Official Synopsis
When Oh, a lovable misfit from another planet, lands on Earth and finds himself on the run from his own people, he forms an unlikely friendship with an adventurous girl named Tip who is on a quest of her own. Through a series of comic adventures with Tip, Oh comes to understand that being different and making mistakes is all part of being human. And while he changes her planet and she changes his world, they discover the true meaning of the word Home.
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Let me just say that the two lead characters in the film are what carries this movie from beginning to end. Oh (Jim Parsons) is a lovable, goofy alien character that you could probably listen to the entire story (and you do for most of the film). He is an innocent soul that believes the Boov are doing things right for their society, as well as the humans they’ve displaced. Plus, he is entertaining to watch dance.
Tip (Rihanna) is a strong, well-developed character who you are rooting for on this crazy adventure. She is a fighter, bitter at the Boov and is a perfect compliment to Oh’s goofiness. Oh and Tip together make for an even balance of humor with a tinge of drama to keep the story moving and emotional as possible. They are the best parts of the film.
Having said that, the film isn’t perfect, and it’s not the fault of the leads. Home has some underlying issues with how the story is constructed and how Oh and Tip’s adventure is treated. So, let’s not delay. Let’s get right into Home.
The first act of Home gives us a quick/brief overview of the Boov and how they invade planets and keep the current inhabitants happy at the same time (well, at least they believe they do). There isn’t much rhyme to the Boov’s moving reason, but Oh’s explanation of the entire process is cute enough to accept it and move on. The film keeps kicking on all cylinders, as we’re introduced to Oh, a Boov that is enormously disliked within his society, mainly due to his habit of messing things up. Once the Boov and their methods are established, the act moves quickly into the main beef of the story, which leads us to act two.
While I certainly understand and accept this is a kid’s movie, I just think the beginning presents quite a bit of information to take in. Maybe too much for a young kid to understand without asking a ba-jillion questions. Director Tim Johnson seemed like he was in a hurry to get to the crisis of the film in the second act, not stopping to fill in the gaps of Boov/Human relations or bothering to explain properly why the Boov kept moving. In short, the first act and the explanatory part of the story, which is vital for the rest of the acts to work properly, didn’t seem very important to the writers and director. That’s a darn shame because Oh is an awesome character and one that my kids actually enjoyed quite a bit, but the lack of cohesive reasoning within the story kept a good connection from happening.
Anyway, act two begins and the crisis of the film happens. Oh sends out a party email to his Boov compadres, only to have it broadcast out of earth and towards the Boov’s mortal enemies — the GORG! Panicked, the Boov quickly track down Oh and pretty much begin to cast him out of Boov society. Oh soon finds himself on the run and straight into the presence of a human named Tip, who has lost her mother to the Boov invasion (literally lost her mother). For the remainder of act two we have Oh and Tip trying to get along while on the run from the Boov.
Act two was good, but a bit messy. The back and forth between Oh and Tip establishes a healthy relationship, but the act lasts WAYYYYY too long for the story to maintain interest. It was certainly long in the tooth and with little development or surprise by the time the movie hits act three. On top of this, the mysterious reason why the Gorg are trying to hunt down the Boov doesn’t become relevant until the third act. The second act spends so much time trying to stop Oh’s email from getting out that it never fully gives any reason (or build) on why the Gorg want the Boov gone. Why does that matter? Well, to be afraid of the Gorg, you have to build them up — even if it’s brief moments here and there. By the time they get introduced in the third act, the don’t seem to be too much of a threat because the build towards them just seemed like a second thought.
The third act stumbles into the story and tries to find its footing. It takes about a good portion of the act before that happens, but it does happen. The ending of Home does a great job of bringing everything back into order, but the lack of details about the enemies and the reasons why they’re the enemies absolutely hurts the overall story structure, as well as the emotional value that the ending was trying to garnish from its audience. I wanted to be more emotionally invested in this movie, but the story just seems a bit messy and imbalanced, struggling to find focus.
Again, I give major kudos to leads Jim Parson and Rihanna for making the most out of their time with Oh and Tip. They’re enjoyable to watch onscreen and they help alleviate some of the story structure unevenness. Their efforts alone might make this movie good enough to gather the kids and enjoy a nice Saturday evening with an animated film.