Escape From Planet Earth

I pride myself in seeing all of the animated feature films that are released in the U.S. (and some that are not...) and if, for some bizarre reason, I miss the film in the theater, then I try to find it on Netflix.

One of the films I just saw on Netflix is the Weinstein Co.'s "Escape From Planet Earth".   I never saw it in the cinemas because the reviews were so terrible that it only lasted a week or two.  Well, I finally got a chance to see the film.

It really wasn't that bad.  It's just that it looks like a bad copy of a Dreamworks film.  The story is a bit weak, with lots of sideline characters that muddy the plot.  There are a few nice gags, but no big laughs.

It's just a mediocre film for the tots that isn't really enjoyable for adults, unlike a Pixar film.

The film production designer is Barry Jackson, whose work I totally love.  He did some great designs and backgrounds for Ralph Bakshi.  Here, the designs are very bland - they must have been changed by the Weinsteins.

The Weinstein Company has dabbled in animation before, the two "Hoodwinked" films, for example, and they were good money-makers.  What mystifies me is why they don't take the plunge into adult animation.  In fact, their cash-cow, Quentin Tarantino is rich from making cartoon-like adult films.  It makes sense that they should make that their next frontier.

I give "Escape From Planet Earth" a C-. 

Bill Plympton