Director:  Cal Brunker
Starring: Brendan Frazer, Rob Corddry, Willam Shatner, Jessica Alba, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jane Lynch, Ricky Gervais (voices)
Distributor: Roadshow Films
Runtime: 89 mins. Reviewed in May 2013

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Rating notes: Mild animated violence

This is one of those small animation films that slip in for school holidays, along with the big-budget shows, and get overshadowed. A pity in one sense because the studios that make them do not have the resources of Pixar, Dreamworks etc. The company here is Vancouver-based.

But then, the film is not particularly startling and only moderately entertaining. For small children, that is. Adults may find it doesn’t draw them in, though there are few jokey references to Peter Jackson and James Cameron. Adults may find themselves passing the time thinking about the other films that it resembles or draws on: Planet Earth, Monster vs Aliens, even ET and other space stories or trying to identify the voice cast.

With the blue-coloured aliens, who live in the friendly planet, Baab (Bob), there seems to be some relationship with the Smurf movies with their similar blue characters. Another reminder that the film is for littlies.

There are two brothers at work in space missions, a very egocentric brother, Scorch Supernova (Brendan Frazer) and a nerdish technical academic, Gary Supernova (surprisingly the usually bouncy Rob Corrdrey) who tends to stay in the background with his family. When Scorch decides to go to the Dark Planet (in fact, earth), he finds that he cannot cope, especially with the evil General Shanker (William Shatner) who is on a revenge mission to create, of course, a powerful, destructive weapon. He has also imprisoned aliens from other planets who are expert in creating so many of the things that earthlings take for granted.

In order to get back, Scorch as to rely on his brother, Gary, to take command, exercise his wits and abilities to bring him home.

One of the troubles of the boost in animation films since 2000 and their proliferation at holiday times is that this kind of material has become so familiar and many children respond with less than interest.

But, Escape from Planet Earth may well have a further life on television and on DVD.