Blu-ray Review: Planet 51

Release Date: March 9th, 2010
Running Time: 91 minutes

The Film

The film takes place in the town of Glipforg on Planet 51, a world full of green aliens whose culture is very similar to 1950s America. Justin Long stars as Lem, a teenager who just got a job at the planetarium. He spends his time with his friend, Skiff (Sean William Scott), who works at the comic shop, and fawns over his life-long crush, Neera (Jessica Biel). Lem’s family hosts a barbeque and Neela attends but Lem can’t find the courage or opportunity to express his feelings.

Elsewhere an unidentified spacecraft enters Planet 51’s orbit, alerting a secret army base called “Base 9” that houses artifacts from Earth. One of these artifacts, a Rover, is activated and escapes to reconvene with the approaching astronaut. The army keeps an eye on the Rover’s mission while back at the barbecue the spacecraft touches down in Lem’s yard! An astronaut named Chuck Baker (Dwayne Johnson) emerges and is shocked to see the planet inhabited so he goes into hiding. The army arrives, led by General Grawl (Gary Oldman) who consults scientist Professor Kipple (John Cleese) about the alien. They quarantine the area, believing that the alien can turn them into mind-controlled zombies!

Lem soon finds Chuck hiding out in the planetarium and learns that they both speak the same language! Lem realizes the army’s fear of the alien is irrational and decides to help him get home, costing him his job. The Rover meets up with them and they go on the run from the army, bonding in the process. Chuck admires Lem’s self-sacrificial bravery and tells him about the vastness of the universe. Unfortunately the army has Chuck’s spacecraft, making their goal seem impossible. Chuck is soon captured and Lem is labeled a “hero” when Chuck pretends to de-zombify him so he won’t get in trouble. Though showered with accolades, Lem will have to decide what is right before Chuck has his brain dissected!

Nothing about Planet 51 is particularly unique or groundbreaking, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The action moments are serviceable and utilize the world well, and the juvenile jokes are sure to have kids rolling. The characters may be stock, as are the themes of friendship and bravery, but the messages are simple and clear enough for kids to understand. The most creative aspect of the film is how the planet is like 1950s Earth science fiction, and this is the one area adults may find some chuckles due to the not-so-subtle references.

From a technical standpoint the film definitely hits the mark. The CGI is far better than I’d expected. It used to be that the animation of any non-Pixar film would look very amateurish, but Planet 51 is proof that the times are changing. The level of detail is very respectful, especially for a film with a fraction of a Pixar budget. The voice over work, while not outstanding, could certainly have been far worse. Dwayne Johnson knows how to sell his persona and the jokes, as does Sean William Scott. Justin Long may not get as many laughs, but his jittery delivery suits the character well.

As a piece of basic entertainment Planet 51 works. It is a colorful, briskly paced adventure that doesn’t try to be more than what it is. Sure some suspension of disbelief is required, but for children that shouldn’t be a problem at all. Sometimes as parents you have to be the bigger man and pick up the movie your kids want to watch, whether you will enjoy it or not.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 2.35:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. Like most CGI films the image quality is pretty flawless. Colors are total eye candy, vibrant and saturated. Black levels are inky with excellent shadow detail. Fine detail is pristine and only limited by the quality of the animation itself. Any detail that the animators put in the image is clearly visible, including excellent depth with the backgrounds. With no digital errors, this is a very impressive transfer.

The audio is offered in an English/German DTS HD 5.1 master lossless audio track and an English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio Description track with English/Spanish/German/Turkish subtitles. The mix is energetic enough but relatively basic in its sound design. On-the-nose panning effects are smooth, and directional effects are well placed. Bass is present but definitely could have had a bit more oomph. Dialogue is clear and balanced as well. The mix isn’t anything special by comparison, but it has enough “wow” moments to suck kids into the action.

The Extras

A nice selection of kid-friendly special features is offered.

“Life on Planet 51” is a 12-minute behind-the-scenes featurette. After some obligatory promo content it gets into interviews with the voice actors and some storyboard/animation discussion. It has just enough information without getting too technical for its target audience.

“Planetarium: The Voice Stars of Planet 51” (3 minutes) is an exceptionally fluffy piece interviewing the cast in between clips from the film.

“The World of Planet 51” (3 minutes) explores the major locations of the film through a rotating camera that allows you to appreciate the artists’ attention to detail.

“Animation Progression Reels” (16 minutes) is the most comprehensive special feature on the set. The screen splits into four to show early animation renders, storyboards, animatics, and the final product for six key sequences.

Three Extended Scenes (3 minutes) are decent, and seeing as how the film is short to begin with I don’t really understand why these were cut.

“Target 51” is a game where players have to destroy obstacles and enemies in the way as Chuck tries to get his landing module back to his ship.

A 2-minute Music Video Montage blends footage from the film to one of two songs: “Aliens Exist” by Blink 182 and “Spaceman” by The Killers.

Lastly, a DVD and a Digital copy are offered.

Final Thoughts

Planet 51 isn’t in the upper echelon of animated films where adults can also fully appreciate the film, but its target audience is sure to love it. A strong Blu-ray release featuring kid-friendly special features makes this title a good choice for the younger crowd.