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Hop aboard the cinema saucer, ’cause it’s time for another animated alien adventure. Let’s see, the last big cartoon with a human and space creature teamed-up to find home may have been LILO & STITCH (or, perhaps it was the first big feature with that theme), so we’re probably due for another spin around the galaxy. And the whole “Earthers are odd”, gags have become a comedy staple, mostly on TV with Uncle Martin, Mork, Alf, and the “3rd Rock” gang. And there’s the whole STARMAN/ET movie legacy. Yes, this is a mix of comedy and a dash of drama, but the real drama may be behind the scenes with this film’s producer, DreamWorks Animation. After a couple of sequels and a TV adaptation, this is their first original feature work in two years (though it is based on a children’s’ book, “The True Meaning of Smekday” by Adam Rex). Plus, the last year has been a rough one for them with big management changes and even bigger staff lay-offs with the slashing of much of their future feature slate. In other words, the main rival to Disney/Pixar needs a big hit. Will they find one with this unlikely friendship behind the wheel, cruising the planet in search of HOME?

The film’s opening moments give us the 411 on the nomadic alien race called the Boov. Nomadic because they’re experts at fleeing and hiding, re-locating to different planets in order to avoid their arch-enemies, the brutal warriors of the Gorg. Well, the leader of the Boov, Captain Smek (voice of Steve Martin) has decided that Earth will be their new hide-out. So what happens to the current inhabitants? Huge globes glide down to the planet, scoop up all the humans, and re-locates them in deserted areas. Now the Boov provide them (us) with new homes (looking like the neighborhood from TV’s “Full House”) alongside big amusement centers/parks. The excited Boovs move into the now empty spaces, none more excited than the endearingly goofy Oh (Jim Parsons). Once settled in, he decides to throw a big housewarming party and sends out an email “e-vite”. But the doofus hits the “send all” button which will send the message into space and alert the Gorg. When Smek can’t block it (Oh has a password that is not “password”, horrors!), he sends his agents to capture Oh. Luckily, Oh runs into the last human in the city (she avoided the big vacum-scoopers), a young girl named ‘Tip’ (Rihanna) and her pet cat, ‘Pig’. The two hop in her lil’ red compact car and hit the road, evading the Boov while trying to re-unite Tip with her displaced mom Lucy (Jennifer Lopez). Can they find her before Smek’s men and the Gorg catch up with them?

Parsons leads the voice cast, but ultimately his “Oh” is just his TV “Big Bang” character “Sheldon” dotted with lots of fractured grammar (“We is going to the Paris?’). Rihanna makes for a convincing teenager, but there ‘s no real reason (besides her impressive fan base) for Tip to have a pop star’s voice. The same could be said of her mother, but she doesn’t have a lot of screen time (but the producers are selling this as a Lopez flick). Martin may be the only one who sounds like he’s having a great time, bringing lots of energy to the dim, pompous Smek. Besides Tip and Lucy, the other humans seemed to have been beamed over from other recent DreamWorks movies. The design of the Boov is pleasing, as if Playdough melded with a mood ring (they change color to match their emotions), but also feels familiar. The backgrounds are colorful with excellent panoramic space shots. Unfortunately it feels as though we’re stuck in the front seat of that car forever (cue the kids’ “Are we there, yet?”), making it seem twice its 94 minute running time. Besides Smek’s gesturing with his staff which holds the “shush” stone, the 3D effects are pretty pedestrian as is the soundtrack with one bland, indistinguishable pop ballad flowing into the next. After the fantastic HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and KUNG FU PANDA flicks, it feels like DreamWorks it just marking time until the next installments of those franchises (it looks like much of this farmed out overseas) . This isn’t the dregs of the studio (SHARK TALE, you need not worry), but it’s not the kind of work that’s going to turn things around. It may be a good sitter for the very wee viewers on a rainy day, but animation aficionados deserve so much more (and with DRAGON, these folks really delivered). Perhaps this is a tale better suited to the home video market. Maybe HOME will play best at home, but it’s not worth the multiplex trek.

2.5 Out of 5