Story
Escape from Planet Earth is an animated science fiction movie about two alien astronauts, Gary (voiced by Rob Corddry) and his brother Scorch (Brendan Fraser). Gary and Scorch lead all the space expeditions from their planet Baab. Scorch is more popular and heroic, famous because of the expeditions that he completes. Gary is the easily forgotten brains behind Scorch’s brawn. Jealous and competitive, Gary struggles to relate to his brother. During one of their many fights, Gary quits the job he loves at mission control.
In Gary’s absence, Scorch agrees to lead a solo mission to the ‘dark planet’ – Earth. When Scorch arrives on Earth, he finds the inhabitants unfriendly and is captured by the aggressive military Commander, General Shanker (William Shatner). Scorch is taken to Area 51 and kept as an alien prisoner.
The inhabitants of Baab are shocked when their most famous and beloved hero vanishes. Gary’s son Kip (Jonathon Morgan Heit) is particularly devastated by the news of his uncle’s disappearance. Wanting to be as courageous as his uncle, Kip sets out to lead a mission to Earth to save him. Gary and his wife, Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker), foil Kip’s plan at the last moment. But Gary is inspired by Kip’s bravery and sets out to save his brother and prove to the world that he can be a hero too.
Themes
Aliens; a child running away from home; kidnapping
Violence
This movie has some violence. For example:
Sexual references
This movie has some sexual references. For example:
- Several scenes show suggestive behaviour and flirting, including eye fluttering, seductive posing, air kissing and sexy clothing.
- Characters talk about an intergalactic dating service and an intergalactic relationship.
- Gary has a beautiful wife. Someone asks him, ‘How did you hook that up?’
- Rena and Shanker do online dating.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Characters talk about a sugary alien drink, which is 80% sugar. The drink is mentioned, drunk and marketed throughout the movie.
Nudity and sexual activity
This movie has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Several scenes show Kira and Gary kissing passionately. Scorch and his girlfriend also kiss passionately.
- A man wears just a towel, which gets blown off him, but we don’t see anything.
Product placement
This movie has some product placement. Products shown include 7-Eleven, 7-Eleven slurpees, Apple, Facebook and Google.
Coarse language
This movie has some coarse language and name-calling that children might copy.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Escape from Planet Earth is an animated children’s science fiction movie. It’s about two alien brothers on an unexpected mission to save the universe and prove their loyalty to each other.
Violent and scary scenes make it unsuitable for children under five years, and we recommend parental guidance for children aged 5-10 years. There are some scary characters, scenes of people fighting with aliens, and scenes that show both people and aliens in danger and being killed.
The main messages from this movie are about the bond between family members and about having the courage to stand up for what is right.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include courage, bravery, kindness and acceptance of everyone, regardless of their differences.
You could also talk with your children about:
- how the humans behave when the aliens come to Earth. Do you think that this is how humans would react? Do they treat the aliens fairly?
- how Shanker and Rena behave when they do online dating. What are the dangers of online dating? How are the online personalities presented by Shanker and Rena different from their true selves?