--- title: "Open Season" year: 2006 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/open-season" fi1m_id: "open-season" imdb_id: "tt0400717" tmdb_id: 7484 wikidata_id: "Q213012" fi1m_score: 49 critics_score: 51 critics_reviews: 8 published: "2026-10-05T04:53:47.647931+00:00" updated: "2026-10-05T04:53:48.570663+00:00" region: "JP" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Open Season (2006) Directed by Roger Allers, Jill Culton · 1h 26m · Eirin G · Animation, Family, Adventure, Comedy ## Identity Open Season - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/open-season - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** open-season - **IMDb ID:** tt0400717 - **TMDB ID:** 7484 - **Wikidata ID:** Q213012 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400717/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/7484, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213012 **Fi1m score: 49** · Critics 51 from 8 reviews *In a sentence:* We would have given Billy Connolly more lines and everyone else an earlier finish > *Open Season* has lively visual detail and a useful comic contribution from Billy Connolly, but its central double act struggles. At 86 minutes, it still spends too long asking us to care. ## Synopsis *Open Season* centres on Boog (Martin Lawrence) and Elliot (Ashton Kutcher), with Shaw (Gary Sinise), Beth (Debra Messing) and McSquizzy (Billy Connolly) among the other characters. This animated family adventure also features Bobbie (Georgia Engel), Reilly (Jon Favreau), Giselle (Jane Krakowski) and Gordy (Gordon Tootoosis). Patrick Warburton voices Ian, Cody Cameron voices Mr. Weenie and Nika Futterman voices Rosie. Roger Allers and Jill Culton direct the comedy, which runs for 86 minutes and has a PG certificate. ## Review *Open Season* is a mixed family comedy with enough visual invention to make its thin writing frustrating. Roger Allers and Jill Culton aim for a cheerful adventure that accommodates broad jokes and some affection for its characters, and that seems a reasonable ambition. The trouble is that the central double act never becomes much fun to spend time with. The animation supplies much of the interest while Boog and Elliot struggle to hold our attention. Martin Lawrence voices Boog and Ashton Kutcher voices Elliot, but the casting does more to distinguish them than their exchanges do. A comic partnership needs some pleasure in the way one character provokes the other, even when both are being tiresome. Here, the voices seldom suggest a relationship developing beyond the requirements of the next joke. Neither performance is disastrous; they simply give us too little to care about between the bursts of activity. Billy Connolly fares better as McSquizzy, whose lines have a sharpness missing from much of the surrounding dialogue. We laughed at McSquizzy because Billy Connolly gets to the joke without making a ceremony of it. Those brief improvements matter, although they also make the stretches with the leads feel less rewarding. A supporting character should be able to steal a scene without leaving us wishing the film would abandon its central pair. Michael Humphries’s production design gives the animation a liveliness that the writing badly needs. Colour and small visual details do useful work, suggesting character without waiting for someone to explain it aloud. The results are not consistent enough to make the film worth seeing for its animation alone, but there is care here, and the brighter passages are a pleasure to look at. The visual characterisation is often more persuasive than the dialogue. Editors Pam Ziegenhagen and Ken Solomon keep the pace buoyant, which prevents the weaker material from becoming a complete slog. At 86 minutes, the film has little room for prolonged drift, though brisk cutting cannot make an unsuccessful joke land. The music credited to Paul Westerberg and Ramin Djawadi helps sustain the good cheer without supplying the feeling missing from the characters. These contributions keep things moving through stretches that offer little in the way of laughs or excitement. The screenplay by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman and Nat Mauldin is least convincing when it asks for tenderness. The sentiment feels too heavily applied because the comedy has done so little to make the central relationship matter. We do not need complicated psychology from an animated comedy, but we do need some evidence that these particular characters belong together. The film takes that affection for granted, leaving the voice cast to suggest feelings the dialogue has not earned. Against the standards of the family adventure, the problem is basic: the laughs are too scattered and the excitement too mild. Familiar material can work perfectly well when it is handled with wit and conviction, and the supporting comedy occasionally supplies both. It does not happen often enough to justify a recommendation. Unless Billy Connolly’s contribution is reason enough, we would choose another family film. *Fi1m score 49, published 5 October 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews lean towards disappointment, though a minority finds an enjoyable family film beneath the familiar material. Praise centres on visual detail and characterisation: Variety admires the animation’s ability to convey personality, while Time Out finds the characters engaging after an unfunny opening. Even the less enthusiastic Slant Magazine credits the inventive animation and lively pace. Humour earns more qualified approval, with Empire finding the supporting cast responsible for the biggest laughs. The spread is wide, and even the animation divides critics: Empire calls it awkward, while The Guardian finds it unoriginal. Reservations otherwise cluster around weak writing and relationships that fail to engage. Slant Magazine finds the voice work bland and the drama middling; Eye for Film objects to the flat plot and excessive sentiment. The disagreement is chiefly over whether the visual invention and scattered jokes offer enough compensation for the thin story. ## Straight answers **Is Open Season worth watching?** *Open Season* offers scattered laughs and lively visual detail, but we find too little here to recommend it and score it 49 out of 100. Billy Connolly’s sharp comic contribution may be enough for his admirers; for a family evening, the weak central partnership and unearned sentiment make another film the better choice. **How long is Open Season, and what is it rated?** *Open Season* runs 1h 26m and is rated G by the Eirin in Japan. It is an animation and family film. **Where can I watch Open Season in Japan?** *Open Season* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Japan, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from ¥399. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Open Season compare to The Iron Giant?** *Open Season* is the weaker choice beside [*The Iron Giant*](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant), which we recommend for a family adventure with humour and earned tenderness. Both put a friendship at their centre, but Boog and Elliot’s exchanges give us little reason to care, while the boy and robot benefit from patient, specific character work. **What should I watch after Open Season?** After *Open Season*, try [*The Iron Giant*](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant) (1999, Fi1m 88): An unlikely friendship earns its tenderness through patient, specific character work. Then [*The Emperor's New Groove*](https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove) (2000, Fi1m 80): A quarrelsome animated partnership with sharper timing and considerably better jokes; and [*Ernest & Celestine*](https://film.one/film/ernest-and-celestine) (2012, Fi1m 84): Animal outsiders find companionship in a gentler, more carefully observed adventure. ### Reviews we read (8) - **Variety**, Justin Chang (78/100, inferred): Chang finds the film a witty, warmly crafted family fable that should appeal to audiences. He especially praises its first-rate animation and the subtle visual details that convey character. [Read](https://variety.com/2006/film/awards/open-season-5-1200513015/) - **Time Out**, Derek Adams (70/100, inferred): The review finds the film an enjoyable surprise despite an unfunny opening. It praises the characterisations in particular. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/open-season-2) - **Screen Daily**, John Hazelton (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a review, but its verdict is unavailable in the paywalled text. No praise or complaint can be identified from the visible content. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/open-season/4028911.article) - **Slant Magazine**, Nick Schager (2/4): Schager finds the film forgettable, with bland voice work and middling drama, though its bouncy momentum keeps it from becoming a complete rut. He praises the inventive animation and vibrant visual style, especially the waterfall sequence. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/open-season/) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (50/100, inferred): The available page does not expose the review’s verdict. Its specific praise or complaint cannot be verified from the provided text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/movies/29seas.html) - **Empire**, Helen O'Hara (30/100, inferred): O’Hara finds the film sporadically funny but lacking in laughs and adventure. She singles out the supporting cast for the biggest laughs, while faulting the awkward animation and the leads’ lack of chemistry. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/open-season-review/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (30/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the animation unoriginal, likening it to a dozen recent animated films. He singles out no particular element for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/115032/open.season) - **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (30/100, inferred): The review finds the film dull and overburdened with treacly sentiment. It singles out the witless script and flat plot as its main failings, with only McSquizzy’s funny lines earning praise. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/open-season-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Details - **Director:** Roger Allers, Jill Culton - **Director:** Roger Allers, Jill Culton - **Screenplay:** Ron J. Friedman, Steve Bencich, Nat Mauldin - **Writer:** Sam Harper - **Editor:** Ken Solomon, Pam Ziegenhagen - **Music:** Paul Westerberg, Ramin Djawadi - **Production design:** Michael Humphries - **Producer:** Buzz Hays, Michelle Murdocca - **Cast:** Martin Lawrence as Boog (voice); Ashton Kutcher as Elliot (voice); Gary Sinise as Shaw (voice); Debra Messing as Beth (voice); Billy Connolly as McSquizzy (voice); Georgia Engel as Bobbie (voice); Jon Favreau as Reilly (voice); Jane Krakowski as Giselle (voice) - **Runtime:** 1h 26m - **Certificate (Eirin):** G - **Release (Japan):** 9 December 2006 - **Genres:** Animation, Family, Adventure, Comedy - **Budget:** $85 million - **Box office:** $201 million ## Where to watch in Japan - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: rent ¥399, sd - Apple TV: rent ¥440, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy ¥1, hd - Apple TV: buy ¥1,600, hd *Checked 2026-10-05.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Annie Award for Best Animated Feature 2006: Annie Award for Best Animated Feature (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Iron Giant* (1999), Fi1m 88: An unlikely friendship earns its tenderness through patient, specific character work. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant.md) - *The Emperor's New Groove* (2000), Fi1m 80: A quarrelsome animated partnership with sharper timing and considerably better jokes. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove.md) - *Ernest & Celestine* (2012), Fi1m 84: Animal outsiders find companionship in a gentler, more carefully observed adventure. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ernest-and-celestine.md) - *The Wrong Trousers* (1993): Animal mischief, precise visual comedy and an adventure that wastes nothing. - *A Town Called Panic* (2009): For families who prefer their animated chaos stranger and less sentimental. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/open-season