We have seen our fair share of animated films about aliens over the years. Some have been incredibly successful, like 2009’s “Monsters vs Aliens” by DreamWorks Animation, while last year’s “Mars Needs Moms” flopped at the box office. So what makes one animated film about extraterrestrials popular while another one never seems to find an audience?
Director Cal Brunker is hoping to capture the intergalactic magic in his new animated film, “Escape from Planet Earth,” where he takes a familiar concept, but with a slightly different twist: the aliens are the ones in need of rescuing from the dubious humans.
The 3D family animated comedy “Escape from Planet Earth” takes us to the planet Baab, where the heroic astronaut Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser) is a national hero and icon to his blue-skinned race. Being a master spy and well-known rescuer, Scorch attempts daring feats with the help of his nerdy and by-the-book brother Gary (Rob Coddry), who happens to be the head of mission control at B.A.S.A.
When the no-nonsense Chief Lena (Jessica Alba) reports a SOS call to the brothers from a dark and dangerous planet, Scorch decides to forgo his brother’s warnings and leaves for another grand adventure on his own. Once on Earth he is captured and imprisoned in the infamous Area 51.
A fiendish General named Shanker (James Gandolfini) has his own plans for the alien visitors; the small and not-as-brave Gary must be the one to come to the rescue this time. With interplanetary stakes and his brothers life on the line Gary sets off to rescue him and save his entire planet from an uncertain fate.
This trailer looks like a fun movie for children, and some of the actors chosen to voice these characters seem spot on. There are a few funny moments in this trailer, especially the brain-freeze scene, because most of us can relate to that. Another great addition is the alien jail and the realization that it’s our otherworldly captives that have driving the advancement of technology through the years.
Some animated films strive to entertain children, while others try to focus more on keeping the adults sane with the help of witty banter, pop culture references and some adult-oriented jokes that younger viewers just won’t get. I don’t seem to find anything other than a night out for the kids based off this trailer and don’t see the film appealing to a crowd above the age of eight. This is just the first trailer and there is the possibility there will be more footage in the future that might change my mind, but for now this movie looks strictly adolescent in nature.
Also adding their voices to the cast are Sarah Jessica Parker, Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch, Paul Ruebens and Kaitlin Olson when “Escape from Planet Earth” crash lands in theaters Feb. 14, 2013.
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I will probably check this one out.
I’ll pass.