Nix wie weg - vom Planeten Erde

Along with bird flick Adventures of Zambezia, this animated alien escapade has been stuck in the large shadow cast by Dreamworks' The Croods this school holiday period. Which, frankly, is completely expected, yet also a bit of a shame. Escape never soars to great heights, in fact it's happy to just coast along in second gear for the most part, but there's a simplicity and lack of self-knowingness to it which is uncommon for family outings these days, making it somewhat refreshing. There are very few pop culture winks and nods, and even less gags for adults, with the focus predominantly on crafting a fun, and funny, film for the kiddies. The animation is noticeably cut-price, the story is unoriginal and the voice cast is a who's who of of C-grade talent - Brendan Fraser as the dimwitted hero, Rob Corrdry as his brainy brother, William Shatner as the nefarious human villain, plus Sarah Jessica Parker, Steve Zahn, Jane Lynch and Craig Robinson to boot - however the tempo is quick, the jokes are frequent and the action sequences are full of gusto; everything a little critter wants from a trip to the cinema.

Much like the, certainly better, "A Cat in Paris", the generically titled "Escape from Planet Earth" inhabits the lower bounds of what can be considered a theatrical release. Essentially, the movie is Sesame Street's Earnie and Burt were aliens from the planet Bob (spelled "BAAB") held captive on "the Dark Planet" (earth) by "Dr. Stangelove's..." General Turgidson (voiced by the incomparable William Shatner) with predictable outcomes. Dissimilar from similar recent children's cartoon fair ("Monsters vs. Aliens", "Hotel Transylvania", etc.) the film does not contain referential humor and smart asides aimed at the supervising adults or the brighter little nippers. The film does contain all of the color and motion you would expect from bringing to the kids to see the "Madgascar" series and the soundtrack here is actually slightly superior as it relies less on 1990's dance tunes (yes, there is the requisite dance number at the end that all the animated characters - whether they survived or not - participate in). In short, wait for this short, empty calorie trifle to make it to pay-per-view on your cable box for a fraction of the cost.

Escape from Planet Earth is a good movie for kids. It's funny, and colorful. However, do not think that it's bringing anything new to the table. It's nice entertainment, without any real disappointment, but it's a light meal.

It's real and only strength lies in the slick and extremely colorful graphics. they have their own style and there's not denying the appeal or the design of the alien home world.

The rest is merely acceptable. The story is linear, the scenario unimaginative, and the dialogs simple.

I liked it because it was fun, but don't expect much out of it and you won't be disappointed.

I took my 9yo and 7yo to see it while a friend of mine with a 5yo did not want to expose her child to a PG movie. Honestly, Tom & Jerry, Road Runner, and Popeye cartoons are 10x more violent than this. It easily could have been G rated. The violence was very mild. The movie was pretty good with some funny parts but many references will go over most kids heads while parents will laugh (do any children under 10yo know what "Area 51" refers to??) I would recommend saving yourself money by staying away from the 3D version of this movie. The first comment from my 7yo after the movie was, "there wasn't much 3D" and she was absolutely right. There were some, but by the middle of the movie, you don't notice it. Movie has a pretty good story line. Not a great movie, but not bad either. Good movie to see on a rainy weekend or day off of school.

It's no Frozen of course, but some light fun with aliens for the whole family with some awesome animation.