DreamWorks

PG. 96 min

Well gang we've kinda been here before. Often members of one demographic can't really appreciate movies intended for a distinctly different one. For instance, Tea Party members usually won't love Michael Moore films, teenage boys really get off on chick flicks and lots of times grown-ups don't appreciate films made for little kids.

For me DreamWorks new animated science fiction feature HOME is a pretty good example. It was a scheduling conflict that left me with a choice between this one and a seemingly cheesy horror film called IT FOLLOWS. Thanks to either incompetence at Moviefone or stupidity on my part I wound up at the wrong place at the wrong time for that.

What the heck I thought. Many times I enjoy kids movies especially those who drop in plenty of double entendre and inside jokes to relate to older kids and grown-ups. Not this time.

As it turns out the producers focused mainly on the little ones. It's a story about a cute little alien feeling alone and unloved upon a planet where he feels out of place. (I think the folks at DreamWorks like that hook.)

Oh (Jim Parsons) is a misunderstood and unpopular member of a race called the Boov who spend their time running from one planet to another to avoid annihilation at the hands of the Gorg, a particularly nasty and very large space goon.

Whenever the Boov are in danger they hightail it to a different inhabited planet, relocate the natives to a camp that looks very home like and take the place over. This time the sanctuary turns out to be our own mother earth. Ostracized by his fellow creatures, Oh finds himself reluctantly befriended buy another outcast, a young girl named Gratuity (Rhianna), who has somehow eluded the relocation device. Ironically she is the child of an immigrant mother (J Lo) who has not been quite so fortunate.

She, Oh and the cat traverse a few mundane action sequences before they confront the Gorg who turns out to be... Well I'll let you find that out, it was actually kind of cute. Oh even winds up taking the job of Supreme Leader from the incompetent and overbearing Steve Martin.

The two obvious lessons HOME wants to impress upon children are: Don't be afraid of immigrants and Friendship is really important. Personally I thought the film was a little bit dull but I heard laughter coming from the smaller patrons who told me after the movie that they had just loved it. So there you go folks. It probably won't hold the interest of too many grown-ups but it's a fine film for the kiddies.

B-

WSS