Home Review

Home is cute and cuddly, sure, it's quirky and very bubbly. It's bathed pastels and has a shiny plastic feel. The quick laughs and familiar story should make it easy for the film to endear itself, but its that familiarity that makes it unmemorable and generic. The story of a pair of misfits from different worlds coming together is nothing new, and unfortunately Home doesn't bring anything to the table that would set it apart from its predecessors which were much better done.

After a hive-minded alien race called the Boov conquer the Earth, they relocate the planet's human population -- all except for a little girl named Tip (Rihanna), who's managed to hide from the aliens.

When Tip meets a fugitive Boov called Oh (Jim Parsons), there's mutual distrust. However, Oh is not like his comrades; he craves friendship and fun. After a potentially fatal mistake, Oh finds himself on the run from his own people. As their distrust fades, the pair set out together to find Tip's mother, but, unbeknown to them, the Gorg -- enemies of the Boov -- are en route. Through a series of comic adventures with Tip, Oh comes to understand that being different and making mistakes is all part of being human. While he changes her planet, she changes his world, and they discover the true meaning of the word HOME.

Home has plenty of funny moments, mostly delivered by Jim Parson's Oh, who is basically the alien Sheldon. The unfortunate part is that like many movies, Home's funniest moments have been ruined by being already shown in the trailers. Parson delivers his bumbling Oh with plenty of zeal, but for his first foray into voice acting, he resorts to a character that already has its own fanbase.

Rhianna's Tip is prickly, for kids in that awkward tween age, she's relateable, but only barely. Her character is very reminiscent of Lilo, minus some of the lovable eccentric traits.

Many of the Boov's problems come from great misunderstanding, that could have easily been avoided. The bubble-headed leader Captain Smek (Steve Martin), who resembles the devil and works himself into a flurry every chance he gets, steals a rock from the Borg looking Gorg which now sits on the pommel of his shushing staff. The flick is so utterly predictable, that it completely sucks away all of the much needed tension. What's a chase without any danger? While Home obviously aimed for lightheartedness, it needed something to bring the wow factor since the story wasn't going to.

Dreamworks had a much better tale with Shrek and certainly better story and graphics with the How to Train Your Dragon movies. So they can definitely deliver the goods. Especially with How to Train Your Dragon not only was there drama, and some gorgeous graphics, there was a great utilization of the 3D platform, and some very emotional moments..

Home does delivers a nice message for kids of being empathy and keeping open mindedness, but on a flat backdrop, its a message that's not likely to be remembered. Sure kids crave entertainment, but they also crave some complexity and intelligence, which just isn't delivered.