Rom-Com for Wolfaboos

Alpha and Omega

2010

D: Anthony Bell, Ben Gluck
**********

Pros: Likable characters, Decent visuals, Surprisingly presentable romance

Cons: Plot gets tedious, Some annoying comic relief, Mixed voice casting

     Third party animation studios have a bit of a hurdle to overcome, at least when it comes to CG cartoons.  Pixar and Dreamworks animated movies tend to be given the benefit of the doubt, but if you’re a third party, you’d better be making a serious foreign 2D animated movie about the Middle East, or else no one’s gonna give you the light of day.  Now there’s reason for this bias, since most of these animated movies do suck.  But sometimes, a few decent movies come through.

Perhaps a lot of the criticism that this Alpha and Omega got was a result of the animation production’s taking place in India, and movie’s not having quite the same spectacle as something from one of the bigger companies.  Still, not every studio has as much money as the big two, and I think this one did quite well considering.  The characters move and express their emotions well, and there is definitely enough detail in the animation for a 3D cartoon.  Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to nitpick.

Can you tell what's wrong with the Moon in this picture?

     When you see the trailers, you think you have this movie figured out.  “Oh I see.  He’s the nerdy guy with the crush, she’s the stuck-up princess who wants nothing to do with him, and they fall in love in some forced adventure.”  When movie starts, however, and it’s readily apparent that the two lovebirds, Humphrey (Justin Long) and Kate (Hayden Panattiere) are not only well acquainted with each other, they’re actually friends.  Well, so much for that expected stupidity.  The fact that the two lovers already know each other and like each other already makes this movie a more well-developed romance than most animated features.  Hell, that makes it a more well-developed romance than most adult romances.

     The thing standing in the way of their relationship is the fact that Humphrey is an Omega and Kate is an Alpha.  The two classes are not allowed to breed with each other.  Of course, the way lupine social structure is depicted in this talking animal movie is far from realistic.  Alphas (dominant wolves) are the leaders/hunter class, Betas (subservient rank and file wolves) are nonexistent in the movie, and Omegas (scapegoat wolves) are experts at entertainment and mediation.  They accomplish the latter by throwing the fat guy onto any small group of fighting wolves.

     Things get complicated for Kate when her father, the pack leader, arranges her to marry Garth, the son of the leader of a rival pack, in order to unite all the wolves.  If this does not happen, then the two packs will go to war, and that’s far too many wolves to toss just one fat dude on top of.  Unfortunately, Kate and Humphrey get captured by humans and driven to a nature reserve in order to help repopulate the wolf population there.  They start traveling home together and realize their love along the way.  Meanwhile, as the packs quarrel, Kate’s sister Lilly (Christina Ricci) offers to entertain Garth, and they fall in love.  Their relationship is a bit quick in forming, but they do discuss their interests and help each other improve their weaknesses, which makes their relationship enjoyable.  What follows is somewhat predictable.  Kate and Humphrey face various obstacles, get back home to prevent the war, and the wolves decide to abolish the rule against Alphas and Omegas dating each other, which allows Kate and Humphrey to be happy while Lilly and Garth unite the packs.

     The plot does warrant some criticism.  In fact, my main problem with the movie is the “Incredible Journey” formula it makes me sit through.  I actually think that all the things the movie does to make itself more “exciting” make it boring in many stretches.  Instead of watching Kate and Humphrey getting into contrived moments of false suspense and short-lived tension, I would have actually preferred that they stayed with the two packs all along.  That way they would have dealt with the politics of their society while forming a relationship.  This would have been more interesting, not to mention more complex than what we got.  The most interesting part of this movie is watching the characters interact with each other in their society, and that’s what this movie should have been.  We also would have been spared the lame comic relief characters that Humphrey and Kate meet on their trek, a goose named Marcel and a duck named Paddy.  Whenever they show up on the screen, time seems to slow down considerably.  Of course, there is a more shallow explanation for their Scrappy status.  The wolfaboos who watch and like this movie, myself included, don’t care about watching lame animals like ducks when we came to see those purdy, majestic wolves.  Still, the movie, despite some of its unimaginative moments, does subvert many tired clichés in a refreshing manner.      

     Most of the characters are likable as long as you keep to the wolves; they’re really the only entities that have any sort of development in this film.  Humphrey and Kate are sympathetic enough to make you want to root for them, but I really like the supporting characters more.  My favorite character is Lilly, Kate’s sister.  Despite being in an alpha family, she’s been relegated to Omega status due to the fact that she’s a purple-eyed, albino freak.  She’s just a lovably cute wolf with a space-headed personality and an odd preoccupation with turtles.  She officially proves that she is an adorable YouTube animal who has been granted the power of speech when she demonstrates her impression of a turtle stuck on its back.

She gives the best Voight-Kampff tests.

She wears her hair with a bang covering one eye because she’s shy, so you know she’s going to change her do when a love interest tells her she looks better with her eyes uncovered.  The funniest character is Kate and Lilly’s mother, Eve (Vicki Lewis).  She’s a loving mother and wife, but she has a ferocious side that comes out when she feels her children are threatened.  She comes off as a bit nuts when she gives some motherly advice to Kate by telling her to kill Garth if he gets out of line.

Kate's reaction is priceless.

Sadly, there’s not much in terms of strong humor outside this character.  Garth, Kate’s arranged fiancé, also subverts expectations.  Because he’s the love rival, we expect him to be some spoiled douchebag, but he turns out to be a pretty nice guy.  Tony (Dennis Hopper, in his last film role), the leader of the rival pack and Garth’s father, plays a mildly antagonistic role, but he’s not really a villain.  He just wants to make sure that his people have the feeding grounds they need, just Kate’s father Winston (Danny Glover).  It’s actually quite refreshing to see an animated movie with real conflict, but not because anyone’s being an asshole just for the hell of it.  Hell, even the humans have noble intentions.  Everyone in the film has a good reason to act the way they do, and there are no actual villains. 

Though I had my doubts about this shady-looking bastard.

     The voice casting is a mixed bag.  I usually find it annoying when an animated feature casts a big name when I prefer actual voice actors or respected character actors with cult appeal.  Justin Long does not exactly have that kind of street cred, but he does give his role a fittingly adorkable charm.  Unfortunately, the movie also casts some random stars from popular recent shows like Heroes and The OC.  Christina Ricci, on the other hand, does a great job as Lilly and expresses the character’s shyness well.  Vicki Lewis is alternately nurturing and ferocious as Eve.  Danny Glover and Dennis Hopper are very enjoyable as two characters who are, quite appropriately, too old for this shit.

     Alpha and Omega certainly isn’t a great movie, but it deserves more credit than it receives in my opinion.  A lot of it is tedious and there is a good bit of obnoxious humor, but the scenes that focus on the wolf packs are interesting to watch.  It plays a few formulas straight, but it subverts many annoying clichés at the same time.  It even has some genuinely clever moments.  The Moonlight Howl is fun to listen to and it’s an interesting interpretation of a lupine activity from their point of view, even it is a bit oddly sensual.  It would have been better if it had stuck more to its strengths, though.  I admit that the presence of wolves constitutes much of the movie’s appeal.  In fact, I probably would have found it relatively bland without this element.  Still, it’s definitely an enjoyable enough movie, and I don’t think its flaws are too serious.   

FAVORITE QUOTES

EVE: Aww, Kate, you look so beautiful.  Now, if Garth gets out of line, take those beautiful teeth of yours, go for the throat and don't let go until the body stops shaking.

KATE: [stunned silence]

EVE: I just want to say one thing.  If any of you wolves have hurt my daughter, I will personally rip out your eyes and shove them down your throat so YOU CAN SEE MY CLAWS TEARING YOUR CARCASS OPEN!!!!