Upon review of the Dreamwork new animated film Home, one finds an interesting tale of a species called the Boov; small color-changing purplish-blueish aliens who invade Earth. This movie is rated PG for mild action and some rude humor. It is voiced by the talented Jim Parsons, Rhianna, Steve Martin, and Jennifer Lopez.
This movie begins with the Boov invasion; a non-violent relocation of humans by small bubble shaped spaceships filled with ball pits and ice cream cones. The humans are then sent to the continent of Australia where they find themselves in large cities, designed with every human comfort, while the Boov begin living in the human’s homes. The movie centers on an alien named Oh (Jim Parsons), who doesn’t conform to the other Boov standards, as well as their singular thinking and anti-fun ways.
In the movie, Oh makes the crucial mistake of sending out an email to the entire galaxy, (including their sworn enemy called the Gorg) inviting everyone to his house warming party. When Captain Smek (Steve Martin), the leader of the Boov finds out, Oh becomes a fugitive and begins to do what the Boov are best at – running away. He tries to escape punishment and in the process, runs into a teenage girl named Tip (Rhianna) and her cat named Pig. They too are attempting escape from the Boov to find Tip’s mother who was relocated during the invasion.
The trio have a marvelous adventure trying to find Tip’s Mom (Jennifer Lopez) and stopping Oh’ email from reaching the Gorg. Along the way, they explore many aspects of humanity that Oh was unfamiliar with including the complexity of human emotions and relationships. Oh learns what it means to be a friend and comes to the rescue at the end as the deadly Gorg arrive.
Positive Content
A huge theme in this movie is the complexity of emotions and how they affect decisions. Happiness, creativeness, and the strength of friendship are all positive aspects of this movie.
When the Boov express emotions, they do so by changing color; pink for happy, blue for sad, and green shows when they are lying. Emotional expression, as well as the changing colors of the Boov, will help children to see how certain events affect each character.
The story shows us how staying true to oneself pays off as those around Oh start to realize they judged and treated him harshly when he was different from everyone else. Individuality and creativeness are applauded in the end.
Violence Content
Although the invasion of the humans is peaceful, there are some violent moments, primarily between Oh and Tip. Tip has violent outbursts and constantly takes them out physically on Oh by kicking him. It takes a while for Oh to realize she is just expressing her emotions.
Oh and Tip are constantly being hunted by the Boov, who wish to obtain Oh’s email password and “erase” him. The Boov carry an alien type of weapon that is very destructive as seen used by the character Officer Kyle.
Captain Smek also uses his “Shusher”, a walking stick with an oval rock at the top, to smack Boov on the head who don’t agree with him – effectively “shushing” them.
Sexual Content
As Tip is hiding, a Boov comes to claim her house after the human relocation and she sets traps; some glitter here, some makeup there, and the Boov ends up looking like a sparkly street walker when the pranks are over.
There is some dancing done by Oh as Tip plays some human music and he cannot control his body. The mild booty shaking is more entertaining than anything.
Near the end of the movie, at Oh’s home welcome party, one of the Boov’s (presumably the one that Tip glamorized earlier in the movie) comes to the party with a bright pink bra on its head.
Drug and Alcohol Content
There is, what presumably looks to be, alcohol being served at Oh’s home welcome party at the end of the movie. There is also a “drunk” Boov laying on the floor at the party.
Although there is no drug content, there are several aspects where certain characters’ qualities affect other characters negatively.
Oh is caught lying to Tip several times in the movie – conveniently it is easy to tell when he lies as he turns bright green. Tip tries to teach him that friends don’t lie to each other.
Captain Smek is very abusive to his followers. The word “dumb” is used frequently and the other Boov are constantly putting Oh down and trying to escape his friendly advances.
The Boov motto is “it’s never too late to run away” and they live by this motto by not standing up for themselves or defending each other.
Captain Smek says controversial things like “the internet doesn’t lie” and encourages all his Boov followers to shun Oh because he is different and makes mistakes.
Conclusion
This movie shows witty and subtle humor that even parents can appreciate. Although there is some persecution based on differences and unique character qualities, the general moral of the story comes through pretty loud and clear by the end of the movie; friends stick together and don’t judge people too harshly. Even the movie’s baddie Captain Smek, is forgiven at the end by acting as DJ at the first Boov dance!
It is very touching how Oh is willing to sacrifice himself to save Tip, the other humans, and Boov from the Grog. He develops greatly as a character through the movie and ends up being a great hero figure in the end.
This movie displays positive family values as displayed with Tip and her Mom’s relationship. It enforces honesty, tolerance, courage, and dedication to friendships. This movie is a film that shows how differences can be overcome and uniqueness is nothing to be afraid of.
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About Paul B. Murray
Paul is founder of Southern Outdoor Cinema, an Atlanta outdoor movie equipment rental company for movie nights and a dad of 2 pre-teen girls. When he is not traveling the South creating outdoor movie nights for communities and schools, he is spending time playing board games, reading books and watching movies with his family
