So it seems Dwayne Johnson has really been making the rounds since becoming a big shot Hollywood actor. Hardly anyone calls him “The Rock” anymore, and he has moved on from simple action films to starring in family films, and has now even lent his voice to the world of big screen animation. In “Planet 51”, Johnson ‘stars’ as Charles “Chuck” Baxter”, an astronaut that has found himself becoming the ‘alien’ on a planet filled with… aliens. “Planet 51” is kind of an homage to the old space alien movies, where the public goes into a huge panic and the government gets into the chase to track down the ‘dangerous’ invader. In this case “Planet 51” is peopled with aliens whose home life is akin to Earth’s 50’s lifestyles. Our local hero is Lem (Justin Long), who wants nothing more than to move up the ‘corporate ladder’ of the local planetarium and win the heart of Neera (Jessica Biel).

He gets his dream job, but keeps getting pushed away from his one true love by the Hippie dude, Glar (Alan Marriott). But when a mysterious spaceship lands, Lem’s life changes forever.

“Planet 51” has a great plot, a great cast, terrific animation… but it falls a little flat in the delivery. It’s one of those films where it’s hard to put your finger on just what went wrong. There are some good laughs throughout, but more often than not the jokes fall a little flat. Even my 6 year old was getting bored with it after a while. I tried watching it a second time to see if it would grow on me, and it did… a little. I thought the cast did a pretty decent job with the line delivery, but it was weird listening to Dwayne Johnson. I could recognize everyone else’s voice, but he never sounded like himself. Not sure if this was a good or bad thing. His voice has a much higher timber to it, as if the directors might have tweaked it a little.

The animation was awesome though, which is highlighted by the Bluray’s 1080p presentation. Where there is a lot of detail, you can see it very clearly. The sounds mix was also very well done, with the dialogue never overpowered by the sound effects or music. If you have a decent surround system, there are several scenes that put them to good use.

As far as features go, Sony opted to give you your fill. You’ll find three extended scenes as well as six animated progression reels. Being that I love animation, I really enjoy seeing how a scene is built. There is also a ‘making of’ featurette that goes into a little peek into the ILION Animation Studios in Madrid, Spain. I was also glad to see some behind the scenes footage of the cast, another favorite feature for me on animated film releases. Additionally, there is a game for the kids, a video music montage, and some CG clips of various locations on Planet 51.

While I was hoping to be able to rave about “Planet 51”, sadly I cannot. It is worth watching, don’t get me wrong. There just isn’t enough momentum kept up through the entire movie to make it as funny as it should have been. There are some great moments, but the whole just isn't worth the sum of its parts.

Directed by: Jorge Blanco
Starring (the voices of): Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, Seann William Scott, John Cleese
Extras: 3 Extended Scenes; Music Video Montage;2 Featurettes; Target 51 Game; Digital Download; DVD Copy
Specification: Widescreen 1080p Hi Def (2.35:1); 5.1 DTS-HD MA
Studio: Sony
Release Date: 3/16/2010
MPAA Rating: PG
http://www.sonypictures.com/bluray

We'll give Planet 51 a C.