2 out of 5 pitchforks
Director: Jorge Blanco
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long

Currently, the trend with animated films goes something like this: Make a movie that has a healthy helping of fart jokes and physical gags to keep the little ones entertained, while mixing in some high brow, ironic or sarcastic humor with references to entertain the adults, making a final product that entertains every member of the family.

Often, with movies like the “Shrek” or “Toy Story” series, the formula results in a successful film that gets great reviews and makes millions of dollars at the box office.

But for new release “Planet 51,” the filmmakers need to go back to chemistry class. The formula is attempted, but the results are not desirable. Instead of the precise, tight jokes that we get from films whose creators know what they’re doing, “Planet 51” is a mess of fan boy allusions that ends up forgetting about half its audience, eliciting more snickers from adults than laughs from children.

The overall unbalanced nature of this film, along with a formulaic, predictable plot, make it a forgettable, monotonous picture that tries to fit in with the cool kids of the genre, but ultimately, is alien.

“Planet 51,” directed by Jorge Blanco and written by Joe Stillman (“Shrek,” “Shrek 2”), tells the story of charismatic NASA astronaut Capt. Charles T. Baker (Dwayne Johnson), who is sent on a mission to a foreign planet, which he, along with the rest of NASA, assumes to be uninhabited. Turns out it isn’t, and when the captain arrives, in a wacky twist of fates, he ends up being the alien. He befriends one of the alien children, Lem (Justin Long), who, unlike everyone around him, does not live in eternal fear of alien invaders. The aliens’ lifestyles are similar to humans, but the men do not wear pants, and the planet is in an era that emulates the 1950s.

The basic ideas behind this movie seem somewhat creative, and the little details like the aliens being in the Nifty Fifties are engaging, but the execution is where it falls off the extraterrestrial cliff.

As aforementioned, there is an overabundance of cultural references, which can often make for a good laugh here and there. In “Planet 51,” though, it’s overdone and recycled. Earlier this year, Pixar’s “Up” had a cute little allusion to “Star Wars,” but it was just once, and it was something that had not been done before.

In “Planet 51”, there are what seems like dozens of references to “Star Wars” alone, along with almost recreating scenes from “The Terminator” and “E.T.” and alluding to both Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys, just to name a few.

At its heart, this is a children’s movie. The reference to “Star Wars” in “Up” was great, because it was a subtle thing for adults, and if the kids didn’t get it, it didn’t change their view of the movie.
With “Planet 51,” the film is so full of such allusions it interferes with the plot, causing the whole thing to lose direction.

The plot is completely uninspired and unsurprising. How many times must we see the story of an outsider, who at first seems frightening because it looks different, only to find out that it’s really just like us? It’s great to inspire our youth to promote diversity, but let the dead horse lie.

The voice talents, though almost all A-list actors, are colorless and dull. Dwayne Johnson was an odd casting choice for Capt. Baker, and you’d have to read the credits to know John Cleese, Seann William Scott and Jessica Biel also provided their voices.

Reach the reporter at pmelbour@asu.edu