The Milwaukee Post

April 3, 2015 • Milwaukee County Post • 15 3-D 'Home' delivers endearing hero, J. Lo songs, messages By TOM JOZWIK Post Film Critic From DreamWorks, the company responsible for the "Shrek," "Madagascar" and "How to Train Your Dragon" series, comes another example of stellar computer animation. Directed by Tim Johnson ("Antz," also a Dream Works project), 3-D "Home" is based on "The True Meaning of Smekday," a 2007 novel for kids. Tom Astle and Matt Ember rein- carnated Adam Rex's book as a screenplay. "Home's" soundtrack in- cludes songs by two of the character voices, Jennifer Lopez and Rihanna. The latter's animated alter ego is Gratuity "Tip" Tucci, who, after an inaus- picious beginning, becomes best friends with Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons of TV's "The Big Bang Theory"). Tip, like Rihanna, is a Barbados native; in the Rex novel, Oh, like the voice of Tip's mother, is known as J. Lo. Oh, whose movie name was conceived in the exas- peration others readily expressed when perceiving his presence, is a member of the Boov race. The squat, purplish Boov opt to leave their planet — and the danger posed by their antagonists, the Gorg — for Earth and, in the process, earthlings are herded to Australia ("Worlds collide," the film's tagline summarizes). Oh becomes a pariah after inadvertently informing the Gorg of his race's whereabouts. Tip and her cat, Pig (you figure that one out!), are also outsiders, for they've remained behind the rest of relocating humanity, in New York City. (Why does every other movie, including animated ones, have to have a Big Apple address these days?) Oh is an especially naïve specimen of a race that mis- takes footballs for edible fruit and uses burritos as weapons. Tip ends up teach- ing the purple one about humankind. Comically, if a bit crudely, Oh discovers that urinal cakes are not the eating kind and that those bowls in men's rooms are apt to con- tain something other than refreshing lemonade. But the pretty preadoles- cent girl fails to improve Oh's English. The little guy has trouble with tense and the first person, saying, "I sees," "I needs" and "I will returning"; adds verbs while subtracting articles ("once we are get there," "today is best day ever"); and mangles standard word order ("What for you do this?"). The language-bash- ing, bothersome at first, somehow becomes endear- ing — like Andy Kaufman's Latka years back — as Oh, Tip and Pig magically fly around the globe in a com- pact car that's seen better days. "Home" has been called a "buddy comedy" and its auto trip, whose goal is to reunite Tip with her mom, is one that makes Thelma and Louise's look quite tame. The movie, appropriately enough, has its messages. "The universe is nothing if not unpredictable," accord- ing to a trailer. Tip offers, "Nobody's perfect." And the plot (wherein Oh is, at length, positively acknowl- edged) effectively insists that "different" and "inferi- or" are not synonyms. Post Staff It's official: The Rolling Stones are coming to Milwaukee on June 23. The much-anticipated 2015 Zip Code tour an- nouncement had been delayed until Tuesday. Maybe the tongue logo of the Stones on Milwaukee- area billboards saying "Tuesday" was the final clue. And, yes, "The World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band" will perform at the Marcus Amphitheater, as widely speculated. It won't be officially dur- ing Summerfest. Summerfest does call it the kick-off to the 11-day festival that begins June 24. Ticket holders will get into the pre-party at 5 p.m. June 23 inside the festival grounds' South Gate, featur- ing two stages of live enter- tainment. The pre-Big Gig big concert begins at 7:30 p.m. The tickets are pricey: $94.40 to $421.95. Each ticket will include a general admission ticket for any day Summerfest 2015 is open. The festival will be on pause June 29 before wrap- ping up July 5. It's a big get for the Big Gig with the Stones stop- ping in Milwaukee, one of 15 cities on the band's 2015 North American tour. The almost-Summerfest Rolling Stones theme con- tinues. While tickets go on sale April 13, a pre-sale will be available beginning 10 a.m. April 10. It's for fans who subscribe to Summerfest News email alerts at www.summerfest.com or connect with the festival on Twitter or Facebook. For additional ticketing information, visit www. rollingstones.com. MILWAUKEE — Entries are being accepted for the 7th annual Milwaukee Film Festival set for Sept. 24 to Oct. 8. The deadline for all entries is June 22. The festi- val offers free submission for all films and promises to award at least $16,000 in cash awards. New this year is a music video program that will be part of the Cream City Cinema section, which will also include The Mil- waukee Youth Show for the fourth year, a showcase of short films made by film- makers 18 and younger. http://mkefilm.org At a glance "Home" ★ ★ ★ Starring: The voices of Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Steve Martin, Matt Jones Director: Tim Johnson MPAA rating: PG Running time: 94 minutes Showings: www.marcustheatres. com DreamWorks The purple Boov known as Oh and Tip hang on in the animated film "Home." Getting satisfaction: Rolling Stones 2015 tour to stop in Milwaukee Milwaukee Film accepting entries for annual festival REMODEL • RENOVATE • RESTORE Planning a home improvement project this spring? Be sure pick up a copy of Milwaukee/ NARI Remodel, Renovate, Restore to help guide you each step of the way. Find local professionals, useful tips and featured articles about home improvement and remodeling. Coming inside your April 24th edition. 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