Despite the fact that their last stab at animation with fairytale sequel Hoodwinked Too didn’t exactly see money rolling into the company coffers, the Weinstein Company isn’t letting that discourage their efforts to compete with the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks. They have announced the latest title in their arsenal as Escape from Planet Earth. And they’ve grabbed up a celebrity cast in the shape of Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Sarah Jessica Parker and more to lend their tonsils to the effort.
We’re introduced to the planet Baab, where there dwells a race of blue-skinned aliens (let’s hope they’re not trying to catch on to the Avatar bandwagon a few years late, shall we?). The hero of the planet is astronaut Scorch Supernova (Fraser) a daring, square-jawed type who specialises in dangerous rescues and assorted spectacular feats with the help of quieter, nerdier brother Gary (Corddry).
But then their boss as BASA, Lena (Jessica Alba) informs them about an SOS being transmitted from another, dangerous world (you can guess where from the title). So Scorch heads off once more, against Gary’s advice, and ends up caught in a trap set by Shanker (James Gandolfini). Now it’s Gary’s turn to step up and be the hero for once, and save everyone including wife Kira (Parker).
Yup, sounds like The Kids Today are in for another message about believing in yourself, all wrapped up in 3D eye candy. But the co-writer/director is Cal Brunker, who has worked on the likes of Despicable Me and Horton Hears a Wh****o, so we have a little more hope. The time to judge will be when this one lands in cinemas either next year or in 2013…