When I put on my 3D glasses and took a seat in the darkened theater I hoped for the best but expected the worst. Just seconds into the movie I knew for the next 99 minutes I’d get just what I expected. Anyone who considers themselves a hunter or even a reasonably intelligent adult will be insulted by Open Season.

When I put on my 3D glasses and took a seat in the darkened theater I hoped for the best but expected the worst. Just seconds into the movie I knew for the next 99 minutes I’d get just what I expected. Anyone who considers themselves a hunter or even a reasonably intelligent adult will be insulted by Open Season. But it’s not only what the most impressionable and gullible adults will come away with from this movie that should alarm sportsmen and conservationists. It’s what message the main target audience of this animated film – children, will take with them. If you think the 1942 Disney tear jerker, Bambi unfairly damaged the reputation of hunters, Open Season puts hunters right up there with Hitler and Hussein.

This movie is a computer animated feature by Sony Pictures Animation that under the guise of family entertainment sends some subtle and not so subtle messages that hunters are crude, uncaring idiots whose only goal is to kill every form of wildlife on the planet. And that bears, deer, squirrels, beavers, skunks etc., are creatures that experience all the human emotions of love, joy, fear, sorrow, anger, loneliness, kindness, guilt and many others. It also attributes a high level of reasoning powers to animals.

I’m sure a lot of patrons expect it to be just another cartoon movie that uses cute little cuddly animals to tell a story of good versus evil. But Open Season’s agenda is to vilify hunters as sloppy enemies of wildlife and ignores the fact that hunters are now, and always have been our nation’s number one conservationists and are the reason that wildlife, despite loss of habitat is flourishing. In a blatant distortion of the truth a duck reminisces about how many there were of his kind before they were decimated by hunters. It ignores the fact that without duck hunters’ financial support there would be little habitat saved from agricultural expansion and urban sprawl and that hunting has almost no impact on natural mortality.

Basically the story is set in the mythical town of Timberline about a bear named Boog (voice of Martin Lawrence) rescued as a cub by Ranger Beth who realizes that the wilderness is a much better place for a Grizzly to live than in her garage. That is the only true aspect of wildlife behavior in the entire movie. The Beth character is a poor representation of wildlife officers since they understand and are trained to treat animals as animals and not as children. It just so happens that Boog’s release coincides with the opening of hunting season and along with sidekick deer, Elliot (voice of Ashton Kutcher) rally all the forest animals in an all out war against the bozo hunters. The animals resort to mass violence (great example for kids) such as firebombing the hunters’ trucks.

I guess every movie has to have heroes and villains and Open Season clearly identifies its antagonist as one particularly unsavory character named Shaw (voice of Gary Sinise). Shaw is the ultimate slob hunter. He’s long-haired, unshaven, gold-toothed, and hopelessly stupid, drives a raggedy 4 wheel drive pick-up recklessly and illegally, loves loud music, worships his rifle named Lorraine, hates all animals (even pets) and above all, loves to kill them.

At least in Bambi, Walt Disney didn’t want to portray hunters as evil (an unintended consequence) so the hunter who killed Bambi’s mother was never shown. Originally he was to be included as a character but Disney decided to keep him anonymous and faceless.

There really isn’t much in the way of redeeming qualities in Open Season. There are some pathetic attempts at low class humor and the repeated overuse of toilet scenes makes me believe at least one of the writers must have a twisted fixation on defecation.

Too bad the movie’s clever animation wasn’t used teach children the real facts or valuable lessons about life because it’s technologically capable of doing so. They spared no expense in securing big time Hollywood actors for the voice-overs and obviously are expecting big returns at the box office. And it has enjoyed some early success, if you think no one is watching this garbage, think again. Box office reviews indicate Open Season showed a total gross of $43,754,064 between its release on September 29, 2006 and the following 30 days.

Since I can’t expect a refund, I’m writing off my admission fee as part of my job. I found no entertainment and certainly no educational value to the movie. I suggest you save your money and if your family and friends, especially children do see it, talk to them about it and explain that it’s only a movie, a bad movie. Sportsman need only to view the trailer to get an idea of how hunters are mischaracterized at www.sonypictures.com/movies/openseason/.

Maybe I’m overreacting to what is meant as a funny, harmless cartoon but I don’t think so. At the end of the movie a disclaimer appears, “No rabbits were hurt during the making of this film.” Is this meant as a joke or the product of a sick mind that believes it’s more acceptable to see all the violence against people in movies than animals?