Alpha and Omega trailer

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On September 17th Lionsgate will release, via Crest Animation, the 3D animated feature film Alpha and Omega. Here’s our first look:

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  • http://robcatview.blogspot.com robcat2075

    I’m going to venture that parents who see this trailer will not be moved to take their kids to see a movie about a pack of horny wolves.

    And horny teenagers who see this trailer will pass it by for just about any of the other horny-teenager bait that is available to them.

    That leaves actual horny wolves, who typically wait for the DVD release.

    Other than that, it can’t miss.

  • Alissa

    Oh hey Balto? Sorry, just another furry thingamajig with really creepy characters.

    Might be successful, but just not my cup of tea.

  • Hulk

    The comment writes itself: It’s so blatantly derivative of ‘Balto’, ‘Brother Bear’, ‘Bolt’ and ‘Over the Hedge’- even down to the Russian Goose which is the most brazen rip-off, that it’s insulting the intelligence of the audience.

    How the hell did they get away with this? Are they being sued? Did Todd Goldman (of ‘Rugs Rabbit’ fame) produce this?

  • erlab

    Normally, Cartoon Brew and many other animation sites I visit every morning all notify me of movies BEFORE I see a single trailer!

    Not so this time. This time, I was taken aback by seeing this trailer ahead of Shrek Forever After, and NOT being able to place the name!

    Lionsgate trying to enter the competition too, huh? Had enough Flash-animated flops and bad company drama, huh? I’ll give Crest the benefit of a doubt, considering the animation isn’t bad, but the film doesn’t look REMOTELY fresh! … not to mention how I never heard of them before!

  • Autumn

    Bleh.

  • Iritscen

    Furries everywhere, rejoice!

  • victoria

    the werewolves from the “Howling” were less scary than those CG designs, I’m not joking everytime they made an expression I cringed.

  • Gregory Bernard

    yes, it’s “Balto”, because it has wolves. It’s “Brother Bear” because it’s in the snowy wilderness. Jeez, guys! You might want to read a book before claiming that either of those were original. The Balto people still have a check that they never sent to the Jack London estate, for example.

    Look, it’s not my cup of tea either- for one thing the models look like temps designed by a committee of art students and the environments are suspiciously void of detail- but it is a cartoon intended for kids. The horny cartoon character is a character looking for a mate in a child’s eyes. Pebble and the Penguin, Lady and The Tramp, Shrek, Popeye, Bambi and dozens of others build around this same story. That story is also a secondary plot thread in just about every animated film made.

    Except for films from Pixar. Pixar interestingly enough, only used that plot device twice, once with odd, sex-assigned vehicles, and another time with sexless robots. Maybe it’s time to have that father-son talk with Pixar.

  • http://MrFunsBlog Floyd Norman

    This movie could use some sex.

  • http://kaseygifford.com Killskerry

    What…

    Ok so like…Rio is about a rare incapable blue male parrot who goes out into the wild with a capable female parrot hoping that they will get it on to preserve the species. She starts out hating him but after some wacky adventures love and eventually babies.

    Newt..Albiet cancelled was about a rare incapable blue newt who goes out into the wild with a capable female rare blue newt hoping they will get it on to preserve the species. She starts out hating him but after some wacky adventures love and eventually babies.

    Alpha and Omega..is about a incapable wolf introduced to an area where wolves are rare who goes out into the wild with a capable female wolf hoping they will get it on to preserve the species. She starts out hating him and eventually…oh I don’t know…they have babies? THAT WOULD BE A TWIST.

    This movie looks like pure uncut shit. The designs are painful and animation is mediocre as hell. The premise is so stale its practically INEDIBLE. It makes Balto look like a masterpiece. I would not shed a tear if any of these strange creepy wolves and their human hairpieces were taken down by Sarah Palin with sniper rifle and a helicopter.

    Surely in a world like ours there has to be some kind of new idea to work off of. It doesn’t have to be totally unknown territory but this bland slime they are trying to feed us over and over is getting PAINFUL to watch.

  • lampshade

    YOU’RE NOT AN ALPHA, YOU’RE AN OMEGA

    i stopped the clip right there before my intelligence could’ve been insulted furthermore

  • NC

    They should re-title it, “DeviantART the Movie”.

    @Gregory Bernard “but it is a cartoon intended for kids.”

    Really? So kids don’t deserve good work? The people who will be running the world when we’re all in retirement homes should just get mindless poop and sex jokes? Just think about it for a while. “It’s just a cartoon for kids” argument is getting inane and old. Children out of everyone deserve better work, whatever happened to taking care of our future? I’m sorry but I’m getting a head ache from how asinine this idea is.

    Second you cannot relate crass sex jokes to deep character relations like Lady and the Tramp. Yes sex may be one aspect but if you tell kids that sex is the ONLY factor in a relationship what kind of message are you sending to kids? Seriously man, think before you post.

  • MattSullivan

    I don’t like to judge stuff before I see it..but man. This looks SO UTTERLY BAD.

  • Lindsay

    Wow, “Born to be Wild” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” manage to be used in a 2½ minute trailer for a movie… about wolves? That is some inspired promotion, Lionsgate! *headdesk*

    I’m not digging this either. I’m often a sucker for animated critter films, but this is so devoid of any creativity that it’s just sad to watch. The animation bothers me, too; the lipsync and mouth motion is especially wonky. The lower jaws just flap up and down like a flipper or something… O_o

  • Connie Pinko

    I can’t take another shitty animated movie.

  • http://www.animationinsider.net/ Aaron H. Bynum

    Certainly seen the story a dozen times before, but I still give Crest Animation the credit for finishing production on the piece… they’ve been working on this thing for years, and there simply aren’t many complete animated films from Indian studios.

  • Karen

    There’s worse stuff out there. Like Balto, which was a pretty horrible movie. And this film couldn’t do worse at the box office than Balto, which flopped big time.

  • Jared

    The voice-over reminds me of South Park’s take on trailers – “Durp de durp, but then – Durpa durpy durp!”… one more bad sign, I guess.

  • Erin

    Crap, now my project is going to be compared to this constantly on TOP of already being compared constantly to Balto, despite there being nothing in the plot or designs that would suggest a copy. I don’t mind the Balto comparison; that was crap as historical fiction (more liberties than Pocahontas with THAT one) but it was cute and engaged me as a kid.
    If this bombs, I’m gonna have a tough road to climb to convince anyone to take up my project. Even the reasonably good comic sales won’t convince investors if this tanks.

  • Anthony D.

    Will definetely see this along with Megamind.

  • Adam

    Crest is the animation house in Burbank that used to be run by Richard Rich. They made the Swan Princess, the King and I, and some other stuff before they were bought by Lionsgate. I don’t know if Rich is still involved, or if they’re even still in Burbank.

  • Tedzey

    CRAP! This looks like the concept art came from that crappy fan art you find on deviantart!

  • http://www.markmcdermott.com Mark McDermott

    Hm. Like they wolf said himself in the trailer: Again with the butts?

    Looks more like any number of teenage road pictures of the 80′s where the loser nerd ends up winning the hot chick. Well, we got Duran Duran in the soundtrack. How in the world could they have left out “Who let the Dogs Out?”

  • http://tresswygert.blogspot.com Tres Swygert

    Totally uninterested in seeing it. Looked like a television movie instead of a theatrical one.

  • http://www.frankpanucci.com FP

    It doesn’t interest me. I don’t hate it. If I see it four years from now on some TV channel, assuming the infrastructure for such activity still exists, I might like it. That is the way I feel about most trailers.

  • Andrew

    “Again with the butts”

    Our thoughts exactly

  • Tim Hodge

    Of course, it’s unfair to render a complete judgement of a film based on the trailer, but here is my impression of the story:
    It is a common screwball comedy love story set-up. Basically a buddy movie, throwing two opposite personalities together and they fall in love by the end. A good version of this set-up is Peter Bogdanovich’s “What’s Up, Doc?”, or “You’ve Got Mail”; the bad version is the Nick Nolte/Julia Roberts debacle “I Love Trouble”, or the recent “Bounty Hunter”.

    The difference between the two usually lies in the script. (I don’t want to run down a writer in a public forum, so I’ll be civil.) Both versions hit the same major beats: 1) The protagonists meet in a way that dooms their relationship, one totally ruins the other’s day. 2). After a series of unfortunate encounters, they are thrown together and spend the second half of act 2 fighting each other. 3) There is a moment where they are about to kiss, then one finds out some secret about the other that sets the relationship back worse that it was at the beginning. 4) In act 3, they must work together toward a common goal, the major subplot that has been running through the story – some sort of rescue or something. That final climax resolves with a passionate kiss, and fade out.

    The bad version follows the outline by the numbers and throws in many pop culture references, bad puns, and jokes that can be gleaned from mediocre sit-coms. The good versions likely started in a similar place, but the writer takes a second, objective look. He or she digs a little deeper into the well of cleverness and originality. “Maybe those story beats are negotiable” they decide, and follow the spirit of the outline rather than the letter, and end up creating a classic film. The other, well… I think we’ve all seen too many of those.

    That’s what the trailer appears to be… sort of by the numbers. Of course, it may be the editor stringing together all the necessary story beats to sell the plot. We don’t know for sure the material he was given to work with.

    Maybe it would be a good idea to stroll over to IMDb.com and check out the writer’s and directors’ other credits.

  • Chris S

    Any preview with a “Wahooo!!!!” scene, followed by a “no no no no!!! *crash*” is for a movie I will not likely ever see, even if it were free. But it’s 3D so at $20 a ticket it should still make a buck, right?

  • Zach B.

    Nope.

    Just, nope.

  • Mitch Kennedy

    There’s always that one scene where the characters have to slide down something really really fast.

  • Gregory Bernard

    NC, please don’t play that “kids deserve only the best” card here. We both know that kids are not the best judges of quality entertainment, or anything else for that matter. WE might want better, but the kids want Ice Age 3 and 6teen. We might think kids deserve better, but Beverly Hills Chihuahua and G Force were two solid home run hits last year that are both poised to become franchises, and I don’t think the kids were dragged screaming to see them.

    And don’t “Fox news” my statement about mating/romance stories being sex stories. You knew what I meant. To varying degrees of taste and subtlety, the biological impulse has been featured in the vast majority of animated films. That was my point, and shaking your tear stained Mickey Mouse hat in my face won’t negate the point I was making.

    Take this movie trailer apart if you want to, but do it on honest terms.

  • TK

    Hmm… this is interesting:

    “As the alpha wolf daughter of the western pack leader, Kate is arranged to marry Garth, the alpha wolf son of the eastern pack leader, not for love but to prevent a deadly war between the two packs. But the marriage is put on hold when, unbeknownst to anyone, Kate and Humphrey are taken by park rangers from their home in Jasper Park, Canada and relocated to Sawtooth Park, Idaho.”

    http://www.lionsgatefilms.co.uk/films.php?id=156

    So far, no mention of Garth or pack war in the trailer. It could be that this storyline got axed during the production, and from the trailer we’re kinda lost on what motivated the characters to have that urgency to head back home. Then again it’s Chris Denk’s screenplay so I expect it to crash and burn quite badly (as a writer, the highest IMDb rating so far is 4.2).

    Animation is definitely less than average (you can tell a lot about the quality just by looking at the stampede scene!), but at least characters are quite watchable unlike those in Hoodwinked, Open Season or Barnyard. At the end, my verdict is that this would end up in the same bin with Fly Me to the Moon or Space Chimps… mediocre and quickly forgotten.

  • Chris Sobieniak

    Someone who coined “deviantART: The Movie” is not far from the truth when it comes to what some fans may want to see versus the general public.

    This movie might attract those people who had grown up on those films like Balto and want something of that caliber. We already got one group out there that’s trying to fund for an independently-produced animated feature about a pack of wolves they’ve been putting together for years….
    http://www.wolfmovie.com/

    Then there are those who are starving for a fourth Balto feature that will never be, so they’re taking it upon themselves to figure out how to animate this little guys and put something together on their own…
    http://www.animationsource.org/board/balto-iv-journey-of-revelation-t17671.html
    http://shadowstorm.22web.net/Boards/index.php

    Practically the equivalent of animating one’s fanfic if nothing else (and not so different from what anime fans/otaku do in Japan).

    And as also mentioned, I wish there was a little more thought into writing movies for children as well. You don’t really see smart writing much anymore when it seems like the only thing that would get a brat’s attention is to hear of a wolf who couldn’t hold his urethra (literally).

  • Chris Sobieniak

    Oh yeah, I think Richard Rich and his studio also did that Muhammad movie too.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad:_The_Last_Prophet

  • Mick Collins

    Yeah, this is an utterly by-the-numbers ‘opposites attract’ flick. I’m having trouble understanding why you guys are spending so much vitriol on it. This is what Hollywood does best: the same thing, over and over and over and over again. Most of you people are industry pros; YOU know how they roll. Why is this movie any worse than any of the others of its ilk?

  • http://fishsaquarium.blogspot.com antonin

    wow ! yes it’s a mix of `Balto’, ‘Brother Bear’, ‘Bolt’ and ‘Over the Hedge’

    but also open season, ice age, lion king etc… almost each shot has been seen before !

  • En Ming Hee

    Yeah, I’d rather see “Fantastic Mr Fox” all over again. And I’ve already seen it twice.

    Frankly, I have this idea for an animated project about wolves, but it’d be a Spaghetti Western. Anyone wanna hear about it?

  • http://animationinventory.blogspot.com/ Teodor

    The Lion king is forgotten?
    First shots of trailer looks like The Lion king

  • BanSei

    Great, a sparkledog movie.
    Never thought i’d actually see that. (outside of deviantArt, that is)

  • http://www.doink.co.uk Luke Newell

    Ooooh, will they? Won’t they? Will they get stuck together afterwards? Man o man what a bad idea.

  • http://www.elliotelliotelliot.com Elliot Cowan

    I don’t know what you’re all talking about.
    It looks no worse than a million other films and better than many.

  • http://hellohue.blogspot.com Hellohue

    On the whole this looks to be a pretty shoddy year for animation. Last year was amazing, such diverse films being released everywhere, whereas this year i only expect Httyd and Toy Story 3 to live on. I even have severe doubts about Arrietty.

    Sooner or later, audiences, not just for animation, will revolt and the studios will realise that it isn’t about trends to secure grosses, but it’s about making films for people who want a good film that will last. But I doubt the studios will ever recognise that, and while they pump out crap for the bottomfeeders, they’ll feed.

  • http://www.jasondeeble.com Jason Deeble

    This may be a little off topic, but why are there so many of these creepy looking CGI features out there? Is it that audiences prefer computer generated films over their traditional, hand-drawn counterparts? Is it that hand-drawn, animated features cost too much to produce? Shouldn’t there be someone out there making interesting, hand-drawn features on a consistent basis beside Studio Ghibli? It blows my mind that there’s no alternative to Alpha and Omega or Delgo.

    Maybe I’m just a little upset about what they did to Astroboy.

  • http://meathaus.com Chris McD

    Why do they have feathers on their heads?

  • Daniel J. Drazen

    I watched the trailer and I’m thinking “Continental Divide — The Cartoon!” In wolf’s clothing, of course.

  • Steve Gattuso

    Eh. Nothing horrific about it, but nothing that excites me, either.

    Does Lionsgate really think there’s THAT many furries in the world?

  • http://www.cannedgeek.com/ Kyle

    I’d just like to state that on my local furry mailing list most people are bagging this trailer just as much as everyone else here on this site, thank you very much. ^^

  • Gobo

    “Furries rejoice!” — not in the slightest…. this is ugly as hell. No furry is rejoicing. Sobbing, maybe.

    What’s going on with the Sonic the Hedgehog hair everyone has? Frills of soft spikes flopping around… is that supposed to be fur?

    And honestly… when your entire movie is based around wolf mating, you’ve already gone down a creepy road for a kids’ movie.

  • http://mrseanlane.com Sean

    I would feel dirty working on this.

  • http://www.totalmediabridge.com Kevin Johnson

    It’s disappointing that so many animated films follow the same formula (underrated loser gains confidence, wins girl and respect). I don’t know if studios just bank on the formula as a winning one for kids or if writers are perpetually compensating for their days in high school.

    Let’s just accept they won’t do a dramatic or different piece, or even original. How about just a balls-to-the-walls wacky film like The Emperor’s New Groove?

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbF3MCMa_hQ Le Furry Enrage

    http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NeverTrustATrailer

    The goose could just be a playful reference that only appears for a minute or so in the film, rather than a true ripoff.

  • http://kaycie-kcd.blogspot.com KcD

    I wonder if there’s a subplot about the goose wanting to be a professional golfer and play golf with humans.

  • chipper

    I’m not sure about the story, but the wolves are awfully cute.

  • Sara H.

    It looks like they took the dogs on the cover of the maya training book and changed their fur color a bit

    http://www.amazon.com/Autodesk-Maya-2010-Animation-Techniques/dp/1897177534/ref=pd_rhf_shvl_1

  • http://okgrillo.blogspot.com Oscar Grillo

    Jez!!…Makes Disney’s “Robin Hood” look “not-so-horrible-after-all”!

  • Mark

    “Furries rejoice!” — not in the slightest…. this is ugly as hell. No furry is rejoicing.”

    It’s too good for “furries.” Most furry crap makes this look like BAMBI by comparison.

  • NC

    @Gregory “We both know that kids are not the best judges of quality entertainment, or anything else for that matter.”

    Said like a true blue exec. It’s that type of thinking that’s caused this wave of uncreative slop. If it’s true that children aren’t the best judges of quality than how is it that Pixar has made hit after hit with QUALITY films? Maybe if everyone had the same mentality as Pixar our kids wouldn’t rush out to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua but the fact of the matter is that film was the only kids film out at the time. It was the only thing in theaters that parents could take there kids to see.

    As for the “Fox news” comment YOU were the one comparing Lady and the Tramp to this films crass jokes. Yes the biological impulse may still be there but many of the best films used it SUBTLY!! That’s what the beef is about. It’s why literature and film is on such a decline lately is because so few people are willing to take the time to make something with subtlety.

    Subtlety is the difference between a powerful intelligent film, a ranting public drama, or a mindless flick.

  • MattSullivan

    Why are there so many CG films, you ask?

    I have an answer, but you probably won’t like it. I believe it’s because it’s faster, cheaper, and it’s easier to train and recruit animators with no drawing talent.

    I am a classically trained animator. It’s all i ever wanted to do. But if there is ONE thing I like about CG, it’s not having to re-draw the character again, and again, and again.

    What i HATE about CG, is having to train on new software, AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN. By the time you finish learning one version, here comes another. So much info ( keystrokes, etc ) is crammed up in yer brain it’s hard to remember how to even USE these programs.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbF3MCMa_hQ Le Furry Enrage

    @Mark: Example of “furry crap” that’s superior to that crap: http://www.nordguard.com

  • http://www.rybreadstudio.com/doodlemasters/blog Rybread

    One more testimony of why Pixar pulled NEWT from production. We really don’t need another animated plot involving a repopulation of a species.

  • Baron Lego

    I have a feeling that those two wolves, despite their differences, will get together at the end. I can’t say for sure, though, being that it’s a pretty original story idea that’s never been done before.

  • Writer of Wrongs

    Outsourcing at its finest.

  • Gobo

    Mark:
    http://www.screwbald.com/
    http://www.redwombatstudio.com/wpg2
    http://www.eselkunst.com/

    There’s some very talented artists doing anthropomorphic animal work.

  • Eva

    Oh, man. The wimpy, inept suburban-kid personality male wins assertive, capable female dynamic is almost verging on forgivable in comparison to the animation. I was yukkin’ it up the whole time. Boy howdy.

  • Sam

    So, uh, this is essentially an animated film about two dogs humping?

  • samster

    oh well, it does not look all that crappy! who knows 2-3 years down the line you all might be looking for work at these studios :)

  • http://tangoland.com Cynthia

    Another animated feature where the girl character has all the power and the guy is the lowest of the low. Boy, I really feel empowered.

  • TQuan

    Mark:
    http://www.screwbald.com/
    http://www.redwombatstudio.com/wpg2
    http://www.eselkunst.com/

    There’s some very untalented artists doing anthropomorphic animal work.

  • Wow

    The Furries may flock to see this. I think the rest of us will pass.

  • Warhead

    Oh god, not the furries! Not the FURRIES!

    Seriously, this is just rubbish. It’s practically like every other romantic comedy, but with WOLVES! the large volumes of nightmare/fetish fuel is unheard of.

  • http://seedlesschicken.com what in the cel?

    why?

  • MattSullivan

    Tquan, it’s noble of you to try and promote other artists, but it’s futile to try and pass off anything “anthropomorphic” as likable or profitable “Art”.

    The simple fact is that people are repulsed by furries and anything associated with them. Because of their fandom, I can’t pitch ANYTHING with animal characters in it without some jackass movie exec saying” Oh, this is a furry film” in a not-so-subtle and disgusted tone.

    Frankly, I’m stunned AVATAR made as much money as it did considering it’s stupid looking cat-people. Maybe there was something in the drinking water. *shrug* I dunno.

  • Erin

    @TQuan

    Eh? Either your standard of crap is “anyone who isn’t Raphael” or you never bothered to check those links. Maybe not each picture is your specific cup of tea, but I think you’d have a long way to go before claiming that the artwork present doesn’t have, AT MINIMUM, a great deal of technical skill behind it.

  • MattSullivan

    “The Furries may flock to see this”

    yeah, all 700 of them

  • Gargamel

    Gobo, while it’s noble to try and point out some of the more technically skilled furry artists out there, MattSullivan’s comments also hold true – it’s not the artists, it’s the fandom. While the fandom will never be big enough to attract commercial interest, it’s notoriety is well-known in the animation industry that associating with it can work against you. (Post personal experiences!)

    And it’s sad, ’cause a lot of animators love drawing critters (Peter de Sève, for example), and furry fandom really undermines that enthusiasm each time some idiot decides to post porn drawings of animated characters. The North American animation industry is a major place the fandom hopes to see anthropomorphic media emerge from, and the industry hates furries. If it wasn’t for the fact that kids love animal characters, we’d probably never see anything. Nice going, fandom.

    And the fandom burned its bridges pretty much right from the start. Mike Kazaleh left it behind in the 80s, Shawn Keller has many personal horror stories, and I’m sure Jerry Beck (one of the mods here) would also have tales to tell from the early east-coast CF/O days. On top of this, add some of John Cawley’s proclivities and Steve Martin’s disastrous interview at Warners in 1991, and it’s no wonder.

    That being said, some furries will go nuts about things like Alpha and Omega because they simply don’t know better yet. Others will see the formula and clichés and be disappointed.

    Of those three artist links, Screwbald is actually two artists working together under a pseudonym, and they draw a lot of furry porn. Eselkunst also has his adult side, but at least he’s discrete about it, and actually experiments with style, design and medium more than most furry artists put together. I’m glad he’s found commercial work outside the fandom; he’s got what it takes.

    RedWombatStudio is Ursula Vernon, and she’s a really great individual. She’s branching out into children’s books, and her comic, ‘Digger’, is very popular – when I was at Worldcon I encountered fans of it from age 12 to 60. It was nominated for an Eisner award.

  • http://dltad.blogspot.com A.M.Bush

    http://www.redwombatstudio.com/wpg2

    oh man am I glad I clicked that link. She painted the famous “LOL WHUT” pear.

    serious, not sarcasm

  • JMatte

    @Gargamel
    But…but there’s porn drawings of EVERY animated characters out there. And any other fictional ones. Internet and rule 34 and all that.
    Fandoms of any kinds are crazy, period (or at least, portions of fandoms).

    I’m surprised people didn’t raise the hackle about “furries” when the trailer for Rio came up.
    Or is that tag mostly attached to wolves and big cats?

    I’ll just chime in that two of Europe’s best selling bandes dessinees could be considered “furry”: Blacksad and Sky Doll. So…there’s definitely a public for it out there.

    To go back to the subject.
    Right now, not too enthusiastic about seeing it. Not in my taste, I guess, mostly due to the storyline presented in the trailer. Another public may enjoy it. As for the looks, some nice bits of animation but I don’t know if I like the fur as hairdo choice.

  • Shawn

    So. From this trailer, I gather that she’s kind of badass and he basically sucks. Then, various things happen, and by the end she’s probably really into him despite the fact that he basically sucks, or he’s proven himself in some way that makes him worth her time.

    …Because every extra lame guy can totally have a hot capable girl, complete with cliche hair-tossing-batting-eyes-seductively-in-slow-motion shot. Isn’t there an equally or almost as cool wolf that she could get with instead? Who likes her legitimately and isn’t going to heinously disappoint her in the future? Granted, I’ll probably never see this movie, but I’m tired of all the settling gals in Hollywood are expected to do. Lazy lazy lazy writing.

    That said, those are some crappily designed wolves. They move weird, are unappealing, and look demented in any dead-on front shots. This is why animal movies just work better in 2D. You can design a character that looks appealing in normal shots, but still bend and change that design as needed in shots where your model maybe doesn’t work…Like sledding down the side of a mountain in a hollowed out tree in an unnatural position. That way, your characters don’t have to look like freaks throughout your entire movie, just the parts where some inconsiderate script writer/storyboard artist didn’t think through the logistics of posing out four-legged characters for a two-legged scenario.

  • http://www.sexymecha.com Hal

    From a business standpoint, between the meme that is THREE WOLF MOON and the hot Lycanthropic sex appeal of TWILIGHT the time IS right for this HOT. WOLF. ACTION.

    Unfortunately, Lionsgate forgot that nobody wants to see Justin Long have sex with anything, much less a CGI wolf Justin Long.

  • Chris Sobieniak

    “That way, your characters don’t have to look like freaks throughout your entire movie, just the parts where some inconsiderate script writer/storyboard artist didn’t think through the logistics of posing out four-legged characters for a two-legged scenario.”

    Definitely works better in 2D!

  • En Ming Hee

    @JMatte:

    there’s another furry BD called “De Cape Et De Crocs” (Cloak and Fang) that features two descendants of Reynard and Isengrim living in an imaginary 17th Century Europe. Very sophisticated, with references to theatre, plays, art and modern pop culture all subtly integrated into the visuals and the dialogue.

    http://decape.free.fr/

  • JMatte

    @En Ming Hee
    I am actually a big fan of that serie: the writing is smart, extremely clever and funny. I agree with you on all the points.
    The same author had worked a few years previously on another superbly written little tale called “Garulfo”, a great take on the frog prince.

  • http://crestindia.com Cmax

    I have seen preview in theatre. Movie looks great in 3D… whole theatre is angaged just like me. Whatever critics and peoples speak , write about movie……. Kids are going to enjoy this movie , there is no doubt about it. Kids only want entertainment…. thats all. Crest Animation and Lionsgate has done amazing , extraordinary and great work in Budget of US$25mn. What a refreshing movie from other studio after long long time!!! This is the movie i wanna see. pixar and dreamworks,blue sky,disney is using extremely upgraded technology which is not necessary in some areas , it kills the environment of the movie. In their movie Surface,texture,skin etc. are looking extremely smooth and slippery. No surface is 100% smooth and no surface is 100% rough. These companies has forgotten this things. In this movie Alpha and Omega company has done great work. After long long time getting different feeling and environment. Kids will love this movie. It can easily reach box office collection of US$150mn worldwide.

  • http://crestindia.com Cmax

    There are number of worst live action and animation movies release every year in USA. Ok….Alpha and Omega is not Best but far far better then many movies which are going to be released in 2010.

  • Andrew Kieswetter

    It looks okay. About throwing sex into the whole thing,Lionsgate is obviously trying to appeal to a wide audience.

    And yes,it does look like a mixture of Balto,Brother Bear,Bolt, and Over The Hedge.

  • Marie Verhoeven

    I feel like a complete newbie for discovering today what “Furry fandom” is (and I actually saw that episode of CSI talking about it LOL)… Seriously I had never heard of it before, and it seems everyone here know what it’s all about! You learn something new every day ahaha!

    One of my favorite comics fits the bill:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksad

    Awesomeness… but hopefully no one will have the crappy idea of turning it into a film, that would be offending…

    And this trailer looks horrendous, I’m actually quite baffled to see these films made, it seems some people never learn that under a certain level of rendering quality/animation/story, there is just no point doing these films. I guess, just like the action films industry, we will now enter a new era of DTV or poorly released cheap 3D crap just because “3D is awesome”.
    Brrr…

  • Gobo

    @Gargamel, thanks for the reply. Full disclosure: I know all the artists personally whose links I posted, and yes, I know what sort of art they draw, of all sorts. They’re all doing quite well at what they do :)

    To be clear, I’m not defending the so-called “furry community”, as in the convention-going fursuit-wearing fandom. But I’ll absolutely disagree with foolish comments like those from MattSullivan or TQuan, claiming that the artists I linked to are both ‘untalented’ or that anthropomorphic art of any kind is inherently ‘unlikeable and repulsive’. Have these folks never watched an animated Disney flick? A Warner Brothers cartoon? Read Pogo? That’s pure, willful ignorance.

  • http://crestindia.com Cmax

    Space Chimps has done box office collection of US$60 mn worldwide. Alpha and Omega is 100% better then Space Chimps. Alpha and Omega will do box office collection of atleast US$100mn worldwide. And thats enough for Crest,Lionsgate and me. I am sharehoder of company in India. Crest will become multibagger stock. E….ho…………

  • Dan P

    It always amazes me that these cheapie features think it’s worth it to go after the exact same audienceshare as the majors like Pixar and Dreamworks. They don’t have the resources to compete, period. Take that investment and do more niche, anime-style projects that, if good enough, might actually find an audience on DVD. This way, they’re just shooting themselves in the foot.

    At the end of the day, these films are knockoffs; they look like knockoffs. The major brand styles are so entrenched, that the audience can smell the stench of cheap imitation a mile away. Not to mention the colossal marketing resources needed to even get a kids’ film on the radar. It’s tough to imagine a more surefire way to engineer a bomb.

    This will have, -maybe- a 5mil weekend, and will disappear after that. I hope it was cheap, anyway.

  • MattSullivan

    “But I’ll absolutely disagree with foolish comments like those from MattSullivan or TQuan,”

    There might be a few talented artists out there, but they’re not DOING anything with their art but making pinups or sex-related art ( And I’m by no means condemning people who draw erotic art, I’ve done it myself ) But that’s ALL they do. You can’t name me one furry artist who has made ANYTHING “anthropomorphic that appeals to the GENERAL PUBLIC.

    Sticking an animal head on a human body is NOT creative. Just like this film is NOT creative. Hungry like the Wolf used in the trailer? Are you kidding me? How retarded are they trying to make this movie appear to be? A spoon-fed, badly designed retread, THAt…is what this so called movie feels like to me.

    I had my own WOLF movie I’ve been trying to pitch around ( well, werewolves actually ), so yes I’m a bit bitter. Because now whenever I show it to anyone all they’re gonna think is “furry movie” instead of “Werewolf movie”.

    I hate that fandom. And the rest of you should too for making it even HARDER to push ANYTHING animal related to a Hollywood studio.

  • http://tillmyhands.blogspot.com Anoniguy

    This would be pretty sweet if it were a television production. As a feature film? Kind of lacking.

    I wish they had gone with a story a little less stale.

  • Chris Sobieniak

    “I hate that fandom. And the rest of you should too for making it even HARDER to push ANYTHING animal related to a Hollywood studio.”

    At least someone’s honest about it here. You do sorta wonder how it just had to happen at all given it’s rather bumpy history. I really only like the artistic aspects of it (and not so much the whole fursuiting deal, all that should stay on paper I say). I think I hate anime fandom more for the direction it’s headed than where I wanted it to be.

    With that said, I couldn’t help but notice the one French comic mentioned earlier, “De cape et de crocs”. I may have said it once but I’ll say it again, the French know how to write good stories in their comics.

  • Erin

    *MattSullivan

    Lackadaisy Cats
    http://www.lackadaisycats.com/

    Won awards among the web comics community multiple years in a row. Extremely talented artist, great person, and already has an established career in the videogame industry.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbF3MCMa_hQ Le Furry Enrage

    @ Matt Sullivan: The actual number of people involved in furry is easily a lot closer to 70,000 than 700. Furaffinity alone has over 40,000 registered users. Anthrocon’s attendance the last few years has been over 3000. . . and it is only the largest out of over 40 furry cons worldwide. You couldn’t get all those people to agree on anything, certainly not about some stupid trailer (and I think it’s awful). Please do not make assumptions about what people do or do not like.

    @Gargamel: LOL @ at your dredging up events of well over a decade ago as though they were current. Since then the fandom has grown tremendously. It has it fact flourished despite all the crap we get on the internet and from the media.

    If the furry fandom were really all THAT repulsive/disreputable, just how the hell was Anthrocon able to get all those reputable mainstream figures as guests of honor: Dan de Carlo, Peter Laird, Stan Sakai, Michel Gagne, Mark Evanier, Carolyn Kelly, Rob Paulsen, Scott Shaw!, Floyd Norman, and (this year, in a few weeks) James Gurney? Why was Anthrocon *invited* to Pittsburgh by the city’s convention and visitor’s bureau?

    And just what is wrong with fursuiting? (Less than about 10% of the fandom has a costume.) That can be art too.

  • Gobo

    @mattsullivan, I can tell you’re awfully bitter about the furry fandom, but again, I’m not talking about furry porn. I’m talking about anthropomorphic art in general. Let’s see… Jeff Smith. Berke Breathed. Carl Barks. Maurice Sendak. Chris Onstad. Walt Disney. Jim Woodring. Don Bluth. Walt Kelly. Stan Sakai (who frequents furry cons, I might add). Those are just a few anthropomorphic artists who’ve created work that appeals to the general public.

  • The Brewmasters

    This is a website about the discussion of animation, not furries. Any future comments that aren’t specifically about the film trailer will be deleted.

  • Shawn

    @Cmax I can understand totally that as a shareholder in the company that made this movie you need to defend it. Unfortunately, the issues many people have with the movie have nothing to do with the fact that it was made on an impressively modest budget or that it may be low tech compared to larger animation houses.

    The issues with this film really relate back to fundamentals of animation that effect everything that’s ever been animated, all the way back to Snow White.

    The character designs are awkward and most are very similar, making it difficult to tell the characters apart.

    The color choices are poor and the environment is lit very blandly, causing most of the surroundings to blend into the characters. This makes the actions hard to read and the film unattractive overall.

    The script sounds like it may be enjoyable, but certainly sounds like it’s based on many romantic comedy tropes that have been done before. Kids will probably like it, but as others have mentioned there seems to be a lot of innuendo that may make this film unappealing for parents.

    None of these issues are with technology. They are the same issues that plague everything that’s ever been animated, and it really comes down to planning and the kind of talent you have on board with the film. When I see this trailer, it tells me that there are a lot of people working on this film who maybe understand how to use Maya, but don’t really understand some very fundamental parts of storytelling, color, design, and animation. It’s a good effort, but the film looks like it lacks the experienced talent needed to really bring in the big money.

  • http://crestindia.com Cmax

    I have seen preview of Alpha and Omega in theatre. Movie looks Amazing and cOOl in 3D. Watch HD trailer on youtube with 1080 pixels.
    Space Chimp has done worldwide box office collection of US$60mn.
    Alpha and Omega is 100% better then Space Chimps and number of live action movies released and releasing in 2010 in USA.
    Alpha and Omega will reach box office collection of US$80mn worldwide easily.
    Bugdet of movie is US$25mn. Thats it !!! Movie is Superhit.
    Crest and Lionsgate will get huge profit from Theatrical revenue , Games , DVD sales , Broadcasting , Licensing and Merchandising.
    I am sharholder of Crest in India. We dont want Oscar. We want EPS. (Earning Per Share). And movie will 100% entertain Kids. No doubt about it.
    N………Jo………Kids……
    Crest will become Multibagger Stock………
    E…..ho………….

  • samster

    production has moved to india, its time for all of us to move there and start working and spreading knowledge

  • http://crestindia.com TimeCop

    Alpha and Omega looks extremely great on 3D Screen. I have watched preview. Kids are enjoying like CRAZY !!!

  • DanP

    *That* cost 25 million dollars?

    You say the main purpose of the film was to return an investment; I don’t think anyone doubted that for a second. And I don’t think the audience and critics will doubt it either.

  • Chris Sobieniak

    At least someone here made sense after the last few comments gushing about the India studio involved.

  • http://crestindia.com Zoomanji

    There is huge shortage of CGI Animation content. Every day Kids and peoples want more and more entertainment. It is not possible to produce Avatar and Shrek everyday. So just open your mind and entertain yourself with Alpha and Omega.
    Alpha and Omega is 100% entertainer…there is no doubt about it.
    Movie is far far better then many live action films releasing and released in USA in 2010.

  • Chris Sobieniak

    Well thanks for the form letter approach.

  • Connie Pinko

    Why advance the medium when there’s money to be made?

  • http://crestindia.com Cmax

    I am Cmax, Timecop , Zoomanji and Sakimato. Guys you all are true. Alpha and Omega is dumbest and horrible movie. As a sharehoder of Crest first i have not been able to accept reality but now i have exited Crest. Thanks for great help all guys.
    Lionsgate has hired 50 persons to cheat Kids by posting good comments about Alpha and Omega. Kids doesnt deserve this horrible movie. Kids deserve Finding Nemo , Kung Fu Panda , Ice Age , BOLT , How to train your dragon. Todays Kids are smart. They know about quality. Kids will not go for this horrible movie.
    Comment 41 is from Lionsgates hired person. He is also posting on youtube.

  • Mari Rosa

    Looks pretty cute. I’m sure its fun watch worth a rental. The voices are a pretty “OH MAH GAWD”-ish which could get annoying, but I’ll put it aside for the animation. As a big animation lover, I will give it a watch even if it’s not a fave.

  • dragunov

    this accually is COMPLETELY unrelated to balto… i think this is supposed to specifically be about wolves humping…
    -sigh- here we go AGAIN!

  • Rooniman

    If I had to give an award for the one trailer that showed everything that was going to happen in the movie, this would definatley be it (before it was Furry Vengence).

    I think I died alittle inside while watching this trailer.

  • DesertVulpine

    Lets start off with a few things that may have already been mentioned about both this film, and the furry fandom (since I do happen to be a part of it)
    First off, this movie looks like a grotesque waste of money. The trailer did give away the entire plot line, which is definitely overused as it is. The animations are shotty at best, being very bland and awkward even during the trailer. Yes, this movie does look bad, but anthro animals are always welcomed to the younger viewers. I mean, the entire attraction is based around fantasy. If this world contained animals that talked or interacted in ways humans could all generally understand, not a single person would see this movie. I guarantee it.
    Second, the furry fandom has a shit rep, and for reasons like the internet ruined it by making it seem like all of its members were porn-obsessed freaks. Now, that really sucks whenever someone says that this movie is a furry’s fantasy. Being one, I can tell you ITS NOT. I, for one, am not into the sex-based themes that happen to come with this fandom, but I will say that it attracts me because there is some VERY good art that has been done that I find inspiring, and that everyone in the furry community sees each other as being not an outcast, but a welcomed member. I would really hope that this idea would be spread around more than just the porn-addicted people who ruin this fandoms’ name. Maybe, people just need to look deeper into the real meanings of why a fandom is created, instead of judging it based on the internet’s shell of lies that surround it.