Up & Coming Weekly

24 UCW DECEMBER 16-22, 2009 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM As a cute little animated science fiction movie for kids, Planet 51 (91 minutes) is certainly adequate. There is enough rude humor covered in cartoon gloss to entertain the under-three-feet set. Unfortunately, there is not so much there to dazzle their drivers (i.e. Mom and Dad). Writer Joe Stillman has a Shrek 2 screenwriting credit, and flashes of the same kind of writing brilliance shine through here and there. There were actu- ally three first time directors in the mix (Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad, and Marcos Martinez) so it is not surprising that what is written by Stillman comes out the other creative end is a bit jumbled. Honestly, for a fledging studio in Spain, this could have turned out a lot worse (i.e. Delgo). The major source of adult appeal is in the near-endless references to popular culture, which are subtly woven into the narrative. The entire film reads as an homage to modern homages to 1950s sci-fi; at the same time the film manages to reference contemporary UFO mythos and some fairly modern horror movies as well. For example, the entire movie is set on an alien planet, but the aliens speak English, live the American Dream (circa 1950s), and enjoy popular mov- ies and music (although they apparently hate the macarena). Some of the most enjoyable moments provide a simultaneous reference to both WALL-E and Alien/Aliens, although I have to wonder who was drawing these fine lines between homage and rip-off. Just as with so many fine Pixar movies, Ilion Animation Studios has a cutely elaborate studio stamp, which leads into a brief short film, Live Music. Mass Animation produced Live Music, and both the studio and the short is worth looking up if you're interested in cartoon shorts and/or Facebook. The film begins with some political commentary on alien-human simi- larities, which segues into the standard alien invasion movie set-up. Lem (Justin Long) is the insecure hero, Neera (Jessica Beil) is his too-little utilized fantasy. The fish-out-of-water in our story is astronaut Captain Charles T. Baker (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), and the sorta-villain of the piece is General Grawl (a barely recognizable Gary Oldman). Seann- William Scott plays Skiff (the comics-obsessed best friend) and John Cleese has a small cameo as the alien expert Professor Kipple. Captain Baker lands on Planet 51, is kind of a jerk to the locals for a while, then runs away to hide. In a shocking plot twist, Lem discovers Captain Baker and ends up helping him achieve his mission objectives, which are vague, at best. Meanwhile, the entire community, up in arms regarding the newly revealed alien threat, although apparently not alarmed enough to cancel the costume party scheduled for the new alien invasion movie release. Yes, the plot is that thin. Even so, there are some amusing moments, and considering it is clearly made to appeal to the kids, it could be a lot worse (I'm looking at you, Vampire's Assistant! And I still can't believe I sat through the whole thing!). This is a good time to mention one clever trick used by the writer. If he hadn't mentioned the barely believable coincidence that the aliens speak 1950s English and live in an oxygen atmosphere, it would have been a glar- ing omission. At the same time, if he spent too much time trying to explain these oddities, the audience would get bored. Instead, there is a quick one minute scene where the two heroes acknowledge how surpris- ing it is that they speak the same language and breathe the same air, and they're done. The message is clear: have fun, and don't overthink it. Don't Overthink This Not Quite Pixar Flick Planet 51 (Rated PG) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com

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