Alpha & Omega

Kate (Hayden Panettiere) and Humphrey (Justin Long) are two wolves from the same pack in Canada’s Jasper National Park but on opposite ends of the social order. Kate, daughter of the main alpha male Winston (Danny Glover) and his mate Eve (Vicki Lewis), is herself an Alpha and takes her duty to the pack seriously. Humphrey, on the other hand, is an Omega wolf, the lowest of the pack, and spends his days making jokes and playing about with his other Omega friends Shakey (Kevin Sussman), Salty (Brian Donovan), and Mooch (Eric Price). Despite his low rank in the pack, Humphrey has a crush on Kate and is valued in the pack as a peacemaker by virtue of his affable nature.

During her youth, Kate left to begin Alpha school with her father. She returns as a fully trained Alpha but on her first hunt, two members of the Eastern pack ruin her attempt, leaving her pack with nothing but bones and scraps. The two packs have had a bitter rivalry since Winston dislikes the fact that Tony (Dennis Hopper), the Alpha male of the Eastern pack, wants to unite them into one large pack. Winston and Tony meet up one night and arrange for Kate to marry Tony’s son Garth (Chris Carmack). Kate, having followed her father and heard everything, wearily agrees for the good of the pack and she meets Garth at the Howling Rock. Garth too is a fully trained Alpha but one thing lets him down - his howl, which is how wolves find their mate, when their howls match. Garth begins to howl, and Kate is mortified by how bad he is. Kate escapes the date for a drink of water and runs into Humphrey by the river. They are then shot with tranquilizer darts by a ranger and taken to Idaho.

The two wolves wake up at Sawtooth National Recreation Area and meet a French-Canadian goose named Marcel (Larry Miller) who has an avid interest in golf and his caddy, a duck named Paddy (also voiced by Eric Price). Kate and Humphrey learn that they were relocated to repopulate the species, which upsets Kate. Marcel and Paddy agree to help the wolves return home to Jasper and they hitch a ride in a camper truck driven by a couple that vacation to Jasper yearly while Marcel and Paddy follow from above.

Trouble brews back at Jasper as the two packs discover that Kate has gone missing. Tony warns Winston that on the next full moon if Kate doesn’t return to marry Garth, he and his pack will declare war for their territory. Lilly (Christina Ricci), an omega wolf and Kate’s shy younger sister happens to fall in love with Garth and suggests that she show him around.

That night when the camper stops by a truck-stop, Humphrey exits the camper to urinate. He is distracted by a cupcake and begins to eat it. A man mistakes Humphrey for a rabid wolf since he had creamy frosting around his mouth. He then prepares to shoot Humphrey, but Kate jumps in to save him. They escape, but they sacrifice their ride to Jasper.

That night, Kate finds a ravine and attempts to cross it. She slips down the cliff, but Humphrey saves her by swinging on a vine and telling her to grab his tail. After that the two of them went off to make a den for the night.

The next morning, Marcel and Paddy find the wolves and direct them to a train over a snowy mountain that will take them to Jasper. Climbing the mountain Humphrey meets a bear cub who is unfamiliar with wolves. When they are playing, the cub gets hurt when a snowball is thrown at him. This angers a trio of bears (most likely the cub's parents) who think that Humphrey was trying to harm the cub. When Kate realizes that Humphrey is in danger, she rushes in to help him, causing them to slide down the other side of the mountain on a log (which happens to be one of Humphrey's hobbies). Humphrey saves Kate, and, as the train passes by, the two wolves manage to get into a boxcar just in time.

On the train that night, Humphrey starts to howl at the full moon and asks Kate to join him. She does, after hearing his voice, and the two howl a romantic duet. Kate realizes that Humphrey is who she belongs with. Meanwhile at the Howling Rock in Jasper, Lilly helps Garth improve his howl. He succeeds and the two howl together. Tony and his pack show up at the scene to prepare to attack the other pack and berates his son for howling with an omega. Lilly retreats to alert her father. Since Kate has yet to return, Tony commands his pack to "take the valley."

Shortly, the train passes by Jasper. Humphrey attempts to tell Kate how he feels about her, but the sight of the packs fighting causes her to jump off the train before he can finish. Kate stops the fight by announcing that she will marry Garth for the good of the packs, much to Humphrey and Lilly’s surprise and disappointment.

The next day, a heartbroken Humphrey decides to leave Jasper and travel on his own and shares his goodbyes with Kate and Marcel and Paddy, who have arrived and decided to stay. Yet Kate feels heartbroken too after realizing how she feels about Humphrey. Halfway through Kate and Garth's marriage ceremony, Kate backs out after deciding Humphrey is who she wants to be with. Garth as well declares the same for Lilly. Winston is confused, while Tony and his pack start to fight the other pack out of anger, but the conflict is cut short when a massive stampede of caribou interrupts the scene. Winston and Tony are trapped in the stampede so Kate and Humphrey, who has decided to return, both jump in to the rescue. Kate is knocked out when attempting to reach cover, and Humphrey rushes forward to protect her.

After the stampede fades, it appears that Kate has been trampled to death. Humphrey declares his love for Kate and howls as a requiem for her, and all the wolves then join in. Then, Kate wakes up, much to everyone's relief. Kate and Humphrey finally declare their true feelings to each other, and Winston and Tony agree to unite the packs under a marriage between Garth and Lilly, and demolish the rule over social class. That night, everyone celebrates the happy ending at Howling Rock, and Humphrey and Kate howl a duet at the close of the film.