Planet 51

A rather ordinary animation that stands out to me only because it is a sci-fi, but the execution of aliens here is not at all perfect, rather quite ordinary. A story about a person getting lost and how others help them to be able to return. The animation is excellent, but otherwise nothing special. Average, yes. (24.03.2014)

I can't help but give it the full number of stars. After Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me, Planet 51 is another cartoon that I have nothing to criticize about. I appreciate mostly the main idea of "role reversal" and the fact that the "alien" planet looks like the USA in the 1950s. Rock 'n' roll is in style, civilian hovercrafts resemble Cadillacs or Dodges, military vehicles are like Jeep Willys, TVs are in black and white, B-movie sci-fi blockbusters about brain-eating bloodsuckers attacking are ruling the movie theatres, and everyone is afraid of what lurks in the 500-mile-long universe. The arrival of an astronaut unleashes E.T. style mayhem turned inside out, we get all sorts of references to films like Alien, Terminator, Star Wars, War of the Worlds, as well as Singin' in the Rain, Grease, and plenty more, and there are some awfully fun characters to boot: A rugged general dubbed by Gary Oldman, a scientist-madman with the voice of John Cleese, a Bob Dylan alien (with a bunch of hippies in a hover-flower Volkswagen)... I could go on and on, but it's better if you see it yourself. If you like sci-fi and would like a fun homage to the greatest blockbusters, give Planet 51 a watch. It's better than Monsters vs. Aliens. (13.02.2011)