It looks like DreamWorks Animation finally has another hit on its hands with sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2, which opens in theaters tonight. If Dragon does indeed breathe fire at the box office, the company’s executives will finally be able to relax a little, considering that three out of four of the studio’s last efforts – Rise of the Guardians, The Croods, Turbo and Mr. Peabody and Sherman – have been financial disappointments. Next up, the studio has Home, about a girl (voiced by Rihanna) who befriends an alien (Jim Parsons) on the run from his race.
Based on the first trailer, Home is a bit more risky than some of DreamWorks’ other ventures, but hopefully kids will show up in droves to see the cute aliens, called Boovs, at the movie’s center. The studio is clearly putting a lot of trust in director Chris Johnson (Antz, Over the Hedge) and writers Matt Ember and Tom J. Astle, who previously penned Epic, to deliver a family-friendly, highly marketable product. As such, the humor seems to pander to younger children, which will be a little disappointing for the parents who’ll get dragged to it, but at least the animation looks as lively and imaginative as that in some of DreamWorks’ best:
Based on Adam Rex’s novel The True Meaning Of Smekday, Home also features the voice talents of Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin. It’s due to open on March 27th, 2015.
In Home, a friendly alien race invades Earth and uses it as a hideout from their mortal enemy. When one lowly alien accidentally notifies the enemies of his whereabouts, he is forced to go on the run with a teenage girl. The two become unlikely buddies and embark on a comical globe-trotting adventure to right his wrongs, in which our alien hero learns what it really means to be human.