ALIEN invasion B-Movies are spun on their heads in this week's animated release Planet 51.
Life for the peaceful green residents of Planet 51 is simple - especially for Lem (Justin Long) who just wants a career at the local observatory when he finishes school and a date with nextdoor neighbour Neera (Jessica Biel).
But his fragile world is shattered when Captain Charles T. Baker (Dwayne Johnson) from planet Earth lands his spaceship in Lem's backyard and starts a town-wide panic against the alien invader.
Can Lem help the arrogant astronaut get home or will lose everything he has worked so hard for?
Novel
Newbie directors Jorge Blanco and Javier Abad take on the big hitters of Pixar and Dreamworks with their debut computer generated feature.
Planet 51 has a novel premise: a world seeped in 1950s Americana complete with cinemas fixated on alien invasion B grade movies and a community teetering on the edge of paranoia and frenzy.
Turning the tables to make us the aliens is undoubtedly a nice touch, and a plethora of sci-fi references ranging from subtle (a Back To The Future inspired town hall) to the not so subtle (Alien dog) permeate throughout.
But while the numerous nods may keep older audiences au fait with the genre entertained, they are sure to sail over the head of younger viewers.
Stereotypes
As is the case in most animated movies, it is the colourful characters which make or break it.
A gaggle of clichéd stereotypes fall right into place considering the 50s feel, but the star of the show is the canine inspired robot Rover whose penchant for rocks provides the slapstick comedy quota.
Vocal duties are mostly successful with the principal cast all performing as well as can be expected, but they still remain firmly within the confines of a surprisingly narrow and often clunky script by Shrek scribe Joe Stillman.
While certainly not dire, it is still light on laughs and fails to sparkle enough to make-up for the acceptable, but unremarkable CG quality which is only saved by a pulse-racing car chase through the town streets.
Planet 51 may not be out of this world, but with enough chuckles and family-friendly fun to keep pace over the 90 minute runtime it still hits the mark.
6/10 - Alie-fun.