FILM REVIEW Planet 51

Time to leave the capsule if you dare


Cinema
Daniel Carey

AFTER spending two decades in Britain, the travel writer Bill Bryson decided to move back to America. There were various reasons for this, he explained in the book ‘Notes From A Small Island’. It would allow his children to experience life in another country, and give his wife the chance to shop until 10pm seven nights a week. Most of all, though, the decision was prompted by the news that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens, and it was thus clear to him that his people needed him.
The idea of life on other planets has been a staple in popular culture for a long time, so it’s to the credit of those behind animated feature ‘Planet 51’ that they come up with a new twist on an old theme. However, the interesting central premise isn’t enough to turn it into a particularly memorable film.
That ‘big idea’ involves Captain Charles T Baker (voiced by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), an American astronaut who lands on wahat he believes to be an uninhabited planet, only to discover it’s full of little green men and women. They all speak English, and listen to 1950s music, but are fearful of invasion by aliens, so the arrival of this man and his robot probe, Rover, unleashes a wave of Cold War-style paranoia. It’s ET in reverse.
Like everybody’s favourite extra-terrestrial, Captain Baker needs to get back to his ‘flying saucer’ undetected before it’s too late. So he enlists the help of a reluctant Lem (Justin Long), a planetarium curator, and a small group of friends. Their initial encounter is amusing enough, as Lem rings the Alien Hotline, only to be told by a record message: “They’re here and no weapon can stop them.”
As a children’s film, ‘Planet 51’ has its share of slapstick and physical comedy. There’s a decent chase involving a sharp-toothed dog, the dubious claim that Twix bars will make you invisible and the sight of a terrified robot wetting itself. Those who have seen the trailer will recall the green-faced mother administering medicine to her child – “Open wide or the big bad monster will get you.” Seconds later, the human ‘invader’ bursts into the room, and the kid promptly downs the entire bottle.
There are some giggles (if no laugh-out-loud moments) for the adults too. The schoolchildren of the planet practise diving under their desks, and those too slow to react are told to join the ‘zombies’ in the dunce’s corner. John Cleese plays a mad scientist who insists that the spaceman is ‘here to take over our minds’.
Overall though, ‘Planet 51’ flatters to deceive. Much of the material will go over the heads of its young target audience, while it’s simply not funny enough for accompanying grown-ups (or discerning older children). Screenwriter Joe Stillman and director Jorge Blanco clearly know their alien movies, but while their regular homages to 1950s sci-fi aren’t bad, the flick too often relies on echoing its predecessors.
We’re dealing with stock characters here, and like the main story, the romantic sub-plot involving Lem and Neera (Jessica Biel) follows a predictable course.
It looks like 2009 will be remembered as a landmark year for both animation and for the depiction of aliens in cinema. But that will be down to ‘Up’ (which underlined again just how far ahead of the posse Pixar remain) and ‘District 9’, which re-cast creatures from outer space as a domestic hazard. Like too many other movies over the past 12 months, ‘Planet 51’ is a good idea that fails to reach its potential.

Rating 5 out of 10