Planet 51 (2009) - PG

Press Association

The future and the past collide with faintly amusing results in the computer-animated comedy from debutant Spanish directors Jorge Blanco, ...

The future and the past collide with faintly amusing results in the computer-animated comedy from debutant Spanish directors Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez. Planet 51 unfolds on the titular world, far from our own, where little green men, women and child live in domestic bliss, which bears a spooky resemblance to 1950s white-picket-fence America. The Chordettes' perky Lollipop plays on the jukebox of the local diner and kids crowd the cinema to watch the latest sci-fi epic about those nasty human invaders trying to destroy the resident alien communities. When a lone astronaut does touch down on the planet, he faces the same level of hostility levelled at Klaatu in The Day The Earth Stood Still. Screenwriter Joe Stillman has fun recreating the paranoia and fear of bygone America in an extra-terrestrial society, creating archetypes like a mad scientist and a warmonger general to stoke the tension. In a nice twist, the human is a narcissistic, dim-witted buffoon who didn't even have to delicately navigate his craft down to the planet's surface, he just hit the auto-pilot button. Gung-ho American astronaut Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) touches down on Planet 51 believing he will be the first being to ever set foot on this alien world. Instead, the human interloper discovers teenage budding astronomer Lem (Justin Long), his friend Skiff (Seann William Scott), sassy next-door neighbour Neera (Jessica Biel) and a species that has been nurtured on a fear of men from the skies. Once his presence on the planet is known, General Grawl (Gary Oldman) sets out to capture Chuck and deliver him to deranged Professor Kipple (John Cleese). "You must capture the alien and bring it to me so I can unlock the secrets of its marvellous brain," chortles the loopy scientist. Lem and his pals have a little more common sense, and reason that Chuck must be a good guy: "If it was smart enough to come all this way, wouldn't it be smart enough to come in peace?" General Grawl won't hear such nonsense, and incarcerates the astronaut in a subterranean base. Lem, Skiff and Neera launch a daring rescue mission with the help of Chuck's trusty robot companion Rover to help the human visitor avoid a grim fate as a permanent exhibit at the Alien Invaders Space Museum. Planet 51 is an entertaining if slight fantasy that cues visual and soundtrack nods to the likes of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The animation doesn't challenge Pixar for sophistication, but it's brightly coloured and energetic, with solid vocal performances. Lessons about tolerance and community are laid on thick in-between the set-pieces, and Stillman ensures the violence remains cartoonish throughout, introducing the cute robot sidekick and lots of slapstick for younger audiences. The nostalgic throwbacks to the 1950s are purely for (grand)parents. It's life Jim, as we used to know it.

Read full review