Don’t be a Poomp; go see Home!
Director: Tim Johnson
Writers: Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, and Adam Rex (adapted from his novel “The True Meaning of Smekday”).
Swift shot: I was afraid this film was going to be overly cutesy, and only appealing to the little human persons in your family. Thankfully, there were a few contemplative moments that bridged the age gap and made the film distinctly enjoyable. And, sometimes, there is nothing wrong with just laughing at silly and cute.
Jim Parsons as Boov Oh, you’ll quickly learn why he is named that, just might be the most adorable character to ever appear on the big screen, since The Croods’ beloved Belt. He is matter-of-fact wise but not socially adept, much like Sheldon Cooper. I am sure many comparisons will be made, so who am I to shy away from the “Big Bang Theory” bandwagon? Oh is this cute little alien invader, but he isn’t like Invader Zim, nor Gir, he’s just one of many Boov who is very excited to be on his new planet, Planet Smekland . . . or as we call it, Earth.
Oh’s so happy to be in a new place, because his people, the Boov, run away a lot. In fact, they excel at running away and passively invading other planets. They are terrified of their Fraggle Rock sounding enemies, the Gorg. The first night, Oh decides to throw a house warming party for his new neighbors, but no one shows up. Oh is not exactly liked by, well, any of the Boov! He gets the idea to send an invite to his “Best Friend Kyle.” But Boov Kyle (Matt ‘Badger’ Jones) isn’t the only one he sends the e-vite out to. Oh accidentally sends out the invite to the whole universe, literally!
Captain Smek, the Fear-led leader of the Boov, is voiced by Steve Martin. Smek reminds us all that we must take the selecting of our leaders with meaningful seriousness. In other words, don’t elect idiots to lead you! The antics of Smek were lost on me, because the humor was aimed directly at the little humans. Of course, my little human loved Captain Smek, so I guess I can’t complain. Smek has convinced the Boov that the Earthlings are happy, in their new refugee camps, I mean Happy Humanfunland (or something like that).
Not all the humans are thrilled to be there, and at least one young human girl, Tip (Rihanna) is devastated. When the Boov kidnapped (relocated) all of humanity, they missed Tip and now she is holed-up, hiding from the cute, yet persistent invaders, the Boov. If you get sick of reading “Boov” – get used to hearing it, they say it a copious amount of time throughout the film.
Predictably, Tip and Oh meet in a wonderfully comic stand-off of sorts in a convenience store. That’s when the film really starts to click. And, while Oh may be accident prone and none too street smart, he is very technically astute. The two come to an agreement, and Tip and Oh, and Pig Cat . . . another (prominently featured) adorable male calico cat, are off to find Tip’s “my mom.” Oh’s little e-vite has made him a Boov fugitive, and Tip is a fugitive just because if the Boov find her, they will take her away, like her mom.
The duo make a great couple of “road trip” characters, as they head off on an eighteen hour flight across the Atlantic to Paris. While they are traveling, they learn about each other, and it becomes clear to Oh, the simple pamphlets from Captain Smek about humans was wrong. And Tip also learns that the Boov are not the horrific invaders she assumed they were. You have to understand, all she knows about her mom is that she was vacuumed up in a tube. Putting yourself in her shoes, you can see why she’s reluctant to trust Oh, or any Boov.
With the Boov searching the planet for Oh, presumably still not aware that Tip even exists, they fear the message will reach their pursuing enemy, the Gorg. Captain Smek and his crackpot team of followers “the purple one” needs to find Oh before it is too late. So, you get the classic chase and race against the clock which provides for decent drama for a kid’s film. And, if the Gorg find them, the Earth will be destroyed. The stakes are actually pretty high, the whole planet, a lonely fugitive Boov, in Oh, and a scared middle school aged human girl who is trying to find her mother.
The 3D was gratifying, and there were some obvious visuals put in for the 3D loving crowd, but they weren’t completely forced. The music fit nicely, and Jim Parsons even got a songwriting credit for the Boov Death Song . . . my favorite part of the film! The pace was tidy, and the film was magically alive with color, and color was used to display emotions as the Boov change colors based on their moods and surroundings. Parsons and Rihanna blended well together.
My only real complaint about Home is the butts. The humans were all animated in a fashion that made them look oddly pear-shaped, I mean, J-Lo’s booty was in it, for a few brief scenes, but all the human butts and style was just distracting. They looked a bit out of proportion to me, at least. Other than the posteriors, I loved the whole film. If you have little human persons who want to see something new and colorful, that will teach them about leadership, courage, family, friendship and not being prejudicial, you should really get them to the theaters to see Home.
Oh, and by my count, this makes at least two alien invader films starring Rihanna, remember the other one?
