Planet 51 is a 2009 animated comedy about a human astronaut who lands on an alien planet and gets hunted as an “invader.” That sounds like a clever idea. In practice, the film spends its runtime playing catch-up to the joke it opens with. It is a remake of the premise in reverse, and the execution never quite matches the promise.
Dwayne Johnson voices Captain Chuck Baker, an astronaut who lands on a planet called Glipforg, a town that looks like America in the 1950s. He is shocked to find the planet inhabited. Justin Long plays Lem, a teenage alien who works at the town’s planetarium. Lem helps Chuck get back to his spacecraft before the command module, Odyssey, leaves for Earth in three days. The rest of the cast includes Jessica Biel as Neera, Seann William Scott as Skiff, Gary Oldman as General Grawl, John Cleese as Professor Kipple, and Freddie Benedict as Eckle.
Trailer, via Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The Idea Behind Planet 51
The setup is simple and effective. Chuck lands on a planet where everyone looks green, talks funny, and lives in houses that look like ours. He is the alien. The film inverts the classic alien invasion story, and that inversion is the whole point. Chuck tries to hide, escape, and get back to his ship. Lem tries to help him. The military, led by General Grawl, treats Chuck like a hostile force.
The problem is that the film never digs deeper into why this inversion matters. It sets up a world where the humans are the natives and the aliens are the outsiders, but it never explores what that means for either group. The humor comes from Chuck’s confusion, but the film rarely asks what it would mean to actually be the stranger in a strange land.
Chuck’s Escape From the Planetarium
Chuck escapes to the town’s planetarium, where he meets Lem. Lem agrees to help him get back to his spacecraft. Chuck’s goal is simple: get to Odyssey before it departs for Earth in three days. The film tracks his movements through hiding spots, job losses, and near-captures. The pacing is steady, but the stakes feel small. Chuck is not in danger so much as mildly inconvenienced.
Lem’s best friend, Skiff, joins the effort. They hide Chuck together, which upsets Lem’s neighbor and crush, Neera, who believes Chuck is friendly. Lem loses his job when his supervisor discovers Chuck. The film keeps adding complications, but none of them feel urgent. The threat of capture is constant, but the tension never builds.
General Grawl and the Zombie Plot
General Grawl is the paranoid commander of Planet 51’s military. He deduces that Chuck is an alien invader bent on turning the population into zombies. This is the film’s main conflict, and it is the weakest part of the story. The zombie angle is a twist on the classic invasion trope, but the film never explains why Grawl believes this or what evidence he has. The threat feels invented rather than earned.
The manhunt that follows is mostly chase sequences and set pieces. Chuck is discovered and captured at a festive movie premiere in town. Lem tries to defend Chuck, but Professor Kipple deems him a zombie minion. Chuck pretends to release Lem from his “mind control” and is taken away to the army’s secret headquarters, Base 9, to have his brain removed. The climax is a standard action beat, but it lacks weight because the audience never cared enough about Chuck to feel worried.
The Supporting Cast and Their Roles
The supporting characters are a mix of familiar types. Neera is Lem’s neighbor and crush, fired from her job over the Chuck situation. Her brother, Eckle, joins the rescue mission. Rover is a dog-like NASA probe that frees itself from the army’s base and bonds with Skiff. The comic book store where Skiff works becomes a source of trouble when Chuck acts out references to Earth’s pop culture, which is misinterpreted as alien threats.
The voice cast is strong, but the roles are thin. Johnson delivers a solid performance as Chuck, but he is mostly reacting to situations rather than driving them. Long’s Lem is the heart of the film, and his chemistry with Skiff is the best thing about the movie. Biel’s Neera is underwritten, and Oldman’s Grawl is a cartoon villain rather than a threatening one. Cleese’s Professor Kipple is a fun cameo, but he is a minor character.
The Production and Its Reception
Planet 51 was an international co-production between Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was originally acquired for North American distribution by New Line Cinema, but then sold to Sony Pictures before completion. The film was completed on a $70 million budget, which was the most expensive film produced in Spain at the time of its release.
The film was released in November 2009 in the United States and Canada, and in December 2009 in Spain and the United Kingdom. The reception was mixed. The film won a Goya Award for Best Animated Film in Spain, but it received negative reviews in the United States.
What Works and What Does Not
The film has a few things going for it. The animation is clean and the world-building is detailed. The town of Glipforg is a loving parody of 1950s Americana, complete with diner signs, drive-ins, and a main street that looks like a suburban strip mall. The humor is gentle and family-friendly, which suits its target audience. The voice cast brings energy to their roles, even when the script does not give them much to work with.
But the film’s weaknesses are structural. The plot is thin, the stakes are low, and the resolution is rushed. The film spends too much time setting up its premise and not enough time exploring it. The chase sequences are energetic, but they lack purpose. The final act resolves everything quickly, leaving the audience feeling like the film ran out of ideas rather than found a conclusion.
Here is a quick rundown of the film’s strengths and weaknesses:
- Strong voice cast, particularly Justin Long and Dwayne Johnson
- Clean animation and detailed world-building
- Gentle, family-friendly humor
- Weak plot and low stakes
- Rushed final act
- Underdeveloped supporting characters
A Premise Better Than Its Execution
Planet 51 is a film that is better described than experienced. The idea is clever, but the execution is uneven. It is a remake of the alien invasion story in reverse, and it never fully commits to that inversion. The film is pleasant to watch, but it never becomes memorable.
The film is a product of its time, a big-budget animated comedy aimed at families. It is not a failure, but it is not a standout. It is a film that will be forgotten quickly, remembered only for its premise and its modest success in Spain.
Planet 51 is a film that is better than its reputation suggests, but worse than its premise deserves. It is a pleasant watch, a solid entry in the genre, but it never reaches the heights of its own idea.
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