Alpha and Omega (film)

Plot

In Canadas Jasper National Park, Kate begins Alpha school with her father and grows up as a fully trained Alpha, but on her first hunt she crosses paths with two wolves from the Eastern pack who are lacking food in their own territory and nearly start a war. The two packs have had a bitter rivalry ever since Tony commanded the Eastern wolves to cross over into Western territory (against pack law) to get sufficient food. Winston and Tony meet up one night and arrange for Kate to marry Garth (Chris Carmack), Tonys son. Kate, having a sense of responsibility and duty, agrees for the good of the pack and meets Garth at the Howling Rock.

Garth seems perfect except that he has a terrible howl. Kate, taken aback, leaves and has a talk with Humphrey about Garth, when suddenly they are tranquilized by some park rangers and taken away to Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Idaho, where they meet golfer Marcel and his caddy Paddy. Humphrey and Kate learn that they were relocated to repopulate the species. This horrifies Kate, but intrigues Humphrey so that he can be with Kate, but after coming to an agreement, Marcel and Paddy help the wolves return home to Jasper Park.

The two packs discover that Kate has gone missing. Tony warns Winston that on the next full moon if Kate doesnt return to marry Garth, war will be declared for their territory. Kates sister Lilly however has developed a crush on Garth and suggests that she show him around.

Kate and Humphreys ride home is cut short at a gas station, where Humphrey is mistaken for a rabid wolf after he eats a cream-filled cupcake. Kate attacks a man with the gun, and the two make flee into the forest. During their homeward journey, they cross a dangerous ravine with Humphrey saving Kate from a nasty fall.

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 whose never seen wolves, but a mishapy gets the cub hurt angering a trio of adult bears. Kate comes to Humphreys rescue and after a rough slide down the mountain manage to board the passing train.

During this time, Lilly and Garth are bonding. At the midnight howl, Lilly compassionately teaches Garth how to howl effectively. At the same time, Humphrey and Kate begin to fall in love. By this time, the full moon has come and the both packs declare war against each other. As the train passes by Jasper, Kate and Humphrey exchange of feelings is cut short by the sight of the wolf pack war. Kate stops the fight by by declaring she will marry Garth. The next day, a heartbroken Humphrey bids his goodbyes with Kate, Marcel, and Paddy deciding to leave by himself and Kate also feels the same way.

During the ceremony, Kate decides not to marry Garth, declaring her love for Humphrey and Garth declares his own romantic love for Lilly. An Alpha wolf marrying an Omega wolf goes against pack customs and a conflict ensues between the packs, but is cut short when a massive stampede of caribou comes. Winston and Tony get caught in the stampede but Kate and Humphrey rush in to save them. Kate is almost trampled but survives thanks to Humphreys protection. Later at the Moonlight Howl, all of the wolves celebrate the marriages of Kate to Humphrey, and Garth to Lilly, breaking the social classes. Humphrey and Kate sing a duet.

Voice cast

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 ended its run on December 2, 2010 after grossing $25 million domestically and $25 million in other territories. Alpha and Omega 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 2010s animated litter." At Metacritic, the film holds a score of 36 out of 100, based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.

Books

Three books based on Alpha and Omega have been published by Scholastic:

1. Kate and Humphreys Big Adventure/All about Wolves by Rebecca McCarthy
2. Alpha and Omega: Marcel and Paddy Save the Day by Tori Kosara
3. Alpha and Omega: The Junior Novel by Aaron S. Rosenberg

Video game

Published by Storm City Games, a video game adaptation called Alpha and Omega, based on the first film in the franchise, was exclusively released for the Nintendo DS on September 14, 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. The films characters also came in McDonalds happy meal toys and were only available in the UK.

Accolades

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

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.

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, 2014 as a Walmart Exclusive. Common Sense Media gave Alpha and Omega 3 a mixed 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, on which it is based.

Alpha and Omega: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave was released to iTunes on September 23, 2014 and was released to DVD on October 7, 2014. The plot involves Runt exploring the Saw Tooth Cave and finding a wolf who has been driven from her pack for being different. He must help her and he learns about the joys of lending a paw to a friend in need. The trailer for Alpha and Omega: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave was released on July 21, 2014.

Alpha and Omega: Family Vacation aired on TV in Mexico on March 28 and is planned for release to DVD in August 2015 and three more sequels have been announced for Lionsgate to distribute, the first of which is intended for a release in early 2016, and will follow the "misadventures of Alpha Kate and Omega Humphrey and their three wolf pups, Stinky, Claudette and Runt, as they learn life lessons in the great outdoors".