Review: Winter sets in for 'Alpha and Omega: The Big Fureeze'

Posted Tuesday, November 8, 2016 at 4:18 PM Central
Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2016 at 4:18 PM Central

by John Couture

It's a question as old as time, when do you call it quits?

When do you make the conscious decision to walk away from the game, to retire from your career or to stop making Alpha and Omega movies?

I'll be honest, I watched the first film a few years ago with my young daughter who enjoyed it well enough, but I remember not being blown away by it. The film just seemed to be a bit of a retread of other forgotten animation films over the years and I was shocked when I heard they were making a sequel.

Having another kid, I sort of lost touch with this franchise and I was legitimately shocked that this week's Alpha and Omega: The Big Fureeze is the seventh Alpha and Omega film to be released. So, to prepare for this review, I went back and brushed up on the intervening five films, but it became clear that it was not necessary.

The franchise is basically on auto-pilot with some installments being better received than others, but I sat down and watched Alpha and Omega: The Big Fureeze with my kids and they were able to understand and enjoy it without seeing the other films in the series. I, on the other hand, still had many of the same issues with this film as I did with the original film, do we really need this series in our lives?

As the father of two young children, I don't think you can have enough quality animated entertainment because kids love them. Alpha and Omega: The Big Fureeze proved this true as my kids loved it. So much so, that they've actually seen in three times in the last week with no sign of slowing down.

The problem for me is that the film doesn't really stand up to repeat viewings and it gets a bit grating as the number of viewings increase. That being said, I did enjoy it during the first viewing because the holiday theme echoed with my children and helped to remind them that Christmas is just around the corner.

As for the package itself, I was pleasantly surprised that there were two deleted scenes included on the DVD. Most films like this are present in a "no bells and whistles" package, so it was nice to have additional content to surprise my kids with. I'm not sure why they weren't just included in the final product as the film is only 45 minutes long, but I imagine that has something to do with TV and commercials to fill a 60-minute time slot.

At the end of the day, Alpha and Omega: The Big Fureeze is a fun little title at a nice price point for both fans of the series and newcomers alike.