Movie Review - Planet 51

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In the new animated film, American astronaut Charles Baker (Dwayne Johnson) lands on Planet 51 mistakenly thinking he’s the first intelligent life-form to ever step foot on the world.  Much to his chagrin, he finds the world to be populated with “little green men” who are not only intelligent but also speak English.  This world is a funhouse mirror version of the United States circa-1950.  Their hovercrafts look like the ‘50s era cars that Detroit used to churn out, they listen to the “oldies” and deluge their cineplexes in order to see “alien invasion” B-movies where the attacking extraterrestrials are zombie like creatures called “humaniacs.”   Baker is quickly discovered by Lem (Justin Long), who just got promoted at his job working at the planetarium.  He must choose between turning over the essentially harmless Baker to the authorities (and therefore certain death) or helping him escape (and making Lem a pariah on his own world). 

The film’s concept is cute enough and there are some clever concepts such as Lem battling for the affections of Neera (Jessica Biel) as hippie prototype Glar (Alan Marriott) draws her into their planet’s nascent protest movement.  However, the fact that their planet is without a war means that there isn’t much of anything for them to protest.  And the films ‘50s throwback conceit is not without its charms; especially as we see the Eisenhower-era mentality through the prism of alien life-forms.  Unfortunately, subtlety, like humans, is alien on this plane.  All of the voice work is over-the-top.  There isn’t one joke in the film isn’t overplayed and/or telegraphed.

The filmmakers create several questions that never get addressed.  Why does the world replicate 1950’s small town America?  Why do the people on Planet 51 speak English?  Why doesn’t Baker seem the least bit perplexed by the fact that they speak English?  Why do they have lush and green vegetation when we see that it rains rocks?  Why do all the men have no pants while all the women have to wear dresses?  Planet 51 feels as if it’s the combination of too many different visions.  The fact that the movie lists four people as having the “original idea” would seem to bear this out.  (How exactly do four people have the exact same “original idea?”)  The film can’t decide if it’s a straight-ahead kid’s film, or a subversive anti-imperialist allegory.  It succeeds as neither. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being Iron Giant and 1 being Alien Trespass, Planet 51 gets 4.

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