Planet 51—an animated kids’ flick about a human
landing on a planet full of very nice aliens—could’ve been a huge
waste of my time. Instead, with a balance of wit, humor, and cuteness,
it not only avoids making Americans look stupid or superior but also
manages to stay away from lame jokes about phallic antennae. In fact,
there was only one antenna joke in the whole movie, it was at the end,
and it was funny! Bravo!
The movie successfully pulls us into its world; a world with
floating, glowing food and wheel-less cars that hover above the ground.
We become one of the little green people, and when the human, Captain
Charles T. Baker (voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), lands on
Planet 51, we see him as an alien just as they do. The little
green people with no pants? They’re the normal ones. They’re our
friends.
So when they try to capture/destroy the human because they assume
he’s there to eat their brains and take over their world, we’re okay
with that because (a) we’re one of them and (b) he’s sort of an
asshole.
But then Lem, voiced by Justin “I’m a Mac” Long, reminds us that
just because someone is different, it doesn’t mean they’re bad. He
bravely befriends Captain Baker and attempts to save him from
dissection. Awww, how sweet. But then there’s a joke about
shoving a cork up your ass to avoid anal probing, to offset the
squeaky-clean moral. Bravo!
And you know what else is awesome? Jessica “Boring Face” Biel (who
voices Lem’s love interest, Neera) doesn’t completely ruin the movie! I
KNOW! I thought she would, too! So bravo, Planet 51, bravo.
You’ve managed to not only surprise me with your charm, but also make
Jessica Biel tolerable. 
