Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Open Season 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

"Its Pets against Wilds, and Weiner takes all"

Reviewed by Sir Terrence January 26, 2009

Open Season 2 is a direct to video sequel to the original Open Season released almost two years ago on the Bluray format. I reviewed the first Open Season, and I had very mixed feelings on that release that over time have changed a bit. I watched it again a couple of days ago in preparation for this review, and I found that I liked it a bit more than the last time I watched it. So when this review was assigned to me, I waited in great anticipation of its arrival hoping it would be a worthy sequel to the first movie. Well, it is. This is one charming animated comedy that is for both kids, and adults. The storyline is solid and as funny as the original, if not a hair better as a result of a shorter running time. While this release lacks the original lead voices, namely Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher as Boog and Elliot, they are replaced by the even more entertaining voices of Mike Epps and Joel McHale. Aside from some personal voice inflections, they sound almost like Lawrence and Kutcher which gives this production excellent continuity with the first, and allows the story to pick up where the last left off more effectively. Much like the first this movie the humor is a little more adult than child based, so much of the humor will be lost on young kids. But let’s face it, a lot of Bugs Bunny’s humor was rather adult, and it didn’t stop me as a kid from enjoying those cartoons one bit. If you have never seen the first movie, you really should before seeing this one. You will understand better what is going on in this movie if you do so.

Open Season 2 begins a year after the original with Giselle and Elliot’s love in full bloom. They are about to be married, but during the ceremony Elliot develops cold feet with the words “and ever”. Forever didn’t bother him much, but "and ever" seems to have stopped him dead in his tracks. The wedding is interrupted when it is discovered that Mr. Weenie after living free of his former masters is kidnapped by his, you guessed it, former master. Wedding plans are temporarily put aside as Elliot demands they look and find Mr. Weenie before any ceremony can continue. With that, the entire gang begins planning for Mr. Weenie's rescue. Elliot arrives at the major highway leading to the campground just in time to see Mr. Weenie being taken away by his former master, much to their delight at finding him. They had been searching for a year for him, and now have finally found him. The gang makes plans to follow the RV that took Mr. Weenie, and eventually catch up with them at a campground where a group of dog loving campers and their dogs routinely meet every year. That is where they meet the enemy leader, a toy poodle named Fifi. Neither side is willing to give up Mr. Weenie without a fight. Fifi is truly an evil dog, and rally’s the other dogs to fight in a battle between the Pets and the Wilds. Can the Pets take on Boog? Can Boog and the gang save Mr. Weenie from the evil Fifi? Will Elliot finally get over his fear of the words “and ever” and finally marry Giselle?

Open Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Open Season 2 battles on to the Bluray format in a stunning 1080p/AVC encode, framed at a full 1:78:1 video window. First, being a digital to digital transfer, there are no film related artifacts such as pops, dirt or scratches to be found. I also found no compression artifacts or any digitally related artifacts either. Blacks are stunningly inky, and the contrast is right on the money. Colors are the stunning here, and they are vividly vibrant, very well saturated, and light up the screen with literally a run on the entire color palette. Hues are well represented here as well, as you get just about every variation of the primaries and secondary's popping off of the screen. Detail and fine detail is absolute astounding, with every bit of detail in Boogs fur, leaves on trees, and individual blades of grass emerging with stunning clarity. Textures are finely rendered, and are seen in just about everything from rocks, the roads, clothing, and in fur. As good as everything looked, I still found some problems that bugged me about the visuals. First, it does not have the ultra detail of the original. Secondly there is a bit too much separation between elements in the foreground and background. The third thing was that lack of dimension between the foreground and the background. It looked flatten out to these eyes, and provided very little perspective of distance like the first did. Also do not expect any waving trees, bending blades of grass, and no sign of a blowing wind, the kinds of finely detailed things you would normally see in a Pixar release. However with all of the things that are done right in this release, I would hardly worry about the negatives I point out, this flick looks terrific, and there is no denying that.

Open Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony gives Open Season 2 a terrific 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack encoded at a 16/48khz bit and sample rate. I would highly recommend that you make your room as quiet as you possibly can so as not to miss any of the subtlety of this mix. High ambient room levels will cause you to miss some of the more quiescent surround activity found in this mix. Dialog is the big player here, and it clear, clean, and always intelligible. It is also accurately directional, tracking each spoken word as the character moves through the front channels, and in between them as well. Thank God the horrible original music of Paul Westerberg is ditched for a more pleasant score by Ramin Djawadi. It is well recorded, and wrapped expertly into the surrounds for a nice envelopment. Much like the original, the LFE takes on a supporting role for the bass in the front channels. Most of the bass of the mix is in the three main channels, with the LFE used to give that bass a little more "kick". The surrounds are pretty active, with almost constant extremely subtle ambience, and only a few effects kick in at full volume. This sound track is well done, but will not stress your speakers one bit. It does work hand in hand with the visuals, and that is all you really want a soundtrack to do. Good job Sony!

Open Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sony goes beyond the movie and brings more fun in the form of a decent presentation of extra value content that is just as entertaining as the movie itself.

"The Game Zone" takes the DVD participant to a series of challenges, listed as "Boog's Water Slide Maze Craze," "Elliot's Go Fetch," "Track That Treat," "Doggie Strength Test," and "Fix That 'Do!" The games are quick and perfect for younger viewers.

"Going Wild with the Voice Cast" (HD 14 minutes) interviews cast and crew on their experiences breathing life into the animated characters.

"How to Draw Boog, Elliot, and Fifi" (HD 18 minutes) sits down with storyboard artist Sean Mullen as he walks the viewer through simple animation maneuvers.

"Deleted Scenes" (SD 6 minutes) offer even more humiliation for our friend Elliot and villain Fifi, displayed here in crude storyboard form.

"'Who Let the Dogs Out?' Music Video" (3 minutes) is a montage of scenes scored to the hit from Baha Men.

This disc is BD live enabled which allows you to download additional content from the studio servers. I could not access that content, but it is usually available on the release day.

Open Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Open Season 2 is definitely a worthy sequel to the original, and as many know that is not always the case with sequels. The replacement of Kutcher and Lawrence is not missed one bit, as Epps and McHale stepped up and delivered superior performances to theirs. The video quality is excellent; the audio services the visuals perfectly, and you get a fair amount of extras to boot. Don't be fooled by the fact this flick was not released to theaters, it wasn't for lack of quality. For those who loved the first, this second trip to the well will not leave you thirsty. It is entertainment that the whole family can enjoy. Highly recommended!!!