Movie Info

AUDIENCE:

Older children to adults

RATING:

PG

GENRE:

Animated/Science Fiction/Comedy

RELEASE:

November 20, 2009

STARRING:

The voices of Dwayne Johnson, Justin Long, Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman, Seann William Scott, and John Cleese

DIRECTORS:

Jorge Blanco

DISTRIBUTORS:

TriStar Pictures/Sony Pictures Entertainment

WEB SITE:

Planet 51: Official Movie Web site

 

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MOVIE REVIEW

Planet 51

Movieguide Magazine

What's This?

CBN.com - Planet 51 is a fun animated comedy about an American astronaut trapped on an alien planet stuck in a 1950s world, but it has some light worldview issues and scatological jokes that require caution for younger viewers. Also, the animation is not quite as good as recent efforts such as Up, Astro Boy, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

The story opens on the alien planet, where young Lem (voiced by Justin Long) has just gotten a job at the local observatory. Lem’s friend Skiff works at the comic book store and is a fan of movies about alien invaders and monsters from outer space. In fact, their world is pretty paranoid about the entire subject.

Of course, when an American astronaut lands on the planet, everybody except Lem panics and worries about alien invaders turning them into zombie slaves. The astronaut, Chuck (voiced by Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock), asks Lem to hide him from the military, which wants to dissect his brain. They have only 72 hours before Chuck’s orbiting command module starts the journey back to Earth.

PLANET 51 is funny and exciting, but the story and animation are not quite as amazing as recent animated efforts from Hollywood. Also, the movie has a light Romantic worldview that pokes fun at the allegedly “paranoid” mood of the 1950s. Just because you’re paranoid, however, doesn’t mean that nobody’s out to get you. Thus, as with today’s society, there was good reason in the 1950s to fear the Communists among us who want to “transform” the United States of America into a godless, socialist tyranny. The movie’s Romantic worldview also includes a debatable comment by the American astronaut that the 1960s were even more “fun” than the 1950s. Tell that to the Kennedy family, or the family of Martin Luther King, Jr. On the other hand, the movie does poke a little fun at the 1960s protest movements, though its Romantic worldview ultimately sides with the desire of those movements to “improve” society.

Be that as it may, PLANET 51 also contains some “poop” jokes. It also has an off-color joke about the American astronaut’s strange “antenna” when he takes off his clothes. Thus, MOVIEGUIDE® advises slight caution for young children.

Address Comments to:
Michael Lynton, Chairman/CEO
Amy Pascal, Chairman - Motion Picture Group
Sony Pictures Entertainment
(Columbia Pictures/TriStar/Screen Gems/Provident/Triumph Films)
10202 West Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232-3195
Phone: (310) 244-4000
Fax: (310) 244-2626
Web Page: www.spe.sony.com/

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