6/10

Finding a place where you belong is the objective in this latest from Dreamworks Entertainment, titled “Home”. Oh (Jim Parsons) is a lovable misfit alien who lands on Earth with his own clan taking control. They banish all human life to a single continent so that they can live unbothered. After a crucual mishap, Oh finds himself on the run from his own people. He forms an unlikely friendship with an adventurous girl named Tip (Rihanna) 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. “Home” isn’t anything original or fresh. It recycles a structure of a foreigner learning about human life that was made famous by “E.T” in 1982. What did stand out about this animated feature is that it surprised me in the aspect that it’s less about childish comedy, and more about a heartfelt understory that reaches for the heart strings and succeeds. The film does have it’s chuckles, but they are mostly in the scenes that anyone has seen if they watched the trailer. The humor is hit or miss, with the ladder coming in the form of jokes that only adults would get. One such joke is a drink that Oh enjoys called “Busta Lime”. The kids will love the weird accents and Yoda like dialogue of Parsons. He has a great skill for comedic timing even if his dialogue seems a little repetitive at times. Rihanna was good enough as Tip, even if she sounds nothing like a child. There were times where i legitimately forgot she was voicing the role, and that’s the key to any good voice work. The film sure had no problem using her for the soundtrack. I understand a movie featuring one of the world’s biggest pop stars is going to try to get their hands on some of her music, but did you seriously have to feature five different Rihanna songs? One famous scene in particular during the trailer is that of Oh dancing to Sean Paul’s “Get Busy”. In the film, it’s switched to a Rihanna song, and doesn’t fit the moment as well as it did in the trailer. Another problem i had was some of the animation being inconsistent. As a design, this movie is very beautiful. It’s filled with lots of rich color choices, as well as the bubble inflated houses made popular in the movie “Up”. But it was little things i noticed that kind of disturbed the continuity of the rules set for the alien race. One scene shows Tip’s cat laying on top of Oh’s head. While purring, Oh’s head begins to show shaking lines. When this same scenario happens twenty minutes later, the lines no longer appear. I know it sounds minute, but i hate when illustrators can’t stick to their own pieces. Those are really the biggest problems concerning this film. It’s really nothing major, and at 82 minutes, it cuts straight to the point. The movie didn’t have a prime antagonist, so the story for a character quest is stretched very thin, but i appreciated that screenwriter Matt Ember cut straight to the point while supplying legit tear jerking visual reactions from cutely illustrated characters. There isn’t enough tension to keep a child at the edge of their seat, but there is enough story to keep the meaningful moments instilled in their minds. Overall, “Home” is a welcome diversion from a disappointing March. It’s not going to be the best animated film of 2015, but it’s certainly a welcome improvement from animated features that treat children like idiots with toilet humor. I would predict that children under the age of 10 are going to get the most out of this film. With solid voicework and beautiful visuals, “Home” is where the heart is.