The main character is a young teen girl from Barbados named Gratuity Tucci (or “Tip” to her friends). She and her mom had just moved to New York when the Boov invaded. The alien Boov herded up all the humans and placed them in a big reservation in Australia, where all their needs were handled. There was even an ineffective Boov representative to whom questions could be addressed. Not that any helpful answers were provided.
The Boov and other alien technology was imaginative and somewhat impractical in many cases, but why let that get in the way of a fun story? Bubbles which disintegrate holes through buildings and other objects, floating balls which attract “useless” objects, a car powered by a frozen drink machine; the brainstorming sessions for this film must have been powered by more than just caffeine.
I really enjoyed the visuals in Home. The colors were bright and cheerful, making the alien invasion candy-coated and less threatening. The design of the Boov made me think of all the plush toys they could sell because they were so soft and squishy.
I really liked how smart and adaptive they made Tip. This young girl just wanted to find her mom, and she endured a lot of difficulties and dangers on her way. She makes a good role model and exhibits a lot of desirable traits which kids (and even adults) should have.
Oh (the Boov who is traveling with Tip) is at first incredulous that a human could do anything useful or understand any of the Boov technology. Over time, however, he comes to see that the Boov completely misunderstand the humans and made a lot of unfounded assumptions about them.
Home was a film with a message, though it was secondary to the actual story. The Boov, while generally nice, were quick to make decisions about the humans and only did cursory investigation and jumped to a lot of false conclusions based on the limited research. How the humans were rounded up as uncivilized natives is very reminiscent of the Native Americans treatment over much of European colonial history on this continent.
However, the message is presented softly and without being overbearing. Unlike the recent film, The Lorax, the director and writers of Home decided to tell a story which had the message carefully woven into it. The result was a delightfully fun film which can be enjoyed on many different levels.
Release Date: March 27, 2015 (USA)
MPAA Rating: PG
Language: English
MySF Rating: Three point five stars
Family Friendliness: 100%
Alcohol/Drugs: 0
Language: 0
Nudity: 0
Sexuality: 0
Violence: 1 (goofy violence, menacing aliens)
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