Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies.

While I often feature trailers for animated movies here on Trailer Tuesday, I don’t usually highlight so-called “kids’ movies.”  Animation is a medium, not a genre nor an indicator of a film’s target audience.  We’re long past the days where animation=cartoons, and nothing frustrates me more than people who refuse to see something simply because it’s animated and therefore in their mind a “kids’ movie.”  However it is true that some movies, both animated and otherwise, are squarely targeted at kids, and while they don’t make a frequent appearance here on Trailer Tuesday occasionally they catch my interest.  So take a look at the trailer for Home, and read on for my comments.

I’ve seen this trailer a lot in the last few weeks, and while it is incessantly silly and more than a little derivative (how many goofy alien invasion animated films have we had in the last 10 years?), it also has a surprising bit of charm to it.  Home tells the story of the Boov, an alien race, which invades Earth hoping to hide here from their enemies.  They relocate the human population, except for one teenage girl, Tip.  Tip has a run-in with Oh, a banished Boov, and the two have some sort of wacky adventure and probably save the world (or worlds) in the end.

There’s a lot of slapstick humor in the trailer, mostly involving things like aliens eating footballs or putting hairdryers in their mouths, plus some exploding things and lots of wacky chasing/escaping.  There are some things worthy of interest though.  The first is that Tip, the main human character, is voiced by Rihanna, and I think she is the first African-American protagonist in a computer animated film (someone correct me on that if I’m wrong).  It’s a bit shocking if that’s true, but worthy of noting.

The other confirmed voice cast members are all big stars, including Jennifer Lopez as Tip’s mom:

Steve Martin as Captain Smek:

And, most importantly, Jim Parsons as Oh:

We watch a lot of The Big Bang Theory in our house.  I mean A LOT.  So despite all of the silliness that is obviously not targeted at my demographic, I can’t help but smile or chuckle hearing Jim Parsons say things like “If you do not let me go then I will shoot forth the laser from my eyeballs.”  There’s more than a little bit of Sheldon Cooper, Parsons character from The Big Bang Theory, in there.  In fact, it’s easy to imagine Oh as the alien equivalent of Sheldon Cooper.  Particularly the explanation of how he got his name, given that “Oh” is the sound the other aliens make whenever he arrives.

Parsons delivery makes all of the jokes in the trailer just a little bit better, from remarking that Tip’s cat is vibrating:

to the extremely sill alarm he feels at waving his arms in the air like he just does not care.

Home seems fun and colorful, like something kids would enjoy (says the guy with no kids).  It has a bright, simple aesthetic that looks like it will work well with the tone of the film, but which still provides opportunities for some pretty scenery.

While I’m not sure that I’ll actually see Home when it comes out next year, the allure of Jim Parsons voicing an alien might be enough for me to catch a showing.  Director Tim Johnson has a solid animation track record, going all the way back to Antz and including the underrated Over the Hedge.  While I wouldn’t expect Home to be able to compete with the Frozen‘s, the Big Hero 6‘s and How to Train Your Dragon‘s out there, it should probably find itself an audience by the time next March comes around.  And if I’m looking for an excuse for a cool ICEE and some popcorn, I might be there too.

What do you think?  Does Home interest you at all?  Is it the sort of thing you’d take your kids to?  Is Tip the first African-American protagonist of a computer animated film?  Am I the only one loving the fact that Jim Parsons is voicing an alien?  Are we clear on the fact that animation does not automatically equal “kids’ movie”?  And seriously, how many goofy alien animated movies have we had recently?  Let me know in the comments!