A space of time I will never get back
Added 3/19/2010
After seeing previews for this movie i had high hopes. I thought it would be really funny. It was not. Apart from things that just didn't make sense (the "aliens" listen to music from the 1950's) it just wasn't funny. There was also a few dirty scenes that just should not have been in a kids movie. All in all a major let down. Buy "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" instead.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Refreshing..and they dont sing songs at every occasion
Added 3/11/2010
Ah, nice to see a animated movie that does not follow the same script as other
movies , like signing pretty little songs at every occasion.
This movie is really for grown up kids and adults. I found it very entertaining
and funny too. The residents of planet 51 are stuck somewhere in the 50's.
The story, its characters and the actors/actresses voicing these characters all
did a spendid job which makes the movie even more fun to watch.
I enjoyed it, and it is a keeper...good for multiple views.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Blu-ray: Delightful! "Planet 51" is a fun sci-fi animated film for the entire family!
Added 3/10/2010
In Nov. 2009, the most expensive movie produced in Spain titled "Planet 51 created by Ilion Animation Studios and HandMade Films with a screenplay by Joe Stillman ("Shrek" films) was released in the US. With a budget of $70 million, despite heavy competition from Hollywood blockbusters "New Moon" and "2012", "Planet 51" earned $94 million worldwide.
VIDEO:
"Planet 51" looks very good when it comes to details. Presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), I enjoyed the overall atmosphere created by Ilion Animation Studios. From the creation of the homes, the gates, the plants, the skies...the whole '50s feel of the town looks quite vibrant and beautiful. But when it comes to the green citizens, there is much less detail. Although green, even Shrek is green but you can still see the spots within its skin. Not so much for the aliens of "Planet 51", although a lot of detail can be seen in the astronaut uniform of Chuck. But overall, the animation was well-done from Ilion Animation Studios and the presentation is absolutely vibrant in HD.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
"Planet 51" features audio in English and German 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Also, an English audio description track in 5.1 Dolby Digital is included. Because the film incorporates many action scenes, from the sound of the vehicles zipping through the air, Chuck's spacecraft with its engine roaring or the hidden base opening up, there is good use of the surround channels and LFE. Dialogue and music are also clear and understandable through the center and front channels. But overall, a pretty solid lossless soundtrack!
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Spanish, German and Turkish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Planet 51" comes with the following special features in High Definition with English Stereo and English with German subtitles:
* Target 51 Game - Play as Charles "Chuck" Baker in galaxy mode or survival mode. The game also comes with an optional iPhone controller App download from iTunes!
* Extended Scenes - A total of three extended scenes: A Total Disaster, When Aliens Invade, What Do Zombies Say?
* The World of Planet 51 - (2:52) Featuring the CG clips of the locations and key areas featured in the world of Planet 51.
* Life on Planet 51 - (12:04) The making of "Planet 51" plus a look at how ILION Animation Studios in Madrid, Spain created the film.
* Planetarium - The Voice Stars of Planet 51 - (3:18) A featurette with interviews with the voice talent of "Planet 51" including Justin Long, Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman and Sean William Scott.
* Planet 51 Music Video Montage - (2:10) A video montage of scenes from "Planet 51 along with a song "Aliens Exist" by Blink 182.
* Animation Progression Reels - (15:53) Featuring six animated progression reels. Featuring four split screens with a pre-rendered CG clip, storyboards, and more.
* Previews - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment trailers
EXTRAS:
"Planet 51 comes with a DVD version of the film and also a Digital Copy included on the DVD.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"Planet 51" is a fun and entertaining sci-fi film. Although, the cold war reference, especially dealing with the fear of aliens may go over the heads of children, "Planet 51" manages to be a film similar to E.T. but in this case, the human is the alien and for the most part, the green aliens speak perfect English. Also, the film does a good job for paying homage to various sci-fi films such as "Alien", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Star Wars", "Terminator", etc. If anything, the humor of the cold war, especially classic and current sci-fi films will easily make fans of the genre quite appreciate of the film.
While, the human "Chuck" is more of a guy that is all talk and makes himself out as a guy who has "the right stuff", Lem has been the alien guy who really never stood for himself and has had his share of low self-esteem. Through helping Chuck and overcoming a variety of obstacles, we see how Lem begins to feel more comfortable with himself and eventually, using his new-found self-esteem to get closer to his dream girl Neera.
Despite the film not receiving the greatest reviews, "Planet 51 is a CG-animated film that may not have any deep overtones but there is really cool CG animation when it comes to the actual living areas. The detail is quite beautiful on Blu-ray and the lossless soundtrack is quite awesome as well. The Blu-ray has a good number of special features as well. And if you are a parent looking for a fun and safe film for the kids while going on a trip, the Blu-ray release does include a DVD and also a digital copy as well.
Overall, "Planet 51" is a good movie and I think those who are able to pick up on the jokes of the film will enjoy some of its slapstick humor. The film has enough gags to please the children (as my seven year old who watched it in the theater and once again with me on Blu-ray was giggling throughout) but anyone expecting anything more or anything deep may be disappointed. But in the end, I was quite satisfied with the film overall.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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More for adults than kids, peppered with pop culture references
Added 2/17/2010
I had stayed away from this movie because of all the negative reviews, but my husband persuaded me to give it a try since it was playing at the dollar theater. We also brought our 5-year-old daughter along, thinking this was going to be a kids' movie. Well, though our daughter was entertained, I think this movie is best appreciated by adults who can grasp all of the pop culture references, especially those 50s sci-fi flicks. If you fall into this latter category, chances are you'll be entertained, as my husband and I (both movie buffs) were. The visuals are bright and colorful, and serve to keep kids' interest.
The story itself is a kind of twist - instead of human being invaded by aliens (as was so typical of 50s sci-fi flicks), here we have an alien culture who are terrified of a human astronaut who inadvertently lands on their planet. The entire planet is populated by a race of green creatures with antennaes, and they all embrace the music of the 50s, read 50s comics, and generally live out the era. Chuck the astronaut's (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) arrival is greeted with horror as these green guys have come to perceive those not of their planet as humanoids, and it falls upon hapless teenager Lem (Justin Long), his best friend Skiff (Seann William Scott) and the girl of Lem's dreams, Neera (Jessica Biel) to 'rescue' Chuck. The baddies here are played by General Grawl (Gary Oldman) and mad scientist Kipple (a hammy John Cleese). When the story lags, it uses Chuck's cute robot dog Rover for gags. The movie references lots of classic movies such as Star Wars, Singing in the Rain, E.T., etc. which though hardly original makes it fun and entertaining.
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Underrated gem...too subtle for some?
Added 2/7/2010
'Planet 51' was the last thing showing at our local theatre that I hadn't already seen. The previews and lobby displays (mis)led me to believe it was just another throwaway kids' cartoon, full of forced cuteness, predictable gags, and cardboard characters; but I had time to kill and the ticket was at matinee price, so I finally went in. Am I ever glad I did!
The obvious send-up of 1950s American culture is fun, and so is the shoe-on-the-other-foot twist of the human being viewed as the fearful alien menace, but if that's all a viewer takes away, he or she is missing a lot. There was plenty of unexpected satire that had me laughing out loud through much of the film. There is also a profound message that centering one's society around perpetual fear can cause more harm to a culture's core values than the thing being feared; however, the message very carefully doesn't get in the way of the humanity (alienity?) of the story.
The music was well done and really enhanced the fun. Visually, I loved the film. Character design wasn't anything particularly special, but the look of the planet itself was gorgeous. This is a cartoon, after all, not an overblown CGI extravanganza like Avatar, so you shouldn't expect photorealistic rendering of every tiny detail. The beauty of this kind of artwork is in the imaginative forms and colors, the simplicity of shapes and lines that enhance the story, not overwhelm it.
Actually, having brought the subject up, I suppose many comparisons and contrasts could be drawn that make Planet 51 a kind of Anti-Avatar. Here, the humans are neither conquering villains, nor paternalistic hero figures. People--er, beings--from both sides have to do their part on Planet 51 to bridge the misunderstanding of cultures and enable goodwill to prevail. That may not be the kind of dramatic plot it takes to engage some viewers' attention these days, yet it's exactly the sort of solid but gentle storytelling one should expect from the offspring of George Harrison's Handmade Films.
Plus, so far as I can tell, no one has yet suffered depression after viewing Planet 51. :)
10 out of 10 people found this helpful.
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A space of time I will never get back
Added 3/19/2010
After seeing previews for this movie i had high hopes. I thought it would be really funny. It was not. Apart from things that just didn't make sense (the "aliens" listen to music from the 1950's) it just wasn't funny. There was also a few dirty scenes that just should not have been in a kids movie. All in all a major let down. Buy "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" instead.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Refreshing..and they dont sing songs at every occasion
Added 3/11/2010
Ah, nice to see a animated movie that does not follow the same script as other
movies , like signing pretty little songs at every occasion.
This movie is really for grown up kids and adults. I found it very entertaining
and funny too. The residents of planet 51 are stuck somewhere in the 50's.
The story, its characters and the actors/actresses voicing these characters all
did a spendid job which makes the movie even more fun to watch.
I enjoyed it, and it is a keeper...good for multiple views.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Blu-ray: Delightful! "Planet 51" is a fun sci-fi animated film for the entire family!
Added 3/10/2010
In Nov. 2009, the most expensive movie produced in Spain titled "Planet 51 created by Ilion Animation Studios and HandMade Films with a screenplay by Joe Stillman ("Shrek" films) was released in the US. With a budget of $70 million, despite heavy competition from Hollywood blockbusters "New Moon" and "2012", "Planet 51" earned $94 million worldwide.
VIDEO:
"Planet 51" looks very good when it comes to details. Presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), I enjoyed the overall atmosphere created by Ilion Animation Studios. From the creation of the homes, the gates, the plants, the skies...the whole '50s feel of the town looks quite vibrant and beautiful. But when it comes to the green citizens, there is much less detail. Although green, even Shrek is green but you can still see the spots within its skin. Not so much for the aliens of "Planet 51", although a lot of detail can be seen in the astronaut uniform of Chuck. But overall, the animation was well-done from Ilion Animation Studios and the presentation is absolutely vibrant in HD.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
"Planet 51" features audio in English and German 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Also, an English audio description track in 5.1 Dolby Digital is included. Because the film incorporates many action scenes, from the sound of the vehicles zipping through the air, Chuck's spacecraft with its engine roaring or the hidden base opening up, there is good use of the surround channels and LFE. Dialogue and music are also clear and understandable through the center and front channels. But overall, a pretty solid lossless soundtrack!
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Spanish, German and Turkish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Planet 51" comes with the following special features in High Definition with English Stereo and English with German subtitles:
* Target 51 Game - Play as Charles "Chuck" Baker in galaxy mode or survival mode. The game also comes with an optional iPhone controller App download from iTunes!
* Extended Scenes - A total of three extended scenes: A Total Disaster, When Aliens Invade, What Do Zombies Say?
* The World of Planet 51 - (2:52) Featuring the CG clips of the locations and key areas featured in the world of Planet 51.
* Life on Planet 51 - (12:04) The making of "Planet 51" plus a look at how ILION Animation Studios in Madrid, Spain created the film.
* Planetarium - The Voice Stars of Planet 51 - (3:18) A featurette with interviews with the voice talent of "Planet 51" including Justin Long, Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman and Sean William Scott.
* Planet 51 Music Video Montage - (2:10) A video montage of scenes from "Planet 51 along with a song "Aliens Exist" by Blink 182.
* Animation Progression Reels - (15:53) Featuring six animated progression reels. Featuring four split screens with a pre-rendered CG clip, storyboards, and more.
* Previews - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment trailers
EXTRAS:
"Planet 51 comes with a DVD version of the film and also a Digital Copy included on the DVD.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"Planet 51" is a fun and entertaining sci-fi film. Although, the cold war reference, especially dealing with the fear of aliens may go over the heads of children, "Planet 51" manages to be a film similar to E.T. but in this case, the human is the alien and for the most part, the green aliens speak perfect English. Also, the film does a good job for paying homage to various sci-fi films such as "Alien", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Star Wars", "Terminator", etc. If anything, the humor of the cold war, especially classic and current sci-fi films will easily make fans of the genre quite appreciate of the film.
While, the human "Chuck" is more of a guy that is all talk and makes himself out as a guy who has "the right stuff", Lem has been the alien guy who really never stood for himself and has had his share of low self-esteem. Through helping Chuck and overcoming a variety of obstacles, we see how Lem begins to feel more comfortable with himself and eventually, using his new-found self-esteem to get closer to his dream girl Neera.
Despite the film not receiving the greatest reviews, "Planet 51 is a CG-animated film that may not have any deep overtones but there is really cool CG animation when it comes to the actual living areas. The detail is quite beautiful on Blu-ray and the lossless soundtrack is quite awesome as well. The Blu-ray has a good number of special features as well. And if you are a parent looking for a fun and safe film for the kids while going on a trip, the Blu-ray release does include a DVD and also a digital copy as well.
Overall, "Planet 51" is a good movie and I think those who are able to pick up on the jokes of the film will enjoy some of its slapstick humor. The film has enough gags to please the children (as my seven year old who watched it in the theater and once again with me on Blu-ray was giggling throughout) but anyone expecting anything more or anything deep may be disappointed. But in the end, I was quite satisfied with the film overall.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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