![]() ![]() The most interesting take came from the 11-year-old who noticed how 'Escape from Planet Earth' unwittingly tackled the very relevant issue of 'Catfishing' (online hoax romances made famous by the Notre Dame scandal). The 9-year-old's favorite joke was a sight gag involving an inflatable life vest and an oversized space rat creature. My 5-year-old was delighted by a food fight scene between aliens at an Area 51 cafeteria (sounds funny just typing it). ![]() But 'Escape' does have a nearly 80% rating from audiences on RottenTomatoes (with a below 30% grade from critics). My guess is that no one will rush out to buy the DVD. 'Escape From Planet Earth' is no 'Toy Story' or 'Lion King'. Some of the sly parent jokes to look for: a plot device where the names of famous movie directors are shouted out as first names (in one scene, General Shanker commands two underlings to attack by saying, "James! Cameron! Get the aliens!") An evil military man bent on enslaving aliens for profit. The villain in the movie is voiced by William Shatner (General Shanker). ![]() This may or may not be a suitable discussion for all ages, but our kids enjoyed it. Our family used the ride to the theater as an opportunity to talk about Area 51. The bulk of the movie is spent trying to rescue Scorch from Area 51 after a failed mission on earth. There's even a fight scene seemingly designed to get stay-at-home moms up and cheering. Gary's wife and young son are clearly meant to provide kids and moms a character to cheer for-but it mainly works. Scorch and Gary feud over relatable sibling rivalry issues. 'Escape from Planet Earth' stars Brendan Fraser as Scorch, a heroic astronaut on the planet Baab who performs daring rescue missions on planets all over the galaxy with the help of his brother Gary (Rob Corddry, The Daily Show) back at mission control. There are down-sides to bringing five children (11 to 5 years old) to a movie theater on a Saturday afternoon, but for a family movie film critic there is one considerable up-side: I get immediate focus group research data from kids with a wide age and interest span. There’s nothing for you or them to see here except frustration.'Escape from Planet Earth' is a fun intergalactic ride with enough gags for kids and jokes that serve as a wink to parents to keep the family entertained for the 89 minute running time. If you’re looking for something to do with your kids this weekend, take them to the park. It's so boring and listless that I can’t believe so many talented people were a part of it. If there is any money left over, which there shouldn’t be, it should be burned because not even a charity should see a piece of this blood money. They do give a damn, and there’s a reason why they’ll rewatch The Lion King until they’re blue in the face and immediately forget this waste of time even exists.Īs we speak, people involved in this production are currently in court arguing over who should get the profits or lack thereof from this movie. It’s as if someone thought, “They’re kids… so, who gives a damn?” In short, kids do. It’s as if every single person involved thinks children are so stupid that they don’t deserve entertainment with any effort behind it. You know how great children’s movies work on two different levels in order to entertain both kids and adults? You know how mediocre children’s movies work on one level to entertain kids? Escape From Planet Earth doesn’t work on any level, and even worse, it doesn’t seem bothered by that failure. Together, they partner to save babies and fight the more malevolent alien races, but after a falling out, Scorch winds up imprisoned on Earth by the evil General Shanker (William Shatner), and it’s up to the normally reserved and office-bound Gary to save the day. The later is an astronaut and arguably, the most famous member of the blue species. The former is an inventor and proud employee of the Mission Control Department of planet Baab. The basic premise follows two brothers named Gary Supernova (Rob Corddry) and Scorch Supernova ( Brendan Fraser). ![]() And the plot, well, multiple paragraphs need to be devoted to that lunacy. The song choices are misguided and occasionally even uncomfortably disconnected from the action. The jokes are mostly obvious, base level gags that will seem too foolish and immature for any child above the age of four that’s ever been described as “advanced” or “accelerated”. The animation is not bad but still below recent standards set by DreamWorks and Pixar. The characters are poorly conceived stereotypes that lack depth. ![]()
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