Alpha and Omega (film)

Alpha and Omega
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Anthony Bell Ben Gluck
Screenplay by	Chris Denk Steve Moore
Story by	Steve Moore Ben Gluck
Produced by	Ken Katsumoto Steve Moore Richard Rich
Starring	Justin Long Hayden Panettiere Dennis Hopper Danny Glover Chris Carmack Christina Ricci
Edited by	Scott Anderson Joe Campana
Music by	Chris P. Bacon
Production companies	Crest Animation Productions Relativity Media
Distributed by	Lionsgate Films
Release date	September 17, 2010
Running time	90 minutes
Countries	United States Canada
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$50,507,267

Alpha and Omega is a 2010 3D American-Canadian computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Crest Animation Productions. The film is directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck, starring the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Dennis Hopper, Danny Glover and Christina Ricci. It is based on a story by Steve Moore and Ben Gluck.

The film was released in 3-D (and also in 2-D) on September 17, 2010 to 2,625 theaters nationwide by Lionsgate. Despite the mostly negative reception, the film was a box office success, making it the highest-grossing animated film from Lionsgate Films. Due to the box office success, a direct-to-DVD sequel, Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure, was released on October 8, 2013, making Alpha and Omega the first film in a planned franchise. Another sequel, Alpha and Omega 3: The Great Wolf Games, came out in March 25, 2014 and Alpha and Omega 4: The Legend of the Saw-Tooth Cave (2014) and Alpha and Omega 5: Family Vacation (2015) are currently in production.

The film was dedicated to Dennis Hopper in memory of his death, being his final performance.

Plot

Kate (Hayden Panettiere) and Humphrey (Justin Long) are two wolves from the same pack in Canada's Jasper National Park but on opposite ends of the social order. Kate, daughter of the main alpha male Winston (Danny Glover) and his mate Eve (Vicki Lewis), is herself an Alpha and takes her duty to the pack seriously. Humphrey, on the other hand, is an Omega wolf, the lowest of the pack, and spends his days having fun with his other Omega friends. Despite his low rank in the pack, Humphrey falls strongly in love with Kate and is valued in the pack as a peacemaker by virtue of his affable nature.

During her youth, Kate leaves to begin Alpha school with her father, much to Humphrey's disappointment. She returns as a fully trained Alpha ready to procure food for the pack, but on her first hunt, two members of the other, Eastern, pack cross into Western pack territory due to the lack of caribou in their own land. The hunt is ruined and the packs are nearly at war with each other. The two packs have had a bitter rivalry ever since Tony (Dennis Hopper), the Alpha male of the Eastern pack, commanded his wolves to cross over into Western territory (against pack law) in order to hunt, to prevent their pack from starving. Winston and Tony meet up one night and arrange for Kate to marry Garth (Chris Carmack), Tony's son. Kate, having a sense of responsibility and duty, agrees for the good of the pack and meets Garth at the Howling Rock, where the wolves meet to find partners.

Garth is also an Alpha, and at first appears perfect in every way, until it is revealed that he has a terrible howl. Kate, taken aback, leaves the scene to "get water". Humphrey then notices Kate and surprises her. The two talk about Garth, and Humphrey grows jealous because of his feelings for Kate, even though it is against pack law for them to marry. Suddenly, they are shot with tranquilizer darts by some park rangers and taken away to Idaho. The two wolves wake up at Sawtooth National Recreation Area, where they meet a French/Canadian goose named Marcel, (Larry Miller) who has an avid interest in golf, and his caddy, a duck named Paddy (Eric Price). Humphrey and Kate learn that they were relocated to repopulate the species. Kate is horrified by the idea, but Humphrey is more interested, as this would be his only chance to be with Kate. Marcel and Paddy agree to help the wolves return home to Jasper Park. Humphrey is disappointed, but Kate demands to leave because of her duty and responsibility to the packs. Humphrey offers to help her and Kate agrees.

Trouble brews back at Jasper Park as the two packs discover that Kate has gone missing. Tony warns Winston that on the next full moon if Kate doesn't return to marry Garth, he and his pack will declare war for their territory. Lilly (Christina Ricci), an Omega wolf who is Kate’s younger sister, has a crush on Garth and suggests that she show him around.

Meanwhile, Kate and Humphrey attempt to get home in the back of a camper couple, which goes well until they stop at a gas station. Humphrey leaves the camper to go to the bathroom, but is mistaken for a rabid wolf after he eats a cream-filled cupcake. Seeing one of the men about to shoot Humphrey, Kate attacks the man with the gun, and the two make their escape into the forest. The campers they had stowed away on leaves. Still seeking a way back to Jasper Park through a rainy night, Kate comes to a ravine and attempts to cross it. She slips down the cliff, but Humphrey saves her life by swinging from a vine and letting her grab his tail with her teeth. Kate is very grateful and seems to like Humphrey a lot more. After that, the two find a den for the night.

The next morning, Marcel and Paddy find the wolves and direct them to a train over a snowy mountain that will take them to Jasper. Climbing the mountain, Humphrey meets a grizzly bear cub who is unfamiliar with wolves. While they are playing, the cub gets hurt when a snowball is thrown at him. This angers a trio of adult bears (most likely the cub's family) who think that Humphrey was trying to harm the cub. When Kate realizes that Humphrey is in danger, she rushes in to help him, causing them to slide down the other side of the mountain. Humphrey saves Kate using a log sled like the ones he learned to play on as a young Omega, and as the train passes by the two wolves manage to get into a boxcar just in time.

During this time, Lilly and Garth are bonding. At the midnight howl, Lilly is not deterred by Garth's less than perfect howl and compassionately teaches him. At the same time, Humphrey and Kate begin to howl together on the train. Even though both couples are not allowed to sing together, it is clear that they are in love. By this time, the full moon has come and the packs declare war against one another.

Shortly after, as the train passes by Jasper, Kate admits to Humphrey that he and the past few days they've spent together was kind of fun to her. Then, Humphrey attempts to tell Kate how he feels about her, but the sight of the packs fighting causes her to jump off the train before he can finish. Kate stops the fight by announcing that she will marry Garth for the good of the packs, much to Humphrey, Garth, and Lilly's dismay.

The next day, a heartbroken Humphrey decides to leave Jasper and travel on his own, and shares his goodbyes with Kate, Marcel, and Paddy. Kate feels heartbroken after realizing how she feels about Humphrey. During the ceremony, Kate decides not to marry Garth, declaring her love for Humphrey, after which Garth declares his own romantic love for Lilly. Winston is confused and Tony is enraged that his son is in love with an Omega, which goes against pack customs. His pack starts to fight the other pack out of anger, but the conflict is cut short when a massive stampede of caribou interrupts the scene. Winston and Tony get caught in the stampede and Kate and Humphrey (who decided to return) rush in to save them using a log as a sled. Kate is hit by a caribou, and Humphrey shields her with his body while Winston and Tony growl at the passing caribou in order to protect Humphrey from getting hit. After the stampede passes, it appears that Kate has been trampled to death. Upon her apparent death, Humphrey howls sadly, and the wolves of both packs also begin to howl in mourning, but she wakes up to the joy and relief of the packs. Now, at long last, Humphrey and Kate reveal their feelings for each other, taking turns whispering to one another. Winston and Tony then decide to unite the packs and retire. When they wonder what to do when they retire and grow old, Marcel says, "Gentleman, may I introduce you to golf"? and shoots a golf ball at the screen.

Later at the Moonlight Howl, all of the wolves celebrate the marriages of Kate to Humphrey, and Garth to Lilly, breaking the social classes. The film ends with Humphrey and Kate singing a duet, and the camera pans upward to the full moon.

Voice cast

Main characters

• Hayden Panettiere as Kate
• Justin Long as Humphrey
• Christina Ricci as Lilly
• Chris Carmack as Garth
• Danny Glover as Winston
• Dennis Hopper as Tony
• Vicki Lewis as Eve
• Larry Miller as Marcel

Minor characters

• Brian Donovan as Salty
• Kevin Sussman as Shakey
• Eric Price as Paddy
  • Eric Price also voices Mooch
• Paul Nakauchi as Hutch
• Marilyn Tokuda as Claws
  • Marilyn Tokuda also voices Janice
• Eric Lopez as Candu
• Mela Lee as Candy
• Bitsie Tulloch as Sweets
• Christine Lakin as Reba
• Fred Tatasciore as Garn
• Mindy Sterling as Debbie
• Marcelo Tubert as Max

Production

Pre-production and post-production took place in Los Angeles, with key animation produced by Crest Animation Productions in India and the script was written in Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

Reception

Alpha and Omega took in $2,288,773 on its opening day, and $9,106,906 on its opening weekend domestically, reaching fifth place at the box office. The film's opening was mildly disappointing, as it had only earned a fraction of 2010's other animated films as well as claiming the record for lowest-grossing 3D film released in at least 2,000 venues from Piranha 3D (only to lose it to My Soul to Take three weeks later). In its second weekend, due to being overshadowed by Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole for 3-D screens, the film dropped 48% to $4.8 million and eighth place. After its third weekend, the film held better with a 37% drop to around $3 million and finishing in tenth place. The film ended its run on December 2, 2010 after grossing $25 million domestically and $25 million in other territories. Produced on a $20 million budget, the film had been declared a financial success, and is Lionsgate's highest-grossing animated feature, as well as Crest Animation's highest.

Alpha and Omega received generally negative reviews from critics. It holds a score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 56 reviews, with the consensus being "With bland visuals and a dull, predictable plot, Alpha and Omega is a runt in 2010's animated litter." While some critics praised the film for its characters, score and voice acting, others criticized it for having mostly-poor animation, a predictable plot and weak storyline. At Metacritic, the film holds a score of 36 out of 100, based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.

Marketing

Books

There are 3 books by Scholastic: Kate and Humphrey's big adventure, Marcel and Paddy save the day, and the junior novel.

Video game

Published by Storm City Games, a video game adaptation called Alpha and Omega (based on the film) was exclusively released for the Nintendo DS in late 2010 and is only available in North America.

Home media

Alpha and Omega was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 11, 2011, and the PSP version was released on February 8, 2011.

Soundtrack

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pre Teen Wolves"	1:54
2.	"Main Titles"	1:37
3.	"Can-Do Was Jumped"	2:51
4.	"Humphrey's Crew"	2:44
5.	"Garth"	2:12
6.	"Wolfnapped"	1:55
7.	"Idaho or Bust"	2:12
8.	"The Golfing Goose"	2:48
9.	"Flying Fowl"	2:41
10.	"Searching for Kate"	1:46
11.	"Eat Food, Get Gas"	2:05
12.	"Tails It Is"	2:00
13.	"Garth and Lilly"	2:34
14.	"Bears!"	3:23
15.	"Love Train"	2:07
16.	"Time's Up"	1:03
17.	"I Had Fun"	2:22
18.	"Unite the Packs"	2:43
19.	"Alphas and Omega"	3:04
20.	"Take the Valley"	3:02
21.	"Requiem for Kate"	1:27
22.	"Big Finish"	1:28

Songs

• "Me and You" – Gabriel Mann and John Frizzell
• "On the Loose (Again)" – Gabriel Mann and John Frizzell

Accolades

The film was nominated for an Artios Award for Outstanding achievement in Casting.

Award	Category	Winner/Nominee	Result
Artios Award	Outstanding achievement in Casting	Bernie Van De Yacht	Nominated

Sequels

Following its success, a number of direct-to-video sequels to Alpha and Omega have been produced. The first, Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure, was released on October 8, 2013, which was also successful.

Alpha and Omega 3: The Great Wolf Games, based on the Winter Olympics and directed by Richard Rich, was released on iTunes on March 4, 2014, and it was later released on March 25 as a Walmart Exclusive. Common Sense Media gave Alpha and Omega 3 a mixed-to-positive review, with three out of five stars, writing that the "mildly amusing sports-themed sequel is fun for young kids." The movie was released shortly after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The new Alpha and Omega line-up includes movies The Great Wolf Games (Winter Olympics), The Legend of the Saw-Toothed Cave (Halloween 2014), A Howl-iday Adventure (Christmas) And Family Vacation (Spring 2015).

Alpha and Omega 4: The Legend of the Saw-Toothed Cave is planned for release on October 31, 2014. Alpha and Omega 5: Family Vacation is planned for release in Spring 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Alpha and Omega at IMDb
• Template:Bcdb title
• Alpha and Omega at AllMovie
• Alpha and Omega at Rotten Tomatoes
• Alpha and Omega at Metacritic
• Alpha and Omega at Box Office Mojo