My kids were not expecting to enjoy Home as much as they did. My opinion doesn’t really matter much, I’m not the target audience, they are. Ranging in ages from 5 to 12 there are four kids who enjoyed the film and would even watch it again, which is saying something considering they all reluctantly put the disc in the Blu-ray player.
At its heart Home is a story about family, and yes, home. There are several layers to the story that helps it work on a kid-accessible level for the younger audience and at the same time on a much more grown up level. At times the visual style seems in direct odds with the thematic elements that are at play here, and perhaps that is intentional. Home is so packed with colors it can be a bit distracting.
Two alien races are at play here. One, the Boov, invade Earth and relocate all the humans – in the process separating Tip (Rihanna) from her mother (Jennifer Lopez). One of the Boov , named Oh (Jim Parsons) invites others to his (well, it is now) house for a party. A series of incidents places Oh on the run where he meets up with Tip, and the two of them are forced to work together. The other alien race is apparently after the Boov which is why they left their homeworld and took over Earth.
With Oh trying to clear up the mess of his party invitation, Tip trying to rejoin her mother, and the impending threat of another alien invasion, there are a lot of balls to juggle. Thankfully what could be an overly convoluted mess turns out to be a decent story that has broad appeal. And a cat has a central role in all of this.
As a Blu-ray Home comes home (pun intended) in a decent package. The visuals and audio are great with lots of clarity. Despite the overly bright color scheme there is plenty of detail to be had and emphasized. Special features are plentiful, though the film’s soundtrack would have been a welcome addition. We do get a music video for one of the film’s soundtrack singles along with a karaoke version, then there is a “jukebox” to get to the musical moments in the film.
The rest of the special features are better. Starting off we get a few animated shorts, including “Almost Home” which debuted a couple of years ago regarding the Boovian invasion of Earth. Then we get “This Is Being Boov” and “Testing Lab” both worth watching (and pointing to the fact this could be a television series). Other special features include party planning tips, some deleted scenes, promo images, and some drawing lessons.
Altogether Home is a good film in a decent Blu-ray package. It may not be the best animated film of 2015, but it was better than expected for both kids and adults.