WRITTEN BY: Bob Barlen and Cal Brunker
DIRECTED BY: Cal Brunker
Animated films have really taken the box office by storm, especially this year. The Croods, Epic, Monsters University, and Despicable Me 2 have all crossed the 100M mark. Solid, quality films, made by animation departments responsible for some of the most classic animated films from the last decade. Then we have Escape From Planet Earth, which is just a soulless adventure, harmless, that fills a void in an empty marketplace when there are no other kid movies out. There’s no real need to further discuss Escape From Planet Earth, as it doesn’t really deserve any long-term recognition. Your kids probably won’t even care if they see it more than once.
Gary (Rob Corddry) works mission control for the astronaut program on Planet Bob. His brother, Scorch (Brendan Fraser), is an astronaut. Together, they make a good team. Gary is brains, Scorch is brawn. Their next mission requires Scorch to take a trip to the Dark Planet to answer a distress call. The Dark Planet is Earth, and no alien who has landed there has ever returned. Scorch lands, gets himself captured by an evil general (William Shatner), so Gary goes to rescue him. Gary gets captured too, so his wife (Sarah Jessica Parker) tries to rescue him too. Gary teams up with three other captured aliens (Jane Lynch/Craig Robinson/George Lopez) to help break him and his brother out, and ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH.
The film lacks a soul. It tries to fake one, by having this brother/rivalry thing happening between Gary and Scorch, but ultimately the film is neither funny enough or serious enough to carry any type of weight. At least the animation looks decent, unlike the horrific animation that plagued the Hoodwinked franchise. Otherwise, this is a super average film. As an adult, you might fall asleep, as this is not a cartoon aimed at getting parents interested. This is primarily a kids film, but I can’t help but think it still could have been better.
FINAL GRADE: C