‘Planet 51’

In 1950s America, rock ‘n’ roll was born, as was McDonald’s. Television took over home entertainment, and science-fiction thrillers took over the box office. It was a time of innocence and opportunity, and also paranoia; the Red Scare spread the fear of Communism far and wide, so much so that any form of the unknown was considered a threat.

What does this have to do with the animated, PG-rated family film “Planet 51?” Let’s just say the “51” in the title has more to do with 1951 than it does Area 51. In fact, the titular planet is pretty much the same as an idealized version of the United States in the 1950s, except it’s inhabited by little green people. Their biggest fear — courtesy of cheesy sci-fi movies such as “Humaniacs II” — is invasion by Earthlings, so when American astronaut Charles Baker (voice of Dwayne Johnson) crashes on the peaceful planet, chaos ensues.

The government immediately views Charles as a threat to harvest organs and eat brains. But self-centered Charles isn’t dangerous, he just wants to return home. Fortunately for him, there’s a little gizmo on Planet 51 called Wall*E, err, Rover, to help. And he befriends a high school student and assistant planetarium curator named Lem (voice of Justin Long), who helps him evade General Grawl (voice of Gary Oldman) and other authority figures. In return, Charles helps the shy Lem woo his next-door neighbor, Neera (voice of Jessica Biel).

The CGI animation is solid but not spectacular, and the action scenes are as formulaic as they come. As for the talent, Mr. Johnson overplays Charles a bit, but is fine. Mr. Long and Mr. Oldman have the most success as the innocent teen and gruff bad guy, respectively, but one has to wonder why Biel would sign on for this. Neera is little more than the token female love interest, and she doesn’t do or say anything important.

Although some young children may be confused when the aliens call Charles an “alien,” the script by Joe Stillman is a cutesy and predictable inverted telling of “E.T.” that should be easy to follow. Mr. Stillman and director Jorge Blanco also earnestly try to entertain adults with references to sci-fi classics, such as the music

from “2001: A

Space Odyssey,” often repeating that Charles has “The Right Stuff,” and naming Lem’s dog Ripley while rendering it to look just like the alien in the “Alien” movies. And for good measure, there’s even a nod to “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) and “The Terminator,” among others.

All this is good to keep parents entertained, but it is also similar ground to what “Monsters Vs. Aliens” handled much better (and in 3-D) last spring. More than anything, “Planet 51” is missing a “wow” factor to get people talking. Solid yet unremarkable isn’t terrible, but it can be terrible for the box office. 

— Dan Hudak is the chairman of the Florida Film Critics Circle and a nationally syndicated film critic. You can e-mail him at dan@hudakonhollywood.com and read more of his work at www.hudakonhollywood. com.

Did you know?

>>Although the movie is firmly rooted in 1950s America, Ilion Animation Studios, which created the film, is based in Madrid, Spain.