‘Home’ is certainly where the heart is!
I’ve always been a sucker for animated movies, thanks in part to its strong comedic roots and the feel-good factor.
So from the moment I saw the ‘Home’ trailer in the cinemas, the little kid inside my grown adult body had been counting down days to its release. And I should say the wait was worth it.
Home isn’t a story that we haven’t seen before. It follows the familiar pattern of previous movies like ET and ‘Lilo and Stitch’.
Based on Adam Rex’s 2007 children’s book The True Meaning of Smekday, it tells the story of an unlikely friendship between an out of earth visitor Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons) and Gratuity ‘Tip’ Tucci (Rihanna).
Oh and his fellow aliens, the Boov, are on the run from their mortal enemy —the Gorg.
The Boov take refuge on Earth. Thinking they’re helping the ‘primitive humans,’ they move in into the world’s different cities and relocate humanity to a huge settlement in Australia.
In the process, Tip gets separated from her mother and vows to find her, with some help from Oh, who has by now become a fugitive from the Boov.
Will they find Tip’s mother while avoiding detection from Boovs’ leader Captain Smek (Steve martin) and will they save Earth from certain annihilation?
The story, in the first half, moves a little slowly and one gets a feeling they’ve seen it all before. But the movie is peppered with a lot of funny moments throughout and that compensates for the lack of speed.
The animation, when compared to the fare from Pixar, seems a little out of date. But the characters are cuter than cute and children are sure to love it. I really enjoyed the overall experience. Running at an hour and 33 minutes, this movie is of just the right length. It’s a perfect way to spend an evening out with kids.
VERDICT: Take your children for this movie and they will fall in love with it. Get ready to be smothered by their kisses. Seven out of 10 stars.
