Alpha and Omega
Starring the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, and Dennis Hopper
Directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck
Rated PG for rude humor and some mild action
Appropriate for all ages
When an alpha wolf and an omega wolf are taken from their home in Canada by humans to repopulate a national park in Idaho, they go on a journey to find their way back home.
There are so many reasons not to see this film but I will keep this fairly short. First and foremost is the story which is insulting at its most basic level. Kids learn so much from watching movies which is why their information should be somewhat based in fact. The world of nature seen in this movie makes me believe that the filmmakers had wolves and bees confused with their thoughts of Alphas and Omegas. After all, the “alphas” are just leaders, not genetically bred super wolves. Each litter of wolves can have alphas and there are no “omegas” – just other wolves.
And then there is the war between the two wolf clans which is fine for story, but if there truly was a war such as that there would be no food to found and there is obviously tons of caribou all over. The Lion King did an excellent job of showing that the food had gone completely scarce with bad decision making. Conversely, these must be the dumbest wolves imaginable eating bones and fighting each other instead of hunting the plethora of meat widely available all over. My point is – why create entertainment that dumbs down our kids. Subtle changes could have enlightened our children and been a boost to their brains.
The film even had acting challenges. For example there was supposed to be a wolf named Garth that upon his horrible howl, birds would fall from the sky. This could have worked had the actor been able to emit a horrible howl. Instead, his howl was just weak and when the birds fell, it was cute but made zero sense. So much of the film was like this – half-thought-out ideas that might have worked with better writers and actors but upon completion didn’t work at all.
But if all of that isn’t enough to kill brain cells, the animation surely can’t help. This is crude animation that looks more like a student film than a theatrically released motion picture with big name voices. The wolves look more like dogs with tiny tiny teeth with feathers rather than manes. And the golfing goose, while a cute idea, is one of the most disturbing images I’ve seen in years.
Finally, if you feel you absolutely must see the movie against this entire warning – stay away from the 3D version. They did not go all out with the 3D and it not only looks horrible but it will hurt your head and cause tremendous strain to your eyes as well. I’ve had some bad 3D experiences so far, but this by far is the worst. F