The Greek letters Alpha and Omega mean first and last, respectively. They are also used for the rankings of wolves. Kate (Hayden Panettiere) is destined to be the leader of the pack, the Alpha wolf, whereas her childhood friend Humphrey (Justin Long) is the low-ranking comedic Omega wolf. Kate is to marry Garth, the next Alpha of the Eastern pack, to unite all of the wolves in the region of Jasper National Park in Canada. Even though Kate is willing to marry him as her duty, she finds his howling unattractive and a series of events leads Kate and Humphrey, an unlikely pairing in terms of rankings, to be trapped in Idaho. Call it It Happened One Wolf Pack.
Alpha and Omega is a predictable story with dull visuals, awful voice-acting and weak use of 3-D. The film is graphically bland. There’s not enough contrast in colors and the 3-D comes through only when the saliva and drool from the wolves are ridiculously spit out “onto” the audience.
The slapstick humour is too forceful and in general, not funny. And, don’t worry, the innuendos are plenty; Alpha and Omega is essentially about the mating of wolves (Howling is the only expression of sexual instincts that are shown in the film). Panettiere’s performance as Kate is also aggressive, her voice-acting over-the-top and exaggerated. Directors Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck left the film unrefined and blunt.
I am able to tolerate most animated films, but Alpha and Omega is not one of them. However, I do appreciate its ordinary message: Be with the ones you love. Children should watch something else in theatres, as Alpha and Omega is neither funny nor appealing.
What did you think of Alpha and Omega?