Open Season 2 (PG, 2009)

This sequel loses something of the star wattage of the voice performers in the original – Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence voiced Elliott and Boog the bear in the first movie – but with Krakowski and Billy Connolly returning to their roles, it still manages to entertain and amuse. In part the entertainment value comes from the richly imagined characters, from a perpetually angry Scottish squirrel to a psychopathic French poodle named Fifi (Crispin Glover, who else?) The depiction of crazily devoted pet owners – and the subtle way in which they have come to look like their pets – is also effective.

But in the end this is a buddy film, with Elliott realizing that to survive he'll need the help of his friends – and that includes his fiancc. What Giselle sees in Elliott is mystifying, between his hysteric tendencies and his unwillingness to commit, but since this is a movie aimed at kids we'll give it a pass. It's a fine family entertainment choice that may have children rethinking their assumptions about the family pet.