Home Review

Home

Release Date: 19th March 2015 - Australia

Production Companies

DreamWorks Animation

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Animation/Family/

Sci-Fi/Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 94 minutes

Budget: $135,000,000

Box Office Gross: $386,041,607 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

After an invasion by a hive-minded alien race called the Boov, they relocated the planet's human population, all but one, a resourceful young girl named Tip, who managed to avoid capture. She meets a Boov outcast called Oh, who is on the run from his people and isn't like his comrades but longs for friendship and fun. As their distrust fades, the two begin their journey to find Tip's mother. Unbeknownst

to them, the Gorg, the

enemies of the Boov,

are en route to their

new occupied world.

Voice Cast

Jim Parsons - Oh

Rihanna - Gratuity "Tip" Tucci

Jennifer Lopez - Lucy

Steve Martin - Captain Smek
Matt Jones - Kyle
Brian Stepanek - Gorg
Commander/Father/Boov

Crew

Director - Tim Johnson
Based on the Book "The True

Meaning of Smekday" -

Adam Rex
Screenplay - Tom J. Astle

and Matt Ember
Producers - Suzanne Buirgy, Chris Jenkins and Mireille Soria

Production Designer - Kathy Alteri

Art Director - Emil Mitev
Character Designer - Takao Noguchi

Additional Character Designer - Devin Crane

Head of Story - Todd Wilderman

Head of Layout - Mark Mulgrew 
Creative Consultant: Layout - Gil Zimmerman

Dance Choreographer - Casper Smart

Head of Character Animation - Jason Resig
Animation Supervisors - Maren Kochout
and Carlos Fernandez Puertolas
Supervising Animators - Mark Donald
and David Pate
Additional Supervising Animator - Simon Otto

Head of Lighting - Betsy Nofsinger
Lighting Supervisors - Ken Ball,
Murali Babu Kodiparthi, Ronman Yiu Yan Ng,
Greg Liv, Rajarajan Ramakrishnan and

Aaron Smith
Visual Effects Supervisor - Mahesh Ramasubramanian

Stereoscopic Supervisor - Willem Drees

Film Editors - Jessica Ambiner-Rojas

and Alexander Berner

Supervising Sound Designer - Randy Thom
Sound Designer - Al Nelson

Supervising Sound Editors - Brian Chumney

and Tom Meyers

Re-Recording Mixers - Scott R. Lewis

and Gary A. Rizzo

Foley Artists - Ronni Brown and

Sean England

Music - Lorne Balfe

Music/Executive Music Producer - Stargate

Review

On a cold Sunday, I went to the cinema to see HOME since there were no other movies to watch. This animated film boasts some animation and laughter but did not compliment the animation company DreamWorks after a series of commercial disappointments (minus The Croods and How to Train Your Dragon 2) blew its chances to dream big to impress everyone. HOME attempts to regain the quality and hype of previous DreamWorks films, but the story proves childish and inconsistent. The Boovs are immature and self-centred beings who only care about themselves in their cowardice. The underdeveloped story couldn't explain how they got past the planet's defence forces when they invaded Earth. If the finer details and events in the story had gotten more attention, then it might have been less disorganised.

There is a reason why I wanted to see HOME, which is because I am a fan of Jim Parsons, who you might know as the actor who plays Sheldon Cooper from the TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory. He fits in perfectly as a voice actor for the protagonist, Oh, who presents as a somewhat odd being that the audience can sympathise with and laugh at his quirkiness. Aside from Parsons's acting, which I enjoyed, there are a few other notably praise-worthy voice talents of Steve Martin and Rihanna; I certainly don't have to criticise her acting versatility as I did once on Battleship. She had her first big break away from music stardom.

The film has similarities to the modern Disney classic Lilo & Stitch, especially the concept of a lonely girl bonding with a wanted alien. Still, HOME can be an entertaining feature if you're in the mood for something lighthearted. Many would agree with my critical opinion that HOME is an average film in comparison to other successful productions by DreamWorks.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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