A wolves’ ‘tail’ packed with emotions

Alpha & Omega (2010)
Certified: U
Duration: 88 minutes
Directed by: Ben Gluck, Anthony Bell
Voices of: Justin Long, Haydn Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Dennis Hopper, Danny Glover
KRS release

All the children who enjoyed the likes of Universal’s classic series of animated movies Balto will find a lot to like in Alpha and Omega, an animated adventure with quite a romantic slant.

The film follows the rivalry between two different wolf packs living in a Canadian national park. One of the packs is led by Tony (Dennis Hopper) and the other by Winston (Danny Glover). A marriage is arranged between their two first-born children – Kate (Haydn Panettiere), Winston’s daughter, and Garth (Chris MacCarmack), Tony’s son. Both are alpha wolves, which are hunter/gatherers, even though Garth still has a problem finding his howl. It is forbidden for alpha wolves to marry omega wolves, which are more fun and art oriented.

Things, however, start to take a different course when Kate starts feeling attracted to omega wolf Humphrey (Justin Long), while Garth begins to like Lilly (Christina Ricci), Kate’s omega sister. Soon, trappers manage to capture Kate and Humphrey and take them to a reserve in far off Idaho. Garth and Lilly meanwhile get closer to each other. Trouble brews when Tony thinks that Kate has bailed out on purpose and so sets out on making war and taking over the two packs. So Humphrey and Kate must do their best to get back to their own park and stop impending strife.

As is now the norm for most animated movies, the scriptwriters have filled the film with jokes and innuendoes that accompanying adults and teenagers will get but children won’t.

While most films of the genre are focused on the action sequences, here the emphasis is more on the emotions as we see the wolves discover things about themselves and in the way they perceive others. Romance is kept at a suitable level for the young ones with male and she-wolves focused on howling at the moon together.

This film also marks the last casting of late actor Dennis Hopper. Justin Long, who has a lovable screen persona as recently seen in the recent Going The Distance, is here given the lovable and funny Humphrey to voice.

On a side note: I took a quick look at some wolf-related websites and found out that wolf packs are actually led by alpha wolves – the leading caste who can mate with every wolf they want. The omega wolf is in the lower strata and acts more like a babysitter in the pack and helps raise the young wolves. Alpha wolves prefer to mate with alpha wolves but only rarely with omega ones!