Hey folks, Valkor here. In 2006, Open Season hit the big screen,
which was met with enough success that a second film was made
- Open
Season 2. Eventhough it went straight to video, I still thought
was a big hit even with the new voice actors. Now the folks over
at Sony Home are going one more round in the Boog/Elliot Saga
with Open Season 3. Can this film score as big as the first two?
Open Season 3 brings back favorites from the first film such as Boog, Elliot, Giselle, Buddy, and much of the cast from parts one and two, while introducing some new cast members such as Giselle and Elliot's kids, a female bear, and a male bear rival. In this third outing, Boog is feeling kinda lonely as plans for a guy's trip falls flat when all the guys decline, mainly because they have family responsibilities. So he sets off on his own guy's trip, which leads him to a choco-attack at a gas mart, which then leads him to the circus where he finds other bears. One bear in particular, Doug, doesn't wanna be kept in the circus, so he and Boog swap places. Now Doug wants to be king of the jungle (forest) and Boog wants to be the love interest for Ursa. But things start to go wrong as Doug becomes too dominate of the forest creatures, and Boog can't get any attention from Ursa. To make situations even more complicated, the entire circus is about to up and move to Russia. Now it's up to Elliot and friends, plus Mr. Weenie and pals to help save Boog from being shipped out.
Of course it all wraps up nicely with a great ending and lots more rabbit fights throughout. But no real rabbits were harmed during any of the rabbit fights. However the CGI rabbits… Well... moving on…
The Good:
I unexpectedly enjoyed the first film, loved the second and as far as the third goes, it definitely completes the trilogy. and I'll admit, Open Season 3 is the best of the bunch. First the CGI stays about the same, and hey if it ain't broke, don't fix. I'm sure more attention to detail has been added. But I've been too busy enjoying myself to care. The voice acting again astounds me – I don't even miss Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher; this round Mike Epps and Joel McHale are out an pinch hitting for them are Matthew J Munn as Boog (he also does double duty as Doug) and Matt Taylor as Elliot. Honestly… can't tell the difference, as the new guys seamlessly fit right in. Crispin Glover makes a return as Fifi, which I didn't expect. Though he's brief and toned down in this one, he's still got some good laughs. Dana Snyder makes his debut as the spitting llama Alistair, freakin awesome and definitely scores some laughs. Stay for the end credits people. Huge props go out to the remaining cast - alum and newcomers alike, everyone did a tremendous job. As for the story, it's a simple tale that sits well with the previous films, which follows the natural order of nature introducing the children of the forest creatures this round. If this were the last of the bunch, I'd say the Open Season series is going out on a high note.
The Bad:
Not enough Fifi and his obsession with round things. You'll know why when you watch the film.
The Ugly:
Alistair's spitting – say it don't spray it dude.
Overall, Open Season 3 is a winner in my book, featuring a great cast, animation, story, and voice acting makes this one a must see for fans of the previous films, but newcomers are welcome to enjoy it as well. Out of TOV 5 stars, I give Open Season 3, a 4 and it's been Valkor tested, TOV Approved.
