DreamWorks Animation had a book, a pop star and a space invasion. What it made from them is a road trip that never quite decides who it is for.
Trailer, via Universal Kids.
Jim Parsons and Rihanna Share a Car
Home, directed by Tim Johnson from a script by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, runs 94 minutes and lands somewhere between a buddy comedy and a chase. Jim Parsons voices Oh, a Boov who ruins everything he touches. Rihanna voices Gratuity “Tip” Tucci, a 12-year-old who misses the evacuation of Earth because she is hiding. The two end up in her mother’s car, which Oh rebuilds into a flying craft called “Slushious.”
The Boov Take the Australian Outback
The setup is the film’s best idea. The Boov, led by Captain Smek (Steve Martin), invade Earth and relocate every human to the Australian Outback, then move into their houses. Tip’s mother Lucy, voiced by Jennifer Lopez, is taken with the rest. Tip stays behind with her Japanese Bobtail cat, Pig, and one goal: find Lucy.
Oh Invites the Wrong Galaxy
Oh’s mistake is the engine of the plot. He emails a housewarming invitation to every alien race in the galaxy, including the Gorg, the Boov’s longtime enemy since a failed peace meeting where Smek stole an artifact he named “The Shusher.” The Boov name Oh a fugitive. He promises to help Tip find Lucy, then quietly plans to ditch her and fly to Antarctica, the one place on Earth without Boov.
Steve Martin Plays Captain Smek
The cast is deeper than the marketing suggests. Matt Jones voices Kyle, the grumpy traffic officer Smek sends to force Oh’s email password out of him. Brian Stepanek handles the Gorg Commander, the Father and assorted Boov. April Lawrence, Lisa Stewart, Stephen Kearin and April Winchell fill out the Boov voices.
A Prequel Short and a Concept Album
The film premiered at the Boulder International Film Festival on March 7, 2015, and opened in theaters March 27 through 20th Century Fox. DreamWorks promoted it with a prequel short, Almost Home, shown in theaters in 2014. Rihanna made a concept album of the same name; the soundtrack includes guest vocals from Lopez and two singles, “Towards the Sun” and “Feel the Light.”
The Numbers Behind Home
- Runtime: 94 minutes
- Budget: $135 million
- Worldwide gross: $386 million
- Metacritic: 55/100
- Premiere: March 7, 2015, Boulder International Film Festival
- Theatrical release: March 27, 2015
Netflix Removed the Spin-Off
A spin-off series, Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh, came to Netflix in 2016. It was removed in April 2024 over licensing agreements.
What Home Gets Right
The Boov relocation gag is genuinely sharp — an alien race that calls its invasion friendly and moves into your living room. Parsons plays Oh’s loneliness straight, and Rihanna gives Tip enough temper to keep the sentiment from curdling.
The problem is the middle. Oh’s plan to abandon Tip is the one morally interesting thing in the film, and Home resolves it fast so it can get back to the flying car. The Gorg threat arrives late and never feels like a real danger.
Mixed reviews were the right call, and the $386 million gross says more about Rihanna’s name and a soft family market than about the film itself. A sequel never came; a Netflix series came and went. That is roughly the shelf life Home earned.
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