Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure (Video 2013)

Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure (Video 2013). 45m | Not Rated

“Made the decision, despite not caring much at all for the first u0026#39;Alpha and Omegau0026#39;, to see its follow-ups (yes there is a franchise) out of curiosity and as an enormous fan of animation, would see anything regardless of critical reception. Would see anything to do with Christmas too.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnybody who disliked the first film but wants to see the rest of the franchise to see whether it gets better or not will be shocked to find that u0026#39;Alpha and Omega: A Howl-iday Adventureu0026#39; (the title alone is enough to make anyone dubious) is even worse. One of the worst sequels personally seen to me and proof that u0026#39;Alpha and Omegau0026#39; didnu0026#39;t need a sequel let alone a franchise.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLetu0026#39;s start with the animation. The animation wasnu0026#39;t the best in the first film but it had its decent moments. It however is u0026#39;Toy Storyu0026#39; compared to the animation quality here, which is not quite Video Brinquedo, Spark Plug Entertainment or u0026#39;Foodfightu0026#39; bad but almost and on the same level as u0026#39;The Swan Princessu0026#39; CGI films. Blocky character designs, almost creepy expressions, very flat colours, a complete lack of fluidity in movement and less than meticulously detailed backgrounds are reminiscent of computer animation and video games in their infancy, something that one does not expect at all for 2013 even for low budget when technology as much as it has.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCan say no better for the music either. None of it fits with whatu0026#39;s going on, stylistically it feels out of place and out of kilter, itu0026#39;s obtrusive and itu0026#39;s not even good music on its own. The writing is even worse, summing up in one word itu0026#39;s abominable. half-baked ideas and any parts that strive to be funny or poignant instead come across as eye-rollingly cheesy or cloying.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWorse are the u0026quot;funnyu0026quot; jokes and dialogue, which are not funny at all, one groans at some of the wordplay/puns and older audiences who are children at heart whenever seeing animation (like me, one is never too old to appreciate animation and it is not strictly oriented towards kids only) will question the appropriateness of some of it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStory-wise, there is not much of one at all. u0026#39;Howl-iday Adventureu0026#39; is short but feels longer thanks to plodding pacing and thin plotting. There is very little Christmas spirit either, there is no heart or charm and it all feels very mean-spirited. The characters are never engaging, they are either bland or irritating and some of them are completely pointless.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eVoice acting is weak all round, the first u0026#39;Alpha and Omegau0026#39; at least had Hayden Panettiere giving a pretty good account of herself and Dennis Hopper. There is nobody of that calibre here, some overdo it and some act as if they werenu0026#39;t even trying.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, a howlingly bad mess. If the rest of the franchise is like this, u0026#39;Alpha and Omegau0026#39; has potential to be as over-milked as u0026#39;The Swan Princessu0026#39; and u0026#39;The Land Before Timeu0026#39; franchises. 1/10 Bethany Cox”