It’s cute, cuddly and comical – Home promises to pull at your heartstrings with its fantastical yet relatable story
You might not believe this, but Home – this adorable, happy-go-lucky cartoon – is actually set in a ravaged post-apocalyptic Earth.
What has it been overrun by? An alien race of Boov, little purple hive-minded beings who believe that true happiness comes with routine and conformity. (Sounds strangely close to home.)
So what happens when a Boov meets a solitary human survivor? Sparks fly, but only due to tensions between the two races. And an unlikely buddy comedy is formed!
Oh, How Strange
Among the individualistic Boov race stands our main alien Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons). Unlike the other Boov, Oh is upbeat and optimistic, craving connection in a community that shuns friendships.
But Oh is also clumsy. Blasting an email invite to the Boov’s Earth housewarming party, he accidentally hits “Send All”, shooting the message to a fearsome arch-nemesis. It’s like “cc-ing” your rival company’s boss in a confidential email about an office party. Oops.
Because of this, Oh is being hunted down by his own community. It’s a blessing, then, that Oh meets one of the only surviving humans on Earth – precocious girl Gratuity “Tip” Tucci (Rihanna) – and forms a funny friendship with her.
At first, Tip and Oh are wary of each other. They’ve been forced together by circumstances: Oh may be able to help Tip find her missing mother, and her car can whisk him away from the angry Boov.
But as the story unfolds, these very circumstances create moments of genuine friendship.
Director Tim Johnson said, “Oh falls in love with humanity as a chance to have friends, tell jokes, listen to music, have parties, and everything else that’s been denied him as a Boov.”
A Story Close to Heart
For actor Jim Parsons – Emmy award-winning star of popular TV comedy “The Big Bang Theory” – such connections are extremely important, both to Boov and to humans in reality.
“Making lasting friendships with people who couldn’t be more different from you, and with whom you’d never expect to connect, is not only possible – it’s necessary,” he explained.
This is Parsons’ first animated feature, and the actor loved every second of making it. “It’s the most interesting ‘playtime’ I’ve ever had as an actor,” he explains. “I never left the recording studio without being a sweaty mess!”
But Parsons’ co-star, pop music icon Rihanna, identifies with her character Tip on a deeper level – she even sees the young one as her onscreen alter ego. Rihanna said, “Tip definitely reminds me of myself. I understand the way Tip thinks, as well as her flaws, ambition, sass and attitude.”
For Rihanna, the story was so moving that she bawled before the characters were even animated. She confessed, “I’d be crying my eyes out, thinking, ‘I’m so embarrassed! I’m crying at stick figures!’”
Funnyman at the Helm
Leading the oddball race of Boov is Captain Smek, voiced by comedy kingpin Steve Martin. Somehow, it seems quite fitting for him to play a relentlessly cowardly ruler, who pops footballs into his mouth like delicious candy.
Martin, who is also a noted playwright, compared voice-acting for an animated feature to writing a play. He said, “You can try something out, change it and go back and experiment with it 70 different ways. So much emotion can be brought into an animated film.”
Emotional, comical and close to home? I’m sold!
By Pamela Chow
Home [G]
Director: Tim Johnson
Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez
Genre: Animation
Run length: 94 min
Release: Mar 26
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