Planet 51

Planet 51 – On a distant alien world, teenage boy Lem lives an ordinary life and hopes to woo his beautiful neighbour, Neera. When a spaceship lands nearby and its inhabitant escapes into hiding, Lem discovers him and realises that he is a harmless human astronaut called Chuck Baker rather than the dangerous monster everyone else believes him to be. The pair, along with Lem’s friend, Skiff, do their best to protect Chuck from the government’s desire to experiment on him and return him to his ship before it automatically leaves for Earth.

Planet 51 (2009) – Directors: Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad, Marcos Martinez

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22214895

Rating: U

Running Length: 91 mins

Starring: Justin Long, Dwayne Johnson, Gary Oldman

Genre: Animated, Science Fiction, Comedy

REVIEW: ‘PLANET 51’

Although the fish-out-of-water is a common trope of kids’ movies, the decision to set a story on an entirely unknown planet with the way of life of indigenous dominant species being what is ‘normal’ is one that is relatively original. The aliens in question live in what is essentially 1950’s America, the music, diners, fashion, etc are all instantly recognisable making it easy to get into straight away.

The cold war style element which takes up most of the movie is fine and a believable take on what might happen should an alien being (in this case a human astronaut) suddenly appear from the skies. It serves its purpose but does drag a little and the antagonist, General Grawl (Gary Oldman), doesn’t particularly do anything to be memorable. The animation is lovely and the camaraderie that naturally develops between Lem and Chuck is genuinely enjoyable to watch.

The plot may be predictable for adults but kids will love everything the movie has to offer; with plenty of jokes and delightfully lush visuals, ‘Planet 51’ could easily become a favourite for any space-alien-loving child.

CONTENT: IS ‘PLANET 51’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The movie opens with a teenage couple sitting in a car at night, the girl says ‘I’ve never gone parking before, I’m really not that kind of a girl’ and the boy replies ‘Well I’m not normally the kind of guy that would go with that kind of a girl’. The romance is interrupted by a large spaceship which suddenly appears in front of them. The girl yells ‘I knew this would happen if we made out!’

When the spaceship lands, an alien creature emerges and exposes its head which comprises of a huge eyeball, it then uses its head like a ray gun and disintegrates several soldiers who are standing nearby. It also mind controls two characters, turning them into zombie-like slaves. Immediately after this, it is revealed to be a movie.

A woman wearing fitted clothing walks past a man who watches her go by and smiles. She turns around indignant, believing him to have been ogling her and angrily tells him ‘Keep your eyes on the aliens!’

Lem’s friend Skiff is obsessed with conspiracy theories and after an alien being arrives on their planet (the human, Chuck), he hands Lem an object telling him it is a ‘probe’, he turns around and sticks out his bottom saying ‘they put it in…’. While adults will understand the meaning of this, the conversation quickly moves on so the implication is likely to go over the heads of kids.

When Lem and Chuck meet for the first time, Chuck tries to explain that he is an astronaut, not knowing the word, Lem points at Chuck saying ‘ass..’, Chuck finishes the word for him, slightly annoyed to have been accidentally insulted.

Chuck tries to teach Lem some romance tips and uses a scenario of meeting a woman in a bar. He tells his imaginary love interest that as an astronaut, he doesn’t know when he will be called to duty saying ‘Let’s make our last night a night to remember’.

A character is captured and a scientist wants to experiment on them, making marks on their head he says ‘What a remarkable brain you must have. An incision here and here – should pop right out!’

A character who Lem doesn’t like is called upon to distract some soldiers. It is likely that he does not fully understand why he is there and is (inevitably) beaten by the soldiers who are armed with batons. Although he comically cries out in surprise and pain, he is clearly happy that the distraction worked.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘PLANET 51’ FOR KIDS?

Predictable but fun, ‘Planet 51’ is a delight for kids and adult alike. We feel this movie is appropriate for all ages.

• Violence: 1/5 (Chuck pretends to turn two soldier characters into zombie-like slaves and they are completely fooled, behaving as they believe they should. Later in the movie, these two characters are being carried on hospital gurneys, their brains have been removed from their bodies and are carried alongside in jars. These characters are seen later in the movie, alive but practically insane. They speak to another character in a friendly manner but forcibly take him away to remove his brain)
• Emotional Distress: 1/5 (a character is devastated to have to say goodbye to a beloved pet, however this distress only lasts for a few seconds and has a pleasant resolution)
• Fear Factor: 1/5 (the government and army characters who wish to capture, dissect and kill Chuck may be a bit scary for kids)
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (a male character flicks through a magazine and sees an image of an alien woman in a typical Marilyn Monroe pose, complete with short, billowing skirt, he briefly stops at this page and wolf whistles before moving onto the next page)
• Bad Language: 0/5 (a character steps on a rubber duck and says ‘What the…duck?’)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (a character who believes dangerous aliens are coming says that their dinner will be ‘organs and eyeballs’. Lots of dialogue related to what the government intends to do with Chuck once he is captured)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of alien life forms, an alien planet, alien visitation, the fear of invasion, relating to someone who is completely different to you, prejudice, the dangers that fear of the unknown can bring and friendship)

Words by Laura Record

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