Home/DreamWorks Animation/Dir. by Tim Johnson/94 min./Rated PG (for mild action and some rude humor)
It's been a rocky few years for DreamWorks animation. On one hand, they've been on a great creative streak. While still nurturing proven franchises, they've also provided some terrific films that are patently non-DreamWorks-ian. Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon, and Kung Fu Panda were all films that set aside the DreamWorks model of constant juvenile humor coupled with unending pop culture references and instead crafted character based stories that brought the funny while bringing an almost Pixar-like dedication to story and heart.
On the other hand, their movies haven't been making as much money as they used to. Personally, I think it might be because they've spread their franchises a little thin with their television division. How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2 were both outstanding films that under-performed domestically. Perhaps non-coincidentally, both films had t.v. series based on their characters airing concurrently with their releases. This could also be a contributing factor to the dismal box office of Penguins of Madagascar, a highly amusing film that was based more on the television series of the same name than it was the hugely successful Madagascar films. These box office missteps have led to big layoffs at the studio and a sharp decline in annual product. Typically, DreamWorks had released two to three films a year, however, this year there is only one.
Long story short, DreamWorks needs a win. It seems that they have found it with this year's release, Home, a genially amusing movie that just surprised a lot of people with a huge box office win this weekend.
Home begins with perhaps the most benign alien invasion in the history of film as an alien race named the Boov, lead by Captain Smeck (voiced by Steve Martin) kidnap all the humans and put them in brightly colored compounds in Australia. Believing the humans to be a simple species, the Boov provide them with shelter, food, and easily accessible amusement parks.
Among the ant-like followers of the charismatic Captain is Oh (perfectly voiced by Jim Parsons). Oh, is the only Boov that doesn't seem to belong. He makes mistakes and is so enthusiastic about life in general that his fellow Boov find him horribly off-putting. When he accidentally sends a party invite to the entire universe, alerting the enemies of the Boov to their location, he finds himself on the run, joining forces with a human teenage girl named Tip (Rihanna) who escaped the forced relocation of the humans, but wants to find her mother (a very under-utilized Jennifer Lopez).
Needless to say, high-jinks ensue, and really, that's the entire point of Home. While it is a very entertaining movie, it never reaches the height of DreamWorks' best. Plot becomes incidental and, occasionally noticeably hap-hazard, but that allows the movie to become more of a character comedy, juxtaposing the sassy, sad/mad, Tip with the optomistic, accident-prone Oh. Not to say this is an animated My Dinner With Andre, but the movie is at its best when it focuses on these characters.
Parsons is particularly fantastic as Oh. The commercials make it look like it's just Parsons doing his Sheldon Cooper shtick from The Big Bang Theory. In actuality, he adds a level of innocence and sincerity to the character that was surprising. Rihanna does a fine job in emoting the troubled Tip, however, she was tremendously miscast considering the fact that no one is going to mistake the voice of a raspy-voiced 27 year-old woman for a 12 year-old girl.
The animation in Home is beautiful and extremely colorful, with the physicality of the Boov one of the highlights of the film. The aliens are the human equivalent of mood rings, changing colors depending on their moods. They also have the physical flexibility of a balloon, which makes them a delight to watch in action.
In terms of quality, Home falls dead center among the pantheon of DreamWorks animated films. It fails to reach the high quality of the How to Train Your Dragon series, but it also is better than company missteps like Shark Tale and Bee Movie. It's light, funny, colorful, and a perfectly cromulent way to spend some time with the family.
Grade: B
