Jim Parsons, Rihanna and Steve Martin headline the voice cast of Home, an adventure where a young human girl, Tip (Rihanna), and misfit alien (Jim Parsons), Oh, work together to reunite Tip with her mother (Jennifer Lopez), and to reverse Oh’s mistake of inviting the whole universe, including the Gorg, an enemy to the Boov alien race, to his house-warming party on his new home planet of Earth.
Home is a well-animated and fast-paced film that is bound to be a crowd pleaser to the children in the audience. There are some good slapstick comedy sequences that develop in the film due to the scenarios that Oh and Tip finds themselves in.
While the two main characters begin the film at odds, they begin to come together and form an unlikely friendship. Both Oh and Tip feel like outsiders in their respective races. And by the end of the film both characters embrace what makes them special.
The voice cast does succeed in this picture. Jim Parsons is delightful in his role as an alien that is brilliant, but lacks worldly experience. Rihanna portrays her character as a vulnerable girl hidden behind a hardened determination. Steve Martin deftly performs as the pompous Captain Smek, the leader of the Boovs.
While this film will be a hit with younger children, the movie does not succeed in being an equally pleasurable viewing experience for adults, as other animated films have. One of the reasons is the story is not original.
Films about a human teaming up with a creature from another planet have been done many times before. This film also lacks the wit that makes other animated films appealing to people of all ages. Home’s storyline is also quite predictable and tame compared to other films released by DreamWorks Animation, such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train your Dragon. Those films are more imaginative and offer more surprises for the audience.
Ultimately, if you do have younger children, I recommend this film. It does offer a great message of friendship and individuality, the characters are quite interesting and there is a great deal of charm present throughout this escapist adventure.
Three popcorn buckets out of five.
