The Boov are experts at running away, and they've chosen Earth as their next hiding place. Humans are corralled in "Happy Humantowns" in Australia, while the Boov occupy the planet. But misfit Oh (Parsons) may have inadvertently notified their enemies the Gorg of their location. On the run, he meets teen girl Tip (Rihanna), who has managed to avoid being captured by the Boov. Together they go in search of Tip's mother (Lopez) while Oh hides from the increasingly paranoid leader Captain Smek (Martin) and his top cop Kyle (Jones).

The film has a sparky tone both in its colourful imagery and the energetic personalities of the characters. Parsons voices Oh as a charming goofball who struggles to fit into the hive mentality of the Boov, and his interaction with Rihanna's Tip is packed with hilarious verbal and visual gags, often relating to Tip's chubby cat Pig. Meanwhile, Martin has a great time as the arrogant, blustering Smek, who finds all-new uses for all kinds of everyday human objects.

There is never a moment when we don't think that Tip will be reunited with her mother and that Oh will solve the problem of the Gorg. But the film is packed with terrific set-pieces that keep us laughing. The madcap adventure involves converting a car into a flying Back to the Future-style contraption that takes Oh and Tip to Paris, Peru and of course Australia. And the animators have a great time rendering each setting, playing with gravity and indulging in outrageous colours and textures.

But what makes the film charming is its innate curiosity, as the central characters refuse to do what's expected or toe the line. This gives the entire story a kick, as its central theme is that conflict can only be diffused, and progress only attained, through understanding each other. It's a simple message, but it plays out through several layers of meaning. So even if the filmmakers' main goal is to keep the audience entertained, the deeper ideas and complex characters let it get under the skin as well.

themes, mild violence

14.Mar.15