Home

by Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, Adam Rex

Home is a dark movie that is wrapped in a literally and figuratively bubbly, package, in which we learn that colonialism is BAD. I’m not sure how much kids got the memo, but I have high hopes that some day our world leaders will be about to do something totally awful and suddenly they’ll say, “No, wait, I’m pretty sure this is wrong.  I think I learned it in a movie.  You know, that one with the purple alien dude?” All the other world leaders around the table will know exactly which movie is being referenced even though no one will be able to remember the name of the movie, and they’ll decide to hug it out instead of doing something awful.  In the meantime, kids learned that you shouldn’t eat or drink anything you find in a gas station bathroom, which is also an excellent moral.

The plot is exactly the same as Dances with Wolves, except that Dances With Wolves had amputations and war and sex and massacres and tragedy, whereas Home has a hover car powered by slushies. The Boov are an alien race trying to find a safe planet on which to live.  They pick Earth, and declare that humans are sooo lucky that the Boov have arrived, because humans are savages and the Boov will help them.  The Boov put all the humans in reservations. They are very colorful reservation, complete with amusement parks and an “Ask A Boov” booth, and you can see why the Boov think they’ve done a great job providing human happiness.

When the Boov collect the humans for the reservations, they miss one – Gratuity “Tip” Tucci, who is separated from her mom.  Tip teams up with a Boov named “Oh” who is always making “unintentionally hilarious mistakes.” His most recent one was inviting all life in the universe to a housewarming party – including the Boovs mortal enemy, the Gorg, who can now find them on Earth thanks to the evite. This makes O a fugitive and he and Tip and Tip’s cat, Pig, go on a road trip in her mom’s car (which Oh turned into a hovercar, so it’s technically a air trip).

Tip is a twelve-year-old girl who recently moved from Barbados to New York City with her mother.  Whoever did the character design, let me just say that I would like to buy them a drink, because Tip is not sexualized, she is not rail-thin, and she has brown skin and fabulous natural curly hair.  As a bonus, most of the extras are people of color as well (Tip and her mom are the only humans with speaking parts).

The Boov are freaking adorable – all soft and snuggly, and they change color based on their emotions.  They have based their tech around bubbles.  They fly in bubbles, they carry things in bubbles, and they make stuff out of bubbles – lots of bubbles here.  When I say that the plot is dark, it’s only dark between the lines.  If you know any history at all, you’ll say, “Oh, I see what they’re getting at there,” while kids are just saying, “Ha, the cat is funny.” The Boov are the least menacing attacking alien race ever. No one is hurt and no one suffers beyond confusion and annoyance, with the exception of Tip and her mom, who end up fine. Oh, please, like you didn’t know they would end up fine.  That’s a foregone conclusion not a spoiler.

There’s no romance in the movie whatsoever, and no bad language or serious violence.  The Boov seem to be infinitely bounce-able and while they fall and blow up etc. they are always shown as being fine afterwards. There’s some potty humor but even I thought it was funny, and I hate potty humor.  Oh’s explanation of Number Three is to die for: “We only do it once a year!  And I wouldn’t call it a holiday – but you do have to take the day off from work.”

Look, I’m a woman of simple tastes.  In the trailer, when Jim Parsons, as Oh, says, “Oh no!  My hands are in the air like I just do not care!”  I laugh my face off.  I would totally watch this movie without children. It wasn’t deep or emotional like Big Hero 6 or How to Train Your Dragon 2, but it was hilarious and heartwarming. There’s nothing super ambitious about the movie. You’d think there would be given that it’s about colonialism, but really, it’s mostly these two people and a cat in a hover car, and there’s hugging and bubbles and involuntary dancing and rainbow colors with an emphasis on pink and purple, and the whole of the colonialism thing is “Colonialism is BAD so don’t do it, OK?  Also be nice to each other, support your family, and don’t eat or drink anything you find in a gas station bathroom, EVER.”

I am actually not the target audience for this movie, which stars an 12-year-old girl.  Luckily for me, I happen to have access to an almost but not quite 12-year-old girl who was willing to offer her perspective. Here you go:

 What grade would you give this movie?

A+

Really, it was perfect?

Yes.

What did you like about it?

Boov are cute and funny also the cat is cute.  I like the all the bubbles.  The bottom line is – it’s funny.

Was there anything you didn’t like about it?

Not really.

Was there anything that surprised you?

Spoilers: the starfish knew where to find the Boov even when Oh stopped the message.  The evil robot dude was actually a cute starfish.

Did the movie make you feel anything besides that it was funny?

It was touching near the end when SPOILER: Oh almost died, and when Tip found her mom.  

Would you recommend it to other people?

Yes.  I would recommend it to everyone.  Even adults, it is funny and touching, especially to adults.

Home is in theatres now and you can find tickets (US) at Moviefone and Fandango.