Home Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Home Blu-ray Movie Review

Will this release make you break out your "Oh" face?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 25, 2015

Home makes ideas like alien invasion, forced relocation, family separation, and placating the masses with bread and circuses fun again. If they were ever fun to begin with, that is. DreamWorks Animation's latest colorful and kid-friendly film explores some decidedly adult themes in a playful, lighthearted manner, though certainly some of its most basic story undercurrents could be construed as more than a little troubling, if one wanted to approach the movie from that (more than likely) unintended angle. On its surface, and watching as would a child, the movie still has a few things to say on ideas like friendship born of mistrust and chaos, differences bringing individuals together, and the consequences of happy accidents and running from trouble rather than facing it head-on. More than most of its kind, Home seems packed with allusions and themes and subtext, but as otherwise simple and visually resplendent kid-centric moviemaking, it more than holds its own and satisfies with the usual barrage of cute and cuddly (and colorful; there can never be enough color) characters and shenanigans for the duration.

New friends.

An alien species known as the "Boov" are on the run from a dangerous race called the Gorg (mix of "Borg" and "Gorn"?). They're in need of a new planet far from Gorg territory and they settle on, where else, Earth. They relocate Earth's citizens en masse from the cities into small prefabricated communities. In the confusion, a family is separated. Tip (voiced by Rihanna) and her cat Pig the Cat are left alone when Tip's mother, but not she, is sucked away in one of the aliens' machines. Tip and her cat flee and hide from the invaders, but she bumps into a Boov named Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons) who is also on the run, but from his own kind. He just wanted some friends to attend his party, but his invitation accidentally sent to the entire galaxy, not just his newest neighbors. That means that the Gorg will receive the message and track the Boov to Earth. Tip and Oh team up -- she a bit more reluctant to do so than he -- and share their quests, she to reunite with her mother and he to atone for his mistake before it's too late.

Home blends together a broad, sweeping saga of alien visitors taking over the planet and getting into all sorts of trouble and mischief along the way with a more intimate story of blossoming friendship. These aliens may have the ability to quickly and efficiently travel through the stars, but they're not the galaxy's finest when it comes to studying alien civilizations. They mistake footballs for fruit, gather up bicycles and toilets as needless junk, and take the words "cook book" a bit too literally. They're the sort who find trouble when trying to escape it, who make life more complicated in the name of making it simpler and safer, who can't see the forest for the trees. Then there's Oh, the classic outsider who means well but who cannot help but land in trouble, make things worse, and alienate those around him. He craves friendship and companionship, but his fellow aliens are too absorbed in the status quo to step aside and realize that a little bit of routine-bending fun can be a good thing. He finally finds what he's always wanted by way of an intimate interspecies friendship with a human teenager (and her cat) who has been separated from her mother in the chaos of the invasion and relocation. Their shared quests -- she in search of her mother, he in search of a friend -- make them an obvious pair, albeit an unlikely pair. The relationship necessarily plays out with quite a bit happening in the background, and usually on a rather large scale that physically dwarfs the burgeoning friendship but also pales in comparison to that friendship's power. The film always finds that happy medium balance where its large scale never interferes wits its more touching and intimate bits. Galactic confrontation, huge (and huge in number) spacecrafts, and high alien technology -- which is both relatable to man's current state of progress but still nifty and far-fetched in its own right -- are always lurking in the background, supporting, but not absorbing, the intimate and well constructed friendship that grows not simply with time together but also a mutual understanding that comes from deeper within.

In that way, it's all relatively simple stuff. It's nowhere near as heartwarming, genuine, or original as the best Sci-Fi animated films like WALL•E. Instead, it's more on par with movies like Planet 51 and Escape from Planet Earth as second-tier but nonetheless entertaining fare fit for the whole family. Where Home does distinguish itself from more middle-of-the-road movies and inches closer, and in some ways overtakes, the big boys is in its technical prowess. It seems to be the rallying cry for just about every animated film released these days, but Home really is a visual spectacle, a technical marvel that amazes even after all these years of Ice Age and Cars and Toy Story dazzling audiences with the latest thad greatest in precision digital construction. Home gets it all right; it's as seamless as they come, with incredible attention to detail to rival even the best the medium has to offer and colors that are too numerous to count and as bright and cheery as the eye can see. Home is good enough, though, to ensure that all of that blends in, to make it part of the attraction rather than the main event. While the story isn't fully original -- particularly at its core -- there's enough heartwarming tenderness and large-scale theatrics to pull the audience's attention to the movie rather than its technical wonders, which is itself something of a marvel in the age of "bigger and better" being the norm.

Home Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Home is a dazzling achievement of visual excellence. The image sparkles from its first shot to its last, yielding perfectly intricate details and abundantly rich colors. Those details are amazing, impressing even this far into Blu-ray's lifespan. Close-ups are tremendously complex, whether describing the intimate leathery textures on Boov skin, the rough and gritty features seen on Gorg uniforms and helmets, or any number of urban details like brick and concrete. Perhaps most impressive, however, is Tip's hair. Animated films usually feature characters with stringy, straight hair, which can produce fine individual details and natural collective flow, but Tip's bouncy and curly hair is a wonder to behold, as much as, if not more so than, that seen in Brave. It moves effortlessly and still maintains a high level of individual hair definition. Colors absolutely dazzle. The film throws out just about every shade conceivable, all of which are abundantly bright and showy but never gaudy. Truly, the palette is a sight to behold. Black levels satisfy, too, with perfect depth and balance. The image suffers through no discernible examples of macroblocking, aliasing, banding, or other anomalies that are prone to invade animated titles. This is a terrific, reference-grade transfer all the way.

Home Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Home's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is technically excellent, though it could stand to be a bit louder at reference volume. To be sure, there's a crisp, accurate, even flow to music and effects. Music -- particularly the Rock-Pop tunes -- is finely honed and delivered with pinpoint detail throughout the range while enjoying a naturally immersive presence and a nicely balanced low end support structure. Sound effects sweep and swoosh all over the stage, making full use of the added back channels for a more convincing, fully detailed environment. Whether zipping alien aircraft or light rainfall or, on the other side of the spectrum, rumbly destruction, the track delvers each element with pinpoint precision. Dialogue is consistently center focused and always clear and precise. The track's only real issue is timidity, failing to get really aggressive in posture. Cranking it up a few notches above calibrated norms does the trick. Note that audio and subtitle options vary between the 2D and 3D versions. 2D specs are listed on this page; 3D specs are listed on the 3D page.

Home Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Home contains a large assortment of small extras. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film as well as a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.

• Best Party Ever! (1080p, 1:01): Aliens invite humans to the Blu-ray supplements party.
• Oh's Party Place (1080p): A branching collection of music- and party-related extras.
  
  
  • Oh's Shake Your Boov Thing (2:56): The Boov share their experiences in moving to the beat of various types of human music.
  • Party Tunes:
    
    
    • Music Video (4:10): "Feel the Light" by Jennifer Lopez.
    • Lyric Video (2:04): "Feel the Light" by Jennifer Lopez. A condensed version with lyrics appearing on the screen.
    • Oh's Boovy Jukebox: Clips from the film with a musical flavor. Included are Red Balloon (2:34), Slushious (1:40), Run to Me (0:54), Dancing in the Dark (1:50), Only Girl (In the World) (0:54), Cannonball (1:28), Drop That (1:34), Boov Death Song (0:15), Towards the Sun (2:58), Feel the Light (1:39), Feel the Light (Reprise) (1:38), As Real As You and Me (1:56), Dancing in the Dark (Reprise/End Credits) (1:52), Red Balloon (End Credits) (1:54), Feel the Light (End Credits) (4:04), and Slushious (End Credits) (0:53).
  • Oh's Party Planning Tips (4:04): Oh shares how to throw a great party for both human and Boov guests.
  • Oh's Costume Party: This interactive extra allows users to dress and make-up either Oh or Smek.
• Short Boovies (1080p): A collection of shorts related to the main feature. Included are This Is Being Boov (2:53), a piece that offers a brief history of the species; Almost Home (4:08), the story of the Boov arriving on other worlds; and Testing Lab (2:04), a piece featuring the Boov trying to make sense of some of the objects they find on Earth.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Introduction with Tim Johnson (0:45), What a Dump (5:39), Hide and Seek (3:10), Oh's Apartment (3:24), Empty Earth (3:13), The Swamp Chase (6:46), and The Key Fight (3:29). Johnson speaks before every scene.
• Be An Artist! (1080p): Learn to draw the characters with Story Artist Andy Erekson. Included are Erekson's Intro (0:24) and lessons for Oh (5:39), Tip (9:31), Pig the Cat (7:18). Characters are drawn digitally rather than with pencil and paper.
• Oh's Other Extras (1080p):
  
  
  • Home: Boov Pop! Mobile Game (0:38): An advertisement for the film's mobile video game tie-in.
  • Stars of Home (1:32): Human voice actors share a few thoughts on the film and the characters they portray.
  • Gallery: A couple dozen images from the film.
  • Theatrical Trailer (2:26).
• The World of DreamWorks Animation (1080p): Music videos and more from Shrek, Madagascar, How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, The Croods, Turbo, and Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

Home Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Home plays with some mildly darker concepts but keeps the story bubbly and fun. It's everything one would expect of a modern animated film, and it's more than just dazzling visuals and eye-popping color. It's got plenty of heart and a good bit of action and, of course, humor, all wrapped up in a couple of fun characters who aren't the most original to appear in a movie but who compliment one another well and drive the story with both the tenderness and excitement it needs. This Fox/DreamWorks Blu-ray release of Home delivers perfect video, high quality sound, and a smorgasbord of brief, kid-friendly supplements. Highly recommended.