New planet not a worthwhile discovery

"Planet 51"
New Line Cinema
Rating: 1 1/2 stars (out of 4 stars)

"Planet 51" has a different concept featuring an invasion from the alien's point of view, but little else makes it a quality animated film.

An alien planet is invaded by a U.S. astronaut causing panic to its inhabitants, and a reverse "E.T." storyline emerges where the alien has to help the human return home.  Unfortunately, the story development is weak and the voices aren't believable, making this film come up short.

Directors Jorge Blanco and Javier Abad take the viewer to an alien planet whose inhabitants are as advanced as Americans were in the 1950s.  Families live in that white picket fence house like duplicates from old television shows such as "Leave it to Beaver."

The story follows Lem (Justin Long), a teenager who is finally putting the pieces of his life together before an invasion of an astronaut from Earth lands on his planet causing chaos in his world.  Lem tries to help the astronaut, Captain Charles Baker (Dwayne Johnson), get back to his space ship without being spotted by an angry alien mob who thinks he is trying to eat their brains.

Johnson's character is a pompous and egotistical narcissist who is about as tough as the Tooth Fairy.  His constant referral to himself as the "love doctor" makes him a hard character to root for in this story.  He speaks in a high-pitched tone throughout the entire movie, which makes his character sound cheesy and fake rather than like a strong astronaut.

Long does a good portrayal of the teen hero as he tries to balance his job and his love interest, Neera, voiced by Jessica Biel.

It is interesting to see the comparisons to the problems of the 1950s, such as communism.  Instead of the Red Scare in America, this planet dealt with the fear of aliens and accused many of being under alien control, just like a witch hunt.

"Planet 51" has its moments of humor, but for the most part, the jokes aren't funny.  It is visually adequate compared to other animated films in this CGI day-and-age and boring to watch.  Kids will moderately enjoy the film for its antics, but adults will be racing out of the theater the first chance the credits hit the screen.  Maybe this film is more suited for another planet that appreciates its attempts.