OPEN SEASON — ** 1/2 — Animated feature starring the voices of Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher and others; rated PG (violence, vulgarity, brief drugs, mild profanity).
Throughout his career, Martin Lawrence has been dogged by the criticism that he's little more than a second-rate Eddie Murphy. And, unfortunately, his voice work in "Open Season" isn't likely to shake those comparisons. This animated comedy at times seems to be every bit as obsessed with flatulence and toilet humor as the "Shrek" movies, which, not too coincidentally, featured Murphy's voice.
As for this brightly animated comedy, it's definitely not as horrid as most of Lawrence's live-action work. In fact, it's downright watchable. But its penchant for crudeness definitely works against it, and there's a hunting sequence that may be a little intense for younger children.
Lawrence provides the voice for Boog, a performing grizzly who's been domesticated by kindly park ranger Beth (the voice of Debra Messing). However, his living arrangements change when he saves a scrawny young deer named Elliot (voiced by Ashton Kutcher) from an evil hunter named Shaw (Gary Sinise). An unconscious Elliot is actually sprawled out and tied to the hood of Shaw's truck hood when Boog slices his bonds.
Unfortunately, the grateful Elliot gets Boog into all sorts of trouble, including a sugar-induced destructive spree in a convenience store. So a broken-hearted Beth is forced to set her beastly pal free in the wild. But Boog is clearly not ready to fend for himself. Worse, hunting season is about to open — and guess which vengeance-seeking hunter has the grizzly in his sights?
Thankfully, the filmmakers do try to keep the tone light, and the movie's best sequences are those in which Lawrence's character plays second fiddle to the character voiced by Kutcher, who's clearly having fun with this material.
If nothing else, the fully rendered digital animation is a vast improvement over the recent duds "The Ant Bully," "Barnyard" and "Everyone's Hero."
"Open Season" is rated PG for scenes of animated violence (including hunting violence, slapstick and animal violence, all done for laughs), crude humor relating to bodily functions, brief drug content (use of tranquilizer darts) and some creative mild profanity. Running time: 90 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com