A Spanish animation studio, Ilion, gets into the kid-film sweepstakes with “Planet 51,” an underwhelming alien-invasion comedy.
The twist? The invading alien, in this case, is an American astronaut. Gung-ho Capt. Baker (voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) finds himself stranded on Planet 51, sorely in need of help from the green-skinned denizens of the place.
Capt. Baker, however, isn’t really the hero of the thing. In fact, the story is told from the perspective of the locals. The residents of Planet 51 seem to be living their version of the 1950s: white picket fences, backyard barbecues, a certain amount of societal repression.
I guess they’re supposed to be the “little green men” people talked about in the 1950s when alien invaders were imagined. You might also note a suspicious resemblance to the world of “Shrek,” but let’s not point fingers.
More alarmingly, although the females of Planet 51 wear modest dresses, the males of this planet wear no pants. Of course, the cartoon universe is like that.
Our hero is Lem (Justin Long), a somewhat nerdy dude who can’t work up the nerve to ask out Neera (Jessica Biel). All of which will be settled by Lem’s role in dealing with the crash-landed astronaut.
Other voices in the mix include Seann William Scott as Lem’s goofy pal, Gary Oldman as a fearsome general and John Cleese as a brainiac professor.
“Planet 51” gets off to a perfectly decent start, assuming you can adjust to the no-pants spectacle. But once Capt. Baker goes into hiding, it’s basically one long chase. One long chase that seems much longer than it really is.
I’m not sure why this movie is so tedious. It has a few cute jokes, the voice talent is fine, the animation is all right.
But boy, it does get boring. Maybe the simplicity of the story will keep kids diverted, but compare it to something like “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — no world beater, but a fun movie — and it really comes up short.
There must have been a way to make the film’s basic switcheroo fun: to swivel the alien-invasion movie and see it through the reverse lens. There must be a way, but this isn’t it.
“Planet 51” ½
Animated reversal on the old alien-invasion movie from the 1950s: It still looks like the ’50s, but the heroes are the green people on Planet 51, and the invader is a U.S. astronaut (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) who needs to get away from the puzzled locals. This should have been a decent premise, but the film is weirdly tedious.
Rated: PG for subject matter
Showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood, Meridian, Metro, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall
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