“Escape from Planet Earth” was the first animated film of 2013. And it will be remembered as one of the year’s worst – if it’s remembered at all.
Brendan Fraser leads the all-star voice cast as Scorch. He’s a hot-shot, bright blue superhero alien from Planet Baab who loves attention. However, his brother Gary (Rob Corddry) is the brains of every mission, heading Mission Control. After saving a bunch of tiny blue babies, Scorch’s next assignment is to venture to the “Dark Planet”, and no one has ever come out from there alive. It turns out that this “Dark Planet” is Earth. Once Scorch arrives he ends-up at a 7-Eleven, where he is captured by General Shanker (William Shatner is quite good in the role) and taken to Area 51.
Back on Baab Gary learns of his brother’s trouble, and he decides to go on a rescue mission. He leaves his wife (voiced by Sarah Jessica Parker) and son Kip (who dreams of being just like his uncle, and not his father – a predictable movie plot element) and heads to Earth, where he is captured at the same 7-Eleven (The Weinstein Company must’ve made a big deal with them) and brought to Area 51, where he finds Scorch and some other weird-looking creatures from far-out planets.
It turns out that Shanker needs the blutonium that powers Scorch’s suit in order to finally destroy all the alien planets. So that means everybody has to work together to stop him, Escape from Planet Earth and save their homes.
One of the most entertaining things about “Escape to Planet Earth” is recognizing all the similarities between it and other recent animated films, including “Monsters vs. Aliens”, “Space Chimps”, “Megamind”, “Planet 51”, “Monsters, Inc.”, and even “Chicken Little”. You might wonder: Is there anything original in the entire movie? That answer would be “No”.
The strength of the film is the animation, which is vivid and colorful. It’s the script that holds “Escape” back. I had hoped that studios and writers would have realized by now that when a script is filled with painfully obvious pop culture references, slapstick, and ridiculous product placement, on top of a weak story – a film is doomed.
Others in the cast include veteran voice actors George Lopez and Jane Lynch, along with “The Office”‘s Craig Robinson. But wait – there’s more: Jessica Alba, Ricky Gervais, Steve Zahn, and Sofia Vergara are also part of the ensemble. But no one can deliver any laughs. I may have chuckled a couple of times.
“Escape from Planet Earth” is rated PG for some mild rude humor and animated action. It’s appropriate for kids 8 and up, and maybe 8-10 year olds will enjoying it for the silly action and characters. Anyone older will be anxious to escape from the theater.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Escape from Planet Earth” gets a C-. Practically every studio can make great “looking” animated films these days. But without talented writers and a quality script, all those images go to waste.