The star case of Open Season doesn’t return but Boog and Elliot do for this direct to video sequel. It’s a rather harmless attempt at a franchise, and I really don’t miss Ashton Kutcher or Martin Lawrence, but the film still feels tired – unless you happen to be in the target audience.
Elliot the deer (Joel McHale) is finally marrying Giselle (Jane Krakowski, returning to the role). Boog the bear (Mike Epps) must surely be the best man, er bear. However, things take a turn for the worst when Mr. Weenie the dachshund (Cody Cameron, also a returning voice) is kidnapped by a group of domesticated pets led by poodle named Fifi (Crispin Glover) to be returned to his owners.
Fifi has a hatred of wild animals and doesn’t want Mr. Weenie to return to his life of freedom. Now it’s up to Boog, Elliot, Giselle, and deranged squirrel McSquizzy (Billy Connolly, also from the first film) to track down and rescue their kidnapped pal. However, he’s been taken to a pampered pet amusement park and the main rule is no wild animals allowed.
The first thing I thought, well besides “Why?,” when I saw that a sequel to Open Season was being planned was if it would feature the same vocal cast. I highly doubted that Martine Lawrence and Ashton Kuther would return and that turned out to be true. Their replacements don’t add too much to the roles.
A surprising number of the cast does return though, but it wasn’t the star power of the lead roles. Billy Connolly is his manic best as the mad McSquizzy, Cody Cameron is fun as the domesticated but in the wild dachshund, and Jane Krakowski is good as Giselle.
The new addition to the cast has a bit of a cult star power with Crispin Glover delighting in the deranged paranoia of Fifi. He may be a bright spot in the film, but the plotline is nothing to write home about. I way that as an adult though because my kids at least seemed interested in the film and stuck with it till the credits rolled. My guess is that you closer to the ground you are (pets included) that you’ll be more forgiving towards this installment that I might’ve been.
Open Season 2 is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features are located in the “Wacky Weenie Arcade” (sigh) and start off with five games for the kiddies. The 14 minute “Going Wild!” takes a look at the voice cast and there’s also 18 minutes of lessons on “How to draw Boog, Elliot, and Fifi.” Next are 6 minutes of deleted scenes (storyboard form, not finished animation) and a 3 minute music video of “Who Let the Dogs Out.” There’s also a link to “more Wacky Weenie Fun Online” as well as previews for other Sony DVDs.
Open Season 2 is a passable film, but it does seem to have suffered from lacking the budget of the first film. I though the animation certainly didn’t seem as good as the first one. That being said, from mean old adult me, the kids seemed to like it.
Open Season 2 is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Feb. 9th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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