by Sarah & Matt Meisenhelter
"Escape from Planet Earth" is a new animated kids movie that hits theaters on Friday, February 15th. It starts on the planet Baab (pronounced "Bob"), with a dimwitted superhero (Scorch) and his nerdy brother (Gary) dealing with some unresolved sibling rivalry. Scorch manages to head to the "Dark Planet" (Earth) and Gary inevitably goes after him. Danger, intrigue and humor follow leading to the inevitable 'happily ever after" at the end.
This space adventure animation did manage to keep a finicky three year-old (with perhaps the shortest attention span in the galaxy) engrossed for its entire 89-minute run time. An impressive feat considering this was his very first time in a movie theater! There was enough "smart humor" is peppered throughout to keep the grownups quite entertained, too. The movie seemed to drag a bit in the middle, but neither of our kids seemed to notice. I was concerned that our three year old would be scared based on some of the scenes in the trailer, but he did fine.
Fair warning, Escape from Planet Earth is chock full of lighthearted but gratuitous product placement. Someone got PAID to drop all the corporate names that this film does in quick succession. (Speaking of that, have I mentioned my undying love of Pampers, Target, and Kendall Jackson Chardonnay? We'll see how that works.) So expect deep questions about the existence of alien life along with requests to stop for Slurpees on the drive home.
More than a few recurrences of slapstick comedic violence and one or two "not really bad" but "not all that nice either" words are inevitable in mass market movies like this one these days. But nothing in this truly out-of-this-world production was anywhere near as offensive as today's concession prices! Talk about astronomical! But I digress.
Never mind the issue of how a universe full of playfully diverse and lovable alien creatures can somehow still all speak fluent English, Escape from Planet Earth really is a blast for the whole family! And when our five year-old rested his head on Daddy's shoulder during the film's resolution, Dad could almost rationalize spending an arm and a leg for those concessions.
The theatre resounded with applause from young and old alike as the credits started to roll, driving home the room's consensus that this film is well worth seeing. No bonus scene is waiting for you after the credits, just in case you were wondering.
Bottom line, Escape from Planet Earth really is a great way to have yourself an hour an a half of total family fun.
Review (By Sarah & Matt Meisenhelter - Sarah is a stay-at-home mom and blogs at www.HappyADDmom.com and Matt is the pastor of Spirit & Life Church, www.spiritandlifechurch.org)
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