Planet 51

Here's a joke for you: green, antennaed, pear-shaped aliens on a distant planet dress and act exactly like idealized '50s American families. Now, I do not find it particularly funny when aliens are outfitted in human clothes, nor do I find it especially funny when they speak in human slang or live human-like domestic lives. In other words, should you choose to rent the computer animated kiddie (I hesitate to say "family") film Planet 51, you'd better make sure your kids find that joke really, really side-splitting. For the sake of form, I should mention that the plot involves a human astronaut (voiced by Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson) landing on the alien planet and being mistaken for a savage invader, and, alas, inspiring several anal probe jokes I really could have done without. The residents of Planet 51 all act exactly like humans from a B science fiction movie would, which I guess is supposed to be funny because they're green aliens, but since they don't behave any differently than humans, the gag doesn't have much resonance. Of course, it wouldn't be a modern CGI cartoon without a few of those lame pop culture references "for the parents," including quick, pointless nods to Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, The Day the Earth Stood Still, etc. My favourite moment takes place when the alien military, after removing items from Charles' space ship for inspection, accidentally drop his iPod. It begins blaring "The Macarena," which causes everyone to cover the ears in horror before the military ruthlessly blasts the iPod away. Yes, "The Macarena." I guess expecting these filmmakers to offer a relevant pop culture joke would be about as realistic as expecting them to know how an iPod works. The DVD extras are worthless; "The World of Planet 51" and "Life on Planet 51" featurettes are simply clip shows, while the "Run Rover Run!" obstacle course game left me slightly less than riveted. The package also includes a two-for-one offer for Kernels Popcorn, but try to restrain yourself.