Boog (Chris Williams) is a 900-pound grizzly who is the star of the town Timberline's nature show. In a dream, Boog chases after a giant version of his teddy bear Dinkleman, but he is soon woken by Beth (Kari Wahlgren), who takes him to the town center for Boog's performance. But Beth finds that Shaw, a cruel hunter, has already hunted a buck. She goes into Sheriff Gordy's police office to confront Shaw. The buck (Matthew W. Taylor) wakes up and introduces himself, his name being Elliot. Boog reluctantly frees him, and Shaw (Darryl Kurylo) vows revenge on Boog after Sheriff Gordy (Carlos Alazraqui) tells him he's been living in the woods too long. That night, Elliot decides to "free" Boog in return. He manages to lure him to the convenience store, where they finish all the chocolate bars there, but they're discovered by the police and incapacitated with a tranquilizer gun by Beth and brought to the Timberline National Forest until the start of open season. There, Elliot claims that he knows how to get back to Timberline, prompting a road trip.