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Open Season
3-1/2 stars

What do a one-antlered stag, a tame bear, a lot of squirrels, and hunters have in common? They're all in the forest and it's Open Season . I have been waiting for Open Season since I saw the previews in 2005. The basic premise is a trained bear named Boog befriends a one antlered stag named Elliot. After a nighttime raid of a convenience store, it seems as though Boog has gone wild. After getting busted, the park ranger returns Boog to the wild along with Elliot. This is when Boog begins getting his butt kicked by hedgehogs, beavers, and most importantly Scottish squirrels of the Bushy Tail Clan. McSquizy, the leader of the squirrel clan, has a Scottish brogue that rivals that of John Rhys-Davies. One day after Boog is released open season begins and the hunters invade. Of course, nature fights back.

Except for a few off-color comedy bits, this is largely a kids' movie. There were some squirrels making cracks about nuts, low flying ducks towing skunks dispensing chemical agents, and Mr. Happy, a propane tank, that ended the entire affair rather explosively.

Ashton Kutcher, Martin Lawrence, Patrick Warburton, and Billy Connolly provided superb voice work adding depth and charm to the characters. The animation was more than adequate, and the story was hysterical. This film should appeal to kids of all ages.

Overall this movie rates a solid three and a half stars, but as a family feature I'll give it four.

Santa Clause 3

3 stars

Disney's Santa Clause Three was chosen by me based on a well-done "coming attractions trailer" I saw several months ago.

The little special effects in this movie were pretty good. The reindeer, snow globes, and Jack Frost freezing people were perfectly orchestrated. Also the grunts, odd noises, and flatulation released by the reindeer, while quite disturbing, were also extremely funny.

Surprisingly, one of the most computer generated looking things was Martin Short's face and hair as Jack Frost. Jack Frost performing show tunes on stage at North Pole Land was seriously icky.

The story began with Mrs. Clause, the North Pole school teacher, recounting the story of being rushed to an operating room in false labor anxiously awaiting baby delivery. Then Jack Frost is sentenced by the Council of Legendary Figures to do community service for multiple counts of Santa Upstaging. The unrepentant Frost hatches a plot to overthrow Santa and wreaks havoc at the North Pole during a visit from the in-law just days before Christmas. All throughout the story Santa is struggling with family issues.

The special effects, no matter how few, were good. The story smacked of a typical Disney film with ups and downs and a few classic moments. Unfortunately, the funniest parts of this film were in the out take, Santa's mother-in-law's bemused reaction to the slightly raunchy Easter Bunny. This family film gets a grudging three stars for humor, special effects, and the great out-takes. This was definitely not Tim Allen's best work.