* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Ian is a JerkJock, vain, pushy, and a bully. But on the other hand, he isn't a coward and does seem to be a pretty good leader of his herd. Also, Elliot is a loser and an idiot, and while we never find out what he did to be thrown out, it's pretty likely he did ''[[NoodleIncident something]]''.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: Elliot. Some find him funny and lovable, while others find him an intolerable prick. The fourth film, where his more negative traits are {{Flanderized}}, hasn't done any favors.
* CatharsisFactor: For those who dislike Elliot, his AmusingInjuries and humiliations (some of which [[TheDogBitesBack come from Boog himself]]) qualify -- even the ones involving him being beat up by [[JerkJock Ian]] and pursued by [[BigBad Shaw]].
* CrazyIsCool: Shaw's insanity makes him one of the most hilarious characters in the movie. He knows the animals are sapient and strives to kill them in a bid to stop them from rising against humanity, owns a truck that is both airtight and can drive in water, lights matches with his gold tooth, and was willing to fight (and even ''suplex'') a bear with his bare hands.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Boog and Elliot are the stars, but each film usually has a few side characters that stand out.
** From the first film, [=McSquizzy=] the {{Film/Braveheart}}-referencing squirrel and Buddy the cute blue porcupine.
** From the second, Roger the cat.
** Alistair from the third film might count, too.
* FanficFuel: In ''Open Season 2'', Elliot reveals that he spent the winter with [=McSquizzy=] while Boog was hibernating. Elliot and [=McSquizzy=] don’t interact much in the films themselves, but they apparently got along so well here, that [=McSquizzy=] is Elliot’s first guess when Boog mentions his "best friend".
* FirstInstallmentWins: The first film is the only one you'll actually hear people admit they like.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The sequels were greenlit as a result of the film's massive success in Russia and even released theatrically over there.
* HilariousInHindsight: Mr. Weenie looks remarkably similar to [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets another dachshund from an animated film released a decade later]].
* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Many people see Elliot as a terrible friend to Boog and a bad character in general, as, despite his claims that [[IJustWantToHaveFriends he only wants to be friends with Boog]], his actions still got him separated from his loving owner, Beth, among other things. Shaw, meanwhile, gets a lot of praise from fans for being an [[LoveToHate entertaining villain]], having so many [[LaughablyEvil hilarious moments]], [[TakeThatScrappy targeting Elliot]], and displaying a significant amount of VillainousValour. This is also the case in ''Scared Silly'', where Elliot's negative qualities are {{Flanderized}}, while Shaw gets even ''more'' funny bits and shows his valour once again, up to and including [[spoiler:going one-on-one with Boog, a grizzly bear, even after his gun is destroyed]] in the climax.
* LoveToHate: Shaw the hunter is over the top and entertaining.
* MemeticBadass: [[BigBad Shaw]]. It takes some serious ''fucking'' guts when the first thing he does when he realizes his home's invaded (by a [[BearsAreBadNews bear]] no less) is to ''draw his knife and stalk his home invader''. He also fights a bear one-on-one, and even when his gun is lost, he refuses to back down.
* MemeticMutation:
** Dumpy[[labelnote:Explanation]]During the scene in the convenience store, Boog sticks his butt directly in front of the camera and shakes it around. The bit was later rotoscoped for a viral animation of a crewmate from ''VideoGame/AmongUs'' twerking, leading it to widely catch on as a subject for edits and further redraws.[[/labelnote]]
** It's not easy being the family comedian[[labelnote:Explanation]]A Tik-Tok video where two people argue over the first film during the convenience store scene, which initially started with one of them hating on the movie only to turn a 180 when Boog started to shake his rump (calling him [[Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys "Freddy Faz-Gyatt"]]). This resulted in another argument where the older man tries to have the other kicked out for being inappropriate.[[/labelnote]]
* RomanticPlotTumor: The third film puts great focus on Boog and Ursa, as well as Elliot and Giselle's family, to the detriment of other plots and characters.
* RootingForTheEmpire: More than a few viewers were openly rooting for Shaw to kill Elliot, given the latter's profound insensitivity and problematic behavior.
* {{Sequelitis}}: The three DTV sequels were not as well-received as the original (especially ''Scared Silly'').
* SignatureScene: The first film has the convenience store scene, due to the variety of gags from Boog and Elliot, the [[MemeticMutation memetic scene]] of Boog shaking his butt, and "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" playing in the background.
* SoOkayItsAverage: The general reaction to the first film, and to a lesser extent the second. They're perfectly serviceable children's animated movies, but the story, jokes, and characters aren't anything new.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Several fans tend to ignore the sequels mostly because Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher didn't return for any of them.
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Elliot is supposed to be seen as a foolish but well-meaning character who [[IJustWantToHaveFriends just wants to befriend Boog]] since he is regularly bullied by [[JerkJock Ian]] and hunted by [[BigBad Shaw]]. That said, he gets Boog in trouble with the law, relocated from his loving owner, and humiliated in the forest. He twists the knife by revealing he never even ''tried'' to get Boog home and just wanted his company. Accordingly, he instead comes off as a self-centered and remorseless jerk.
* TheWoobie:
** Boog from the first film, suddenly removed from his home due to a misunderstanding and desperately trying to return.
** Beth after being forced to relocate Boog (who she raised since he was a cub) to the Timberline National Forest and ends up leaving him there when she finds out how much he's changed. Considering her absence in the other films, it's safe to say that she never sees him again.
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