. Weenie joins the forest animals.

The next day, Boog leads a revolution against the hunters, ending with them running away after McSquizzy blows up their trucks with a large propane tank. Shaw returns for a final showdown with Boog, but before he can shoot Boog, Elliot throws himself in front of Boog and takes the shot, prompting Boog to furiously attack Shaw and tie him up with his own gun. Afterwards, Boog discovers that Elliot survived, only losing his other antler. The forest animals thank Boog for his help and take out their vengeance on Shaw by smothering him with honey and pillow feathers, sending him fleeing into the woods. Beth later returns in a helicopter to take Boog back home, but, having learned to appreciate his new home, he decides to stay in the forest with Beth's blessing.

In a pre-credits scene, Shaw, still tarred and feathered, emerges from the woods that night, and gets run into by Bob and Bobbie, who humorously mistake him for Bigfoot.

Cast

Production

Roger Allers and Jill Culton, the directors of the film, at the 34th Annie Awards Annie Awards, Roger Allers, Jill Culton.jpg
Roger Allers and Jill Culton, the directors of the film, at the 34th Annie Awards

The ideas for Open Season came from cartoonist Steve Moore, who is known for his comic strip In the Bleachers . [9] Moore and producer John Carls submitted the story to Sony in June 2002, and the film immediately went into development. [10] On February 29, 2004, Sony Pictures Animation announced the beginning of the production on Open Season, its first CGI animated film. [11]

The film location was inspired by the towns of Sun Valley, Idaho and McCall, Idaho, and the Sawtooth National Forest. References to the Lawn Lake, Colorado, Dam flood, Longs Peak, and other points of interest in the area are depicted in the film.

The rendering services used were Hewlett-Packard and Alias Maya.

The Sony animation team developed a digital tool called shapers that allowed the animators to reshape the character models into stronger poses and silhouettes and subtle distortions such as squash, stretch, and smears, typical of traditional, hand drawn animation. [12]

To choose the voice cast, Culton blindly listened to audition tapes, unknowingly picking Lawrence and Kutcher for the lead roles. [13] Their ability to improvise significantly contributed to the creative process. "They really became meshed with the characters", said Culton. [13] Until the film's premiere, Lawrence and Kutcher never met during production. [14]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 49% based on 103 reviews with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Open Season is a clichéd palette of tired jokes and CGI animal shenanigans that have been seen multiple times this cinematic year." [15] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [16] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [17]

Kevin Smith gave the film a thumbs up during an appearance as a guest critic on Ebert and Roeper , saying: "If your kids like poop jokes as much as I do, Open Season will put a big smile on their faces". However, Richard Roeper gave the film a thumbs down, saying, "It's just okay, the animation is uninspired". [18]

Box office

Open Season opened number one with $23 million on its opening weekend. It grossed $88.6 million in the United States and $112.2 million in foreign countries, making $200.8 million worldwide. [4] The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2006, and opened at number three, behind The Departed and The Devil Wears Prada . [19]

Accolades

The film was nominated for six Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature (lost to Cars ), Best Animated Effects, Best Character Design in a Feature Production, Best Production Design in a Feature Production, and Best Storyboarding in a Feature Production. [20]

Home media

Open Season was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and UMD Video on January 30, 2007. [21] It includes an animated short called Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run. The film was later released to 3D Blu-ray on November 16, 2010. [22]

Video game

A video game based on the film was released on September 18, 2006, for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft Windows. [23] For Wii, it was released on November 19, 2006, together with the console's launch. [24]

Music

Open Season
Soundtrack album by
Paul Westerberg
ReleasedSeptember 26, 2006
Length41:29
Label Lost Highway
Producer Lou Giordano
Dana Gumbiner
Paul Westerberg chronology
The Resterberg
(2005)		''Open Season''
(2006)		 49:00... Of Your Time/Life
(2008)
Chart (2009)Peak
U.S. Billboard Top Soundtracks [25] #15

The soundtrack includes an original film score by Ramin Djawadi and several original songs by Paul Westerberg, formerly of The Replacements. Rolling Stone gave the film's soundtrack three stars out of five, as did AllMusic. [26] [27]

Open Season—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (10″ LP) includes three songs that did not appear on the soundtrack CD: an alternative version of "I Belong", Paul Westerberg's own version of "Wild as I Wanna Be", and Reyli's "Tú eres el amor", which played during the credits in the Latin American Spanish dubbed version of the film. In the dubbing of the same language, Reyli also performed the voice of Boog. [28]

Franchise

Open Season was followed by three direct-to-video sequels: Open Season 2 (2008), Open Season 3 (2010), and Open Season: Scared Silly (2015). A majority of the characters' voices were recast, with Michelle Murdocca (Maria) being the only cast member to appear in all sequels.

On August 1, 2023, it was announced a 2D animated series Open Season: Call of Nature will be released in 2024. [29]

Related Research Articles

Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. Most of the studio's films are distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing under their Columbia Pictures label, while all direct-to-video releases are released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

<i>Surfs Up</i> (film) 2007 American computer-animated mockumentary comedy film

Surf's Up is a 2007 American animated mockumentary comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It was directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck from a screenplay they co-wrote with Don Rhymer and producer Chris Jenkins, based on a story by Jenkins and Christian Darren. The film stars the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, and James Woods. It is a parody of surfing documentaries, such as The Endless Summer and Riding Giants, with parts of the plot parodying North Shore. Real-life surfers Kelly Slater and Rob Machado have vignettes as their penguin surfer counterparts. To obtain the desired hand-held documentary feel, the film's animation team motion-captured a physical camera operator's moves.

<i>The ChubbChubbs!</i> 2002 American animated short film by Eric Armstrong

The ChubbChubbs! is a 2002 American animated short film by Sony Pictures Imageworks. It was directed by Eric Armstrong, produced by Jacquie Barnbrook, and written by Jeff Wolverton.

<i>The Swan Princess</i> 1994 American film

The Swan Princess is a 1994 American animated musical fantasy film based on the ballet Swan Lake. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by former Disney animation director Richard Rich and scored by Lex de Azevedo. The film was distributed by New Line Cinema in the United States and by Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International outside the US. It was released theatrically on November 18, 1994, and grossed $9.8 million against a $21 million budget, becoming a box-office bomb, partly due to struggling competition with a re-release of The Lion King (1994). The film later became popular through home video releases and has since been followed by a series of direct-to-video sequels starting in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Pictures Imageworks</span> Canadian-American visual effects and animation studio

Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is a Canadian visual effects and computer animation studio headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and Montreal, Quebec, with an additional office on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California. SPI is a unit of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Allers</span> American filmmaker

Roger Allers is an American film director, screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, and playwright. He is best known for co-directing Disney's The Lion King (1994), the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, and for writing the Broadway adaptation of the same name. He also directed Sony Pictures Animation's first feature-length animated film, Open Season (2006) and the animated adaptation of The Prophet.

<i>Open Season</i> (video game) 2006 video game

Open Season is an action-adventure game, based on the film of the same name. It was released for Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and GameCube. The Nintendo DS version supports the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Culton</span> American animator, director and screenwriter

Jill Culton is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, and screenwriter. With her directorial debut on Sony's first animated film, Open Season, she became the first female principal director of a big budget, computer-animated feature.

<i>Open Season 2</i> 2008 American computer-animated comedy film

Open Season 2 is a 2008 American animated comedy film and the sequel to the 2006 film Open Season, produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, co-directed by Todd Wilderman, and produced by Kirk Bodyfelt and Matthew O'Callaghan. It was released theatrically in other countries starting in South Africa on September 24, 2008, and direct-to-video in the United States on January 27, 2009. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $8.7 million worldwide.

<i>Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs</i> (film) 2009 film by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a 2009 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and released by Sony Pictures Releasing. Loosely based on the 1978 children's book of the same name by Judi and Ron Barrett, the film was written for the screen and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, in their feature directorial debuts. It stars the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Benjamin Bratt, and Neil Patrick Harris. The film centers around an aspiring inventor named Flint Lockwood who develops, following a series of failed experiments, a machine that can convert water into food. After the machine gains sentience and begins to develop food storms, Flint must stop it in order to save the world.

Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi are twin French artists, painters, illustrators, animators, and film directors.

<i>Open Season 3</i> 2010 American film

Open Season 3 is a 2010 American animated comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation with animation provided by Reel FX Creative Studios. It is the third installment in the Open Season film series and is set after the events of Open Season 2 (2008). Directed by Cody Cameron, the film theatrically premiered in Russia on October 21, 2010 and was released as a direct-to-video in the United States and Canada on January 25, 2011. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $7 million worldwide.

<i>Open Season</i> (film series) Series of films of Open Season

The Open Seasonfilm series from Sony Pictures Animation consists of the animated film Open Season (2006) and its three direct-to-video sequels Open Season 2 (2008), Open Season 3 (2010), and Open Season: Scared Silly (2015), the short film Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run (2007), the television series Open Season: Call of Nature (2023–present) and a video game based on the first film.

<i>Hotel Transylvania</i> (film) 2012 American film by Genndy Tartakovsky

Hotel Transylvania is a 2012 American animated monster comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the first installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, it was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky from a screenplay by Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel, and a story by Todd Durham, Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, based on an original concept created by Durham. The film stars the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade and CeeLo Green.

Tarzan is a Disney media franchise that commenced in 1999 with the theatrical release of the film Tarzan, based on the character Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

<i>Open Season: Scared Silly</i> 2015 American film

Open Season: Scared Silly is a 2015 American animated comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation, with animation provided by Mainframe Studios. It is the fourth installment of the Open Season film series, following 2006's Open Season, 2008's Open Season 2, and 2010's Open Season 3. It also serves as a direct sequel to the second film while taking place between the second and third installments. The film features the voices of Donny Lucas, Will Townsend & Melissa Sturm.

Maddie Taylor, formerly Matthew W. Taylor, is an American voice actress and storyboard artist, known for voicing Verminious Snaptrap in T.U.F.F. Puppy and Sparky in The Fairly OddParents.

<i>Abominable</i> (2019 film) Film by Jill Culton

Abominable is a 2019 animated adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation, Pearl Studio, and Zhong Ming You Ying Film. Written and directed by Jill Culton and co-directed by Todd Wilderman, the film stars the voices of Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, and Tsai Chin. The film follows a teenage girl named Yi (Bennet) who encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, names him Everest and embarks on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth along with her mischievous friends Jin (Trainor) and Peng (Tsai), but the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Paulson) to help Everest get home.

References

  1. 1 2 "Open Season". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ Hopewell, John; Lang, Jamie (June 15, 2017). "Why Sony Pictures Animation Still Needs a Big Hit – and Where It Might Come From". Variety . Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2018. Producing animated features since 2006's "Open Season," Sony Pictures Animation has still to fire up a "Despicable Me" size franchise which can, as Belson out, provide a transformational moment, defining a studio's style.
  3. ↑ "Open Season". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Open Season (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Open Season (2006)". American Film Institute . Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  6. ↑ Ball, Ryan (October 4, 2006). "Open Season Bears Fruit in IMAX 3D". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  7. ↑ https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/08/new-open-season-series-in-the-works-at-9-story/
  8. ↑ Chang, Justin (September 28, 2006). "Review: 'Open Season'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Open Season". impactservices.net.au. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ ""Open Season" in Theatres Tonight; Credit Goes to Universal Press Syndicate Creator". Universal Uclick. September 29, 2006. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Sony Pictures Animation Begins Production on First Full-Length CGI Film 'Open Season' Starring Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher and Debra Messing" (Press release). PR Newswire. February 29, 2004. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  12. ↑ Sony Pictures Animation (October 6, 2006). "Open Season Diary: Animating the Animals". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  13. 1 2 Pamer, Melissa (September 10, 2006). "First-time animation director has a wild time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  14. ↑ Murray, Rebecca. "Martin Lawrence Grins and 'Bears' It in "Open Season"". About.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Open Season (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on March 13, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Open Season Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  18. ↑ "At the Movies Archive".
  19. ↑ "Weekend box office 13th October 2006 - 15th October 2006". www.25thframe.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  20. ↑ "37th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". The Annie Awards. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  21. ↑ McCutcheon, David (January 4, 2007). "Open Season's DVD Hunt". IGN. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  22. ↑ "'Open Season - 3D' Announced for Blu-ray 3D". High-Def Digest. September 20, 2010. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  23. ↑ Black, Jared (September 18, 2006). "Ubisoft Declares Open Season on All Platforms". Video Game Generation. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  24. ↑ Seff, Micah (November 17, 2006). "Four Ubisoft Titles Ready for Wii Launch". IGN. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Open Season (Original Soundtrack) > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Macrovision . Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  26. ↑ "Open Season featuring the songs of Paul Westerberg". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  27. ↑ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Open Season (Original Soundtrack) > Review". AllMusic. Macrovision . Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  28. ↑ "OPEN SEASON - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK (10" LP)". MusicDirect. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  29. ↑ "You are being redirected..." www.animationmagazine.net. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.