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If the budget for the sequel ended up being lower than for the first movie, that's understandable. Direct-to-video budgets, from my understanding, tend to be much lower than those of theatrical releases.

Yeeahh this animation seems to be lacking in detail compared to the effort put into the first one. You can definitely tell how low budget this film is. :/ I'll still watch it because I'm curious, but I have no real excitement for this one.

Well, after finally watching this thing, what did Juuchan think about it?

...Y-yeah, I'm unfortunately not a fan of this sequel at all either. I don't really think I could call it a true "sequel", given that it's only 45 minutes long.

First off, the story is... rushed. VERY rushed. Also, there's a lot of shout-outs to the first movie - which I like in sequels - but it doesn't help this movie's story. If it were longer and more developed [and had a "better" ending], I could see some promise in the plot. It would have been cool to have the new trio of characters [Kate and Humphrey's pups - Runt, Claudette and Stinky] develop more than how they did and maybe not have this really stupid rehash of the message from the last movie with the villains as well as with the pups themselves, things really would have been more interesting. Alas, this is not meant to be.

I especially feel sorry for the old characters. They are stiff, bare-bones versions of what they were by the original movie's ending, especially the main couple. None of the voice cast from the original movie return, though some of the returning characters sound decently similar to their original voices. It's nice to see the beta shipping couple from movie one back in here too, and honestly, I wish the film were more about them than the main couple. Lilly, in my opinion, was the most interesting of the other wolves in movie one, but she got... shafted here. So did Winston, Tony, Eve and Garth... although the latter of the group did have an interestingly funny scene with Humphrey halfway in, so I can't completely hate on his downgrade. He did, however, say something to Lilly that was so unlike his improved character at the end of the first film that it's baffling... and very expected since this is a sequel.

The new characters aren't too bad, though Runt is the only one that I expected to like... and I did. However, he gets no real development, so the movie and everything else suffers. Other characters -all that I will not spoil, but they are the antagonists - were lacking in motivation and were kid-friendly but not really threateningly bad. If anything, they made Niju and his lackeys from WQ look like the better villains for a wolf-centric sequel movie. I did like one of the bad guys [who was actually a girl wolf called "Princess"], though I was upset by her ending. It was just... dropped, and then the rest of the story did too... and then they added BEARS. ...I'll just leave this alone, because the conflict with the bears was just... dumb.

The animation... is AWFUL. The character designs for the most part was okay in my eyes, and still remained true to the original movie, but... the movements were very blocky and not that good. Yes, I know it's on a lower budget, but they could have tried so much harder here. It's not that hard to keep the original feel, you know. They tried decently though... but the pups' designs were the worst. They're unoriginal and boring-looking. The "evil" wolfpack is rather bland too, but the pups take the cake.

THE ENDING. OH ANIU, THE ENDING. I won't spoil it... but I wasn't satisfied with it at all. It was lame and just... LAZY. It's enough to make me headdesk and ask "....That's it?" to the screen. I think Mighty knows what I mean. It makes some of the worst endings in animated sequels/midquels look... better.

Overall, it's not worth the money. Even I illegally downloaded this 45 minute bit of film... because it isn't worth the money one bit. Maybe rent it if you really are curious, but ARGH this movie is not good at all. Not worth owning - I can't believe I said that about a movies about wolves.

My final verdict on Alpha & Omega 2? It makes the Balto sequels look GOOD. I'd rather watch them [or at least WoC, the worst of the three in my opinion]... or the original "Alpha and Omega" movie... than this sequel.

And worse off, there's a couple of sequels in the works with Kate and Humphrey's pups as the stars... but it's just a cash grab. A pointless cash grab, nonetheless, but I'd probably watch them once and hit my head hard enough after watching it to forget it ever existed.

- Juuchan17

^ Amen to all of that.

I think this movie mainly suffered due to a bad director, through and through. The writing is sloppy- all over the place, unoriginal, and has SO many holes in the plot that never seemed to tie together. The character interaction is awful and, as said above, "stiff". It was all like one bad improvised roleplay that was made into a "movie". Characters that were introduced were soon thrown aside with no closure. This especially annoyed me with Princess. She had SO much potential, man! The film gave her an air of being a critical character that will cause a big change, and what did they do with her?
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Just.. Urrgg.

This.. If you would even call it piece of work, was not ready for sale. It needed a reassembled plot, unnecessary interactions taken out, CLOSURE, pointless characters removed, fixed dialogue, more study on characterization and which focus goes to whom, and finally better animation because that animation and design was below low quality.

I'm so dissatisfied with this, and very disappointed in the director for allowing this lazy work to be put up.

yeah, this movie should be Under Wraps.. locked inside a safe ... and buried in the deepest darkest part of the planet..

but if it wasn't for Juuchan's post at at Keyframe last night.. I probably wouldn't have known about it.. (maybe that's a good thing)..

I also heard it was a wal-mart exclusive.. for some reason bad movies tend to end up there...

o.k I know H and K having pups was pups was predictable.. but I wish they were a little older too have them.. IDK..

and Stinky as the new leader of the pack? might as well make Nuka the new king of the pridelands.. at least Claudette's a pretty name..


well, at least Lily and Garth are in it.. they and Kate's Parents and Tony could've been dropped real easily.. *shrug*..

maybe I'll see it.. or I'll wait not to see it.. hmmm..

actually now that I think about it.. this reminds of animation of the Open Season Sequels.. pretty crappy animation there too.. but god Happily N'ever after 2: another bite at the apple.. IS THE WORST CGI DTV sequel I can think of.. thought that one was more a spin-off.. type thing..

There was a sequel to Open Season?

There were actually two Open Season sequels.

I actually considered buying the second movie while I was at Walmart but I decided not to so I could watch it on primewire (1channel) for free. I'm glad I decided to do that.

What I liked:
-The animation wasn't a problem for me.
-I didn't have any problems with the voice acting. In fact I thought they used the same voices for the characters from the first movie!
-I liked the overall concept of the plot line
-There were less cheesy jokes and actions, which made it MUCH easier to watch without stopping to think "What am I watching!?" (Major plus in my book)

What I disliked:
-45 minutes is a little too short. It should have been at least an hour.
-The execution of a lot of actions and elements was not very good
-The climactic fight was poorly coordinated and not very "action packed."
-The ending just plain SUCKED!!! (I almost spit out the food I was eating when it ended!)

Overall I would say A&O 2 was okay, but it had a lot to be desired. Definitely not as good as the first movie. I give it 5/10.

Hey, just to let you know... "Alpha and Omega 3: The Great Wolf Games" is actually scheduled to be released in the USA next month [March 25, 2014]. The cover art... doesn't look too bad. At least it's a bit better than the first sequel's cover. Just a bit, mind you.

[image found via Google]

Here's a bitty summary, probably for the DVD back cover:
Join the pack in this wild, warmhearted and totally pawsome adventure starring everyone’s favorite alphas and omegas! It’s time for “The Great Wolf Games,” when all the alphas in the packs set aside their differences for some friendly competition. When an unexpected accident puts many of our pack’s star alpha wolves out of commission, a new team is assembled that includes forest friends not in the pack. Can Coach Humphrey lead his ragtag group of “underdogs” to victory? Find out in this thrilling movie that will leave you howling for more!

Clearly, it's a post-Olympics cash grab. Walmart's selling it exclusively, just like the previous sequel. Also, there's a hinting that some things/characters from the first sequel will appear in this movie... but that's up for speculation. It's supposed to be nearly an hour long this time around too, unlike its predecessor and its meager 45 minute run time. It'll be at least an extra 9-10 mins, so that's hopefully room for improvement.

Am I looking forward to this? Not really... but I'm willing to give it a chance, even if it'll end up being nothing more than a predictable pile of caribou crud in the end. It does seem to put focus on Runt's older siblings, Stinky and Claudette, as they are supposedly alpha pups [*sigh* How the series knows that a pup is an alpha or an omega is beyond my comprehension. It reminds me of "cutie marks" and one's destiny in "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"... ARGH. Explain this, please?], though Claudette seems to take up a lot of cover art with herself up in front and her brothers in behind with their mom. Huh... Okay.

Also apparently the three films will get a 3-DVD set release, probably released around the same time as the third "movie". Why the Balto trilogy couldn't get this when the third film was released years ago is beyond me.

Just thought you wolf fans would like to know!

- Juuchan17

The sequels cover didn't seem that bad to me. But once again Kate is in that same pose. Also, who is the pup on the right supposed to be? One of Garth and Lilly's pups I assume?



Through some unknown element that only a select few will know or understand apparently. Based on how the pups look, it could be determined by which parent the pup resembles the most for all we know.



Because the first Alpha and Omega was actually pretty successful (Made over $50 million worldwide out of a $20 million budget) and all three movies have come out in a 4 year period. Balto (as we all know) did not do well in theaters and a considerable amount of time passed before the sequels came out. Therefore, the A&O trilogy has a better chance of being recognized and bought.

Thanks for sharing these Juuchan!

Did they really need a Third one? Ugh! The first two were horrible.

Here's the trailer for it:



Sorry, but I really don't think it's going to be an improvement. These people clearly aren't looking for quality, or they'd allow a longer time to work on these. The animation looks gross and the plot line is even more unoriginal.

There's going to be a 4th one too, about a Halloween adventure.


[synopsis for the 4th one starts at 1:12]

It really urkes me that these sequels are all being rushed.

Excuse me for popping into this topic without even seeing the movie(s?), but...
THIS IS SO UGLY IT BURNS MY EYES

I saw that trailer above. Seriously? Those backgrounds look like they've been made 10 years ago. So bland and ugly! Anatomy is horrible, character design sucks, animation is awful... Why they even keep making those sequels? It's painful to look at...
Also, Parents Of The Year awards goes to those 2 brilliant wolves who named their kids "Runt" and "Stinky".

It looked to me like an Alpha and Omega video game. xD It's so terrible that it's making my eyes Bleed.

Honestly, they don't... but brace yourself: they're going to at least five films by Spring of next year. The Wikipedia site for the third film says that the Halloween one is due out in October of this year [the fourth], and the fifth one, titled "Family Vacation", will be due for a Spring 2015 release. How much of the last part is true, we won't know until enough truthful evidence is available outside of Wikipedia.


Heheh, yeah, I agree. The animation is very bland CGI [probably due to cheap overseas animation studios. I think it's the same ones that worked on Mr. Rich's other recent work with sequelitis - The Swan Princess... at least the two latest CGI sequels], and the names do suck. They seem more degrading than good, name-wise [unlike the girl pup's name, Claudette. Where did they pull that name from amongst "Runt" and "Stinky" names? At least give the Balto sequels credit for giving most of their pups good names like Aleu and Kodiak.].

The only reason I can think of is cash grab. Richard Rich is smart for constantly making movies of these series because people still remember the originals. The only downside is that... the quality really plunges for a nose dive, and the story and characters suffer the most. At least the early sequels he made were not that bad.


It probably won't be an improvement, but this just furthers my beliefs of the almighty Cash Grab. It's just to make money, all because most little kids don't care about quality when there's pretty princesses or adorable talking animals in the TV box.

Actually, I've seen worse animation that took much longer to make than these sequels anyway... but I'm guessing Crest Animation and NEST Productions probably worked on all of the sequels at the same time, given the continued bad animation and stuff. It's a shame too - the series really had some sort of potential to be different and good with their sequels if they expanded certain other characters and learned to write a better story than a rehashed version of the first movie but with the pup trio.

But I digress...

- Juuchan17