Home

At the beginning of Home, Earth is invaded by the Boov, a race of squat and squishy blob-like aliens who are constantly on the run from the much more threatening looking alien race known as the Gorg.  The Boov have decided to make Earth their new home/hiding place from the Gorg, so they relocate all of the humans into an amusement park-style internment camp set in the middle of the Australian Outback, and take over all of our major cities.

Anyone who just read that above paragraph could probably come up with a highly imaginative film just from that set up alone.  What do the humans think about all of this?  Heck, what are their response to the Boov, or their new home?  Where did the Boov come from?  Where did they live before they came to our planet?  Anyone who asks these kind of questions could have one heck of a movie on their hands.  But Home plays it safe.  Too safe, actually.  After the humans are abducted by giant tubes and dropped into their new home, we never really see them again until the end.  Instead, the movie focuses on Oh (voice by Jim Parsons from TV's The Big Bang Theory), a Boov outsider who only wants to make friends, but his efforts always seem to end in disaster.  His latest attempt (he wants to throw a housewarming party to celebrate his new apartment on Earth) has led to possible destruction for his very race.  He accidentally sent his party invitation out to all species of aliens in the galaxy, including the dreaded Gorg.  With the Gorg arriving, not only are the Boov not safe, but Earth probably won't last long either.

Oh is forced to go into hiding when the Boov leader, Captain Smek (Steve Martin), labels him a fugitive for his mistake.  While Oh is running from his own kind, he happens to run into a human girl named Gratuity "Tip" Tucci (voiced by recording artist Rihanna).  Young Tip looks to be about 12-years-old, which is why it's weird to hear the voice of the 27-year-old Rihanna coming out of her.  Not only does her voice not match the character's look, but she doesn't bring much enthusiasm to her performance.  Her presence is obviously only to provide another celebrity name to put on the film's poster.  But, I digress.  Tip was somehow able to avoid being abducted and sent to the camp when the Boov captured all the humans.  Her mother (Jennifer Lopez) was captured, however, and Tip is determined to find her.  The two team up to go on an adventure to both fix Oh's mistake, and find Tip's mom.  Saving the rest of humanity from their prison never really comes up, as they only seem interested in tracking down the mother.

So, we have a little girl and an alien becoming friends, and the girl teaching the alien about the importance of family and friendship, which he knows nothing about.  It takes a superhuman effort not to think of the much superior 2002 Disney animated film, Lilo and Stitch, while watching Home.  Even without that comparison, this movie comes across as something that is pleasant enough, but never really stands out in any way.  Home feels like it's been market tested to an inch of its life, from the celebrity casting, right down to the "hip" music soundtrack that plays during key scenes.  The movie is cute, and features a few moments that made me smile, but it also has the hollow feel of a corporate product.  It's been designed to be as safe and as inoffensive as possible.  I'm sure little kids will enjoy it, but it will do nothing for their imaginations like a great animated film can.  This movie will probably sell some toys, and be forgotten about in less than a year.

The only bright or inspired part of the film is Parsons' voice performance as the naive and lonely Oh, who has always been shunned by his fellow Boov, and eventually sees Tip as his first real friend.  He gives the character a child-like innocence, and his backward Yoda-like way of speaking is kind of cute.  There is also Tip's overweight cat, Pig, who never talks, yet still gets some of the best visual gags in the film.  Outside of these two elements, everything about Home is completely standard.  It's been widely reported that Dreamworks Animation has been in financial trouble, and was even forced to lay off most of its staff.  Movies like this that refuse to take any risk or chance whatsoever is probably a good indication as to why this happened.  From the miscast lead celebrity voice, to the writing, and even the visuals (the most important part of an animated feature), it feels like there was little imagination at work here.

I have no doubt the movie will be successful, as kids have been bombarded with advertising for it during the weeks leading up to its release.  It will make money, but wouldn't it be better for the studio to not only have a movie that makes money, but is also something imaginative and gets kids excited?  Couldn't hurt, is all I'm saying.

See related merchandise at Amazon.com!

0 comments