There may be no place like home, but there are a lot of places like “Home,” an animated adventure* about the unlikely friendship between a lonely girl and an alien misfit* that can’t help but feel familiar.
All that said, the film has a very good voice cast — including Rihanna and Jim Parsons, who both manage to impress* in their animation debuts*.
Based on the Adam Rex novel “The True Meaning of Smekday,” the culture-clash* comedy tells about the Boov — a race of aliens on the run from the evil Gorg — who take refuge* on planet Earth. However, the Boov move human beings to candy-colored ghettos* in different corners of the world and take their homes.
Gratuity “Tip” Tucci (voiced by Rihanna), a girl separated from her mother because of the invasion*, makes friends with Oh (Parsons), a Boov who has become a fugitive* after being found staying with the girl.
Director Tim Johnson (DreamWorks’ “Antz”) and writing team of Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember (“Epic”), keep the action humming along and the funny bits entertaining, but the Boov are just Minions (“Despicable Me”) of a different color.
As Tip, Rihanna shares her screen character’s Barbadian* background, not to mention an empowering, can-do spirit that should please young female viewers.
Serving as a lively foil* is Parsons’ Oh, who makes audiences think of Starfire’s twisted* take on the English language on Cartoon Network’s “Teen Titans Go!”
Also lending their voices, but in far more limited capacities, are Jennifer Lopez as Tip’s displaced mom and Steve Martin as the cowardly* but egotistical* Boovian high leader.
Lopez also turns up on the soundtrack, on the song “Feel the Light,” while Rihanna contributes several new tunes, including her latest single, “Dancing in the Dark.”(SD-Agencies)
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