There are a number of animated films that adults can love. Pixar’s impressive catalogue is full of hilarity and thoughtfulness that children cannot fully appreciate, and taking a child to see Wall-E or Up could hardly be considered a chore. Unfortunately, Planet 51 isn’t even in the same cosmos as those movies. It’s a lazy, uninspired, repetitive effort that only the smallest of children could potentially enjoy.
Lem (Justin Long) is just a typical green alien teenager. He’s applying for a job and is in love with the girl next door. One day, human astronaut Chuck Baker (Dwayne Johnson) lands his spacecraft right in his front yard, and all the martians thinks he’s the real alien. It’s up to Lem to lead Chuck through frantic chase after frantic chase and get him to his spaceship so he can return to Earth.
The writing is shockingly unimaginative. Planet 51 looks like America circa 1958, and its inhabitants all happen to speak English, making communication with Chuck totally easy. In order to show how obviously different Planet 51 is from Earth, it rains rocks instead of water. To keep parents placated, writer Joe Stillman tosses out perfunctory references to much better movies, including Alien, E.T. and Singin’ In The Rain.
The film contains several odd “no homo” moments, including a not-so-thinly-veiled anal sex reference. The level of homophobia in a children’s movie was surprising and ruined several sweet moments. Who are these “jokes” for? This is the mark of a desperate screenplay: shooting itself in the foot to get a cheap laugh from no one in particular.
0.5 Stars Directed By: Joe Blanco & Javier Abad Voices Of: Justin Long, Jessica Biel, Dwayne Johnson Rated PG, 91 Minutes
