After working yesterday and today, showing property, I decided a movie night was the perfect end to the weekend. Movies often choose me, rather than the other way around. A couple of days ago, as I was waiting for Aubrey to get changed so we could head to Annabelle’s Fun Farm, I watched a few minutes of the animated film, Home, which happened to be playing on her home TV. I was intrigued and made a mental note to watch the entire movie soon. Soon arrived this evening, as I picked up the DVD from my favorite rental store.
Home, a DreamWorks Animation, stars the voice talents of Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez. The comedy adventure was directed by Tim Johnson. The screenplay was written by Tom J Astle and Matt Ember, based on the book “The True Meaning of Smekday” by Adam Rex. The movie has a PG rating, for mild action and mildly rude humor, and has a run time of 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Oh (Parsons) is a Boov, a loveable alien from another planet, who doesn’t quite fit in with his own people. The Boov, led by Captain Smek (Martin) are known for doing one thing really well….running away. When trouble shows up, and it usually does in the form of the nemesis Gorg, the Boov flee, “borrowing” planets to occupy until they must run again. Earth is the Boov’s newest home, which they take for their own.
The Boov don’t see what they do as wrong. They relocate the humans to new homes in various locations on Earth and then move into their vacated dwellings. Oh, so named because whenever he shows up, the other Boov groan, “Ohhh”, is different. He is friendlier, more free thinking, ready to try new things. When he throws a “warming of the house” party to celebrate their new home, no one shows up. His party e-vite went much further than he intended for it to….the whole galaxy is invited…and that means the Gorg will soon find their new home. Captain Smek has run out of patience with Oh. He has made too many mistakes. The Boov want to take Oh into custody, so he can be erased.
As Oh is fleeing from his own kind, he discovers a human girl named Tip (Rihanna), who is on a quest of her own. When the Boov took control of the planet, Tip’s mother, Lucy (Lopez), was relocated, while Tip was left behind with her pet cat, Pig. Oh and Tip form a team when the squishy purple alien promises to help her locate her mom, whom he mistakenly calls Mimom. As the pair travel to Australia, with Pig, they learn about each other and that making mistakes and being different is part of being human. Ultimately, Oh uncovers darker secrets about the Boov and the truth behind Gorg’s pursuit of his people.
This film was perfect for tonight. Jim Parsons, best known as Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, is wonderful as Oh. Using an endearing mish mash of English, and changing colors to show his emotions, Oh is the most honest and curious of the Boov, even though he is considered a misfit. There are the usual comedy situations around an alien learning earth customs, such as what’s edible and what’s not….he cautions Tip not to eat the blue mints in the bathroom…and typical bathroom humor….Boovs make number 1 and number 2 and once a year, number 3. They need a day off after that!
What I found touching about Oh was that he questioned his beliefs. The Boov run away from perceived danger, which would appear to be a good thing. But by always running, they never face challenges, they never learn to grow. They consider the Gorg to be a taker, but Oh begins to wonder if it is the Boov who are the takers, not the Gorg. Oh dances for the first time, a hilarious scene which was played often in movie trailers, and learns not to lie, which is another form of running away. Tip, the bright and brave human girl who befriends Oh, is the perfect companion on this adventure. I love that her friends call her Tip, while her formal name is Gratuity. Cute! Tip misses her mother and refuses to give up looking for her. Faced with a problem, she chooses NOT to run away, or play the victim, but to take action. From observing her, and learning to keep his promises to his new friend, Oh learns that sometimes, it is necessary to run toward danger.
This was a great film, and I didn’t mind at all that I watched an animated film, sans kids. Often, movies geared toward children contain deep truths. Home is one of those. I am so glad I watched it tonight.
