Home (2015)
Directed by Tim Johnson
Based on The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
Starring:
Rihanna
Jim Parsons
Jennifer Lopez
Steve Martin
Production company: DreamWorks Animation
Running time: 94 minutes
Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
When Oh, a loveable misfit from another planet, lands on Earth and finds himself on the run from his own people, he forms an unlikely friendship with an adventurous girl named Tip who is on a quest of her own. Through a series of comic adventures with Tip, Oh comes to understand that being different and making mistakes is all part of being human. And while he changes her planet and she changes his world, they discover the true meaning of the word HOME.
My Opinion:
I’ve said it a million times here so I won’t go into it too much but I’m a big Pixar & Disney fan and feel that nothing from DreamWorks has ever come close to being as good. DreamWorks make okay movies for kids of very specific ages but not timeless classics for the whole family. Home is no exception. However, it’s “good for a DreamWorks film”.
What I liked most about Home was the lead being a strong, young, not white!, FEMALE character in a sci-fi movie aimed at kids. Is that a first?? Feels like it… Maybe they’ll actually sell toys of her unlike Princess Leia toys for all the young girls who are Star Wars fans. Yes, there are girls who like Star Wars – why is it pretty much impossible to find any Princess Leia toys other than “slave Leia” toys for adult males? Pisses me off! I’ve had words with Disney Store, who don’t even sell toys of or clothing with the two females who are both MAIN characters in Star Wars Rebels. Seriously – they sell items with the male characters only. Sorry I just went off on one of my tangents! What I’m saying is that the choice of main character is a refreshing change & hopefully boys will still give it a chance as having a lead female character doesn’t make it a “girl’s movie” – there’s plenty here that both boys & girls will enjoy. Oh! I also liked the single mother with daughter situation here – another thing we don’t see a lot. It was also kind of funny that J-Lo plays Rihanna’s mother… Bet she hated that! 😉
Whether or not kids will like this movie will probably depend more on if they like the character of alien Oh. The aliens in this (the Boov) are very silly & not very bright, making them do a lot of stupid things that I think kids will find hilarious. Steve Martin voices the idiotic leader of the Boov (Captain Smek), which I enjoyed since I’m old (I’m afraid I’m much closer to Steve Martin’s age than Rihanna’s). Oh wait – I just did the math & I’m much closer to Rihanna’s age… YES! I mean, I’m a fan of Steve Martin but not of Rihanna (except We Found Love – I love that song). Am I going off on a tangent again?! The aliens in this are funny & Oh is silly and likeable. Home is very much aimed at kids & there’s nothing I’d consider inappropriate or too scary for the very young so you’d probably be fine taking your whole family to it. As an adult, I’d have to say I found some enjoyment from Home & didn’t end up thoroughly bored or annoyed like I do with some kids’ movies.
Summary:
Home: “Good for a DreamWorks movie”. Yeah – I’ll go with that. Sorry to any DreamWorks fans out there but their movies never end up being all-time favorite films of mine whereas things like WALL-E & Toy Story are (and Despicable Me! an anomaly from Illumination Entertainment). I suppose the How To Train Your Dragon movies are still the best from DreamWorks but those are aimed at a higher age than Home. I’d have to say that I personally preferred Home to the majority of the other films from this studio (including Shrek) but I’m not sure that everyone will feel the same way. The story is a bit “odd” compared to other kids’ films but I’m a big fan of sci-fi & strong female characters who are good role models for young girls so I think they’ve done a good job with this movie. They’ve tried something different here – Home is somewhat unique & I like that, even if some of the aliens & animation reminded me of that silly Eiffel 65 video. That’s okay – I love that song! (Did I just admit that in public?!)
My Rating: 6.5/10
Cinema Parrot Disco 
hmmm. sounds interesting
It’s okay. For DreamWorks. ; ) A good one for young girls, which is a great thing. 🙂
Im not a young girl tho (as far as I know) 😉
I KNEW IT! You’ll like this one then. 😉
Oh wait – I read that as you saying you WERE a young girl. Lol!
Freudian slip….
I didn’t like it quite as much as you did, but my daughter had fun with it. My biggest problem was that I didn’t find much of anything funny. The only thing that got a big laugh out of me was him scooting the car seat up coming into frame which was in the trailer. It was also a weird surprise that they his the whole full scale alien invasion, the trailer makes it seem like Boov is the only one on Earth besides the ones chasing him. Weird.
Yeah – it’s really aimed specifically at kids. I thought it was funny but “funny for kids” funny. If you know what I mean. ; ) I personally only find the minions funny – those dudes crack me up! I’m seriously looking forward to the Minions movie more than anything else. Yeah… The trailer for Home didn’t give much of the whole story away! Which I suppose is good. It IS a strange one, though, so I don’t think ALL kids will go for it.
Not really heard much about this one, but your review has me a little interested.
It’s not out for another week in the UK – I caught a preview. Well… I liked it but it IS really just for kids. Maybe worth a try if it sounds like your kind of thing! : )
Thanks for the heads up.
In regards to you not liking Mondays, I have just the thing. I did a post, like Zoe’s about suits, but this time with actresses. But for all you lovely ladies, there is something for you there as well.
Lol. I don’t know… If I want to look at boobs I’ll actually visit The IPC for a change… ; )
There’s nothing too revealing on mine, just ladies in suits. Ask Eric, he’ll enlighten you on the content of the post I’m sure.
Oh. So it’s all Tilda Swinton & Diane Keaton??? ; )
Haha, no just some of my personal choices. And as I mentioned earlier, something for you ladies to drool over.
Anyway, I’ve got to keep my female followers happy as I value your support.
Never heard of it! Nice work! I’ll probably never see it! Happy fucking Monday!
I don’t like Mondays!!!! You’d love this one! You should watch this since I finally watched Escape From New York!!!!! 😉
You did??? How did you like it?????
If you tell me you hated it I’m divorcing you forever.
Didn’t I tweet my feelings?! 😉 Well, I thought it was…. Umm……
I don’t know, did you? Just tell me.
Great! Gotta say I still love The Warriors slightly more, though. : )
OK GOOD!
(You Tosser)
: )
Home is really, really dumb… but it made me laugh out loud and Oh was so cute. I think a lot of that was Jim Parsons related. Oh and Tip is a great female character so yay that! I think I actually prefer Dreamworks to Disney or Pixar…
YAY for decent female characters!!! : ) I’ll ignore that bit about preferring DreamWorks… Lol (I knew that anyway) ; ) Jim Parsons doesn’t mean anything to me but Oh was sweet & likeable. Dumb movie but fun. 🙂
You and me both regarding Pixar/Disney film vs. Dreamworks, my friend. May check this one out, though. Fine review. 🙂
Thank you! This one won’t change the world but it’s okay. Glad I’m not alone in massively preferring Pixar & Disney! 🙂
Interesting review. Jealous you got to see it early. I don’t think this will do very well for Dreamworks. I mean Penguins made 358 million dollars and it still lost money for them. I don’t think this will do that well. We will see…
I think you’re probably right (I’ve not looked into how it’s done so far). Unfortunately, I know there will still be boys who go “it’s a girl character – I don’t want to see it”, which is unfair.
It’s also quite an “odd” one, although I liked it for all the reasons I said. But, yeah – I can’t see it doing THAT well. : (
Yeah it comes to regular theaters next week. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dreamworks ends up bankrupt. They cant control their spending and cant cut much more if this is a bomb
They just need to try harder and make stuff as awesome as what Pixar & Disney make… ; )
Agreed and they need to realize that celebrity voices may not be worth the cost. Their movies should not be cost 142 million to make.
I love when people have serious opinions about movies made for 6-year-olds.
This shit is IMPORTANT, dude!!!!! (was I too serious?! I can’t remember what I wrote!) 😉 Btw – Cinderella comes out here this weekend. I can’t wait for the Frozen short! (is that sad?) Also, are you going to see Home?? You’ll hate it.
The Frozen short is much better than the actual movie.
Yeah I think we’re seeing Home this weekend. I’m not a Jim Parsons fan, but, you know, I’m not going to see it as a grown adult, I’m taking a small child.
Lol. Okay, smart ass! I don’t think it’s too much to ask DreamWorks to actually keep ME entertained as well, dammit. Pixar manages that! 😉 Yeah – I kind of wish I could just see the Frozen short then skip out on the movie…
It’s ok for movies to be just for kids sometimes. You know, not have parents die every time and all that.
Ha! Like Finding Nemo? That must hold the record for most family members ever killed in one go….
Mutant you are awesome seriously made me laugh. I have had many discussions with my boss over what that song says. I used to think it said “im in need of a guy”, he thinks it says “if I was blue I would die.” Oh my goodness what a debate lol. The trailers look really cute for this and yes finally a female cartoon that is not white. I used to get so mad about not being able to find Leia toys. All the ones they had made her look very risqué!
lol! Nope – just “da Ba dee da Ba dah!” 😉 Yeah – this one isn’t too bad. At least it’s a non-princess movie aimed at girls! I know – that sucks about Leia toys. Plenty of her in the gold bikini! Which isn’t what young girls want…
Right just way too sexy looking. Little girls don’t like that, but older boys do. EW!
I am rushing out to see this IMMEDIATELY! Just kidding.. this will probably end up on that ginormous list of animations I don’t think I will ever get to! Glad to see you enjoyed it, even though you didn’t love it!
Hehe – well… Yeah, I don’t think you actually HAVE to ever watch this one. I’d recommend you watch Big Hero 6 instead. 🙂
Mutant! I have neglected your blog for far too long, but I’m baaaaaack! I have a feeling you and I would feel very much the same about this one, had I seen it. I also for the most part agree that Dreamworks tends to make much less solid stuff than Disney and Pixar, but I do have to make a case for one: How to Train Your Dragon. Because it’s AMAZING. I’d put that on the same level as Disney stuff any day. Shrek and Kung Fu Panda probably come the closest after that, but, yeah, they’re definitely not as good as Disney. Omg Eiffel 65! Gees, I’d completely forgotten about that video. Yikes. Freaked me out then, freaks me out now… *shudder* Anyway, great job, lady!!!
Cara!!!! Hi!!!!!!! 🙂 hehe – I KNEW you’d mention How To Train Your Dragon – I know you love those. 😉 I do think they’re the best of the DreamWorks lot but still just not quite up there for me. Despicable Me is, though. I’m obsessed with that! And the minions! I think I’m looking forward to the minion movie even more than Star Wars! Lol. The kid loves that Eiffel 65 song so I have to hear it ALL. THE. TIME. !
I mean, I like Despicable Me…but Toothless outcutes the crap outta those minions. 😉 How has the kid even heard this song?! The damn thing’s from like 15 years ago!! Bahaha.
Well, I may have played it to her. And Gangnam Style. Big mistakes. 😉 And nothing beats the minions! NOTHING!!! Except maybe Sesame Street… 🙂
Toothless trumps all. No one can convince me otherwise. 😛
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