May 17, 2013 -- Like most modern animated comedies, the target audience of this film is a family with children. It doesn't quite hit the adult section of the audience, despite aiming at some of the same cultural references that were hit in “Monsters vs Aliens” in 2009. While that earlier film was aimed mostly at adults, this one is aimed mostly at kids.

The main characters in this film are all aliens from other planets who ended up on earth. The two main characters are Gary and Scorch Supernova, two blue-skinned guys from the planet Baab involved in daring space missions. Gary, the older brother, runs things in the control room, while Scorch, his dim-witted younger brother, who is big, strong and fearless, is the action hero of this duo.

When Gary is overruled on his decision to postpone a mission to the “Dark Planet” (earth) he quits the space service. No one has ever returned from the Dark Planet. He feels unappreciated by Scorch and everyone else in the space service. Then Scorch disappears on a rescue mission to earth, and Gary decides to go rescue him.

It turns out that Gary and Scorch are not the only aliens on earth. There are Roswell grays, a slug-like slimy alien, a large, powerful, colorful alien and others, all being held in Area 51 by the evil General Shanker who uses alien technology to make himself rich. He also has the aliens building a giant machine called a “peace shield,” which will be used to destroy alien worlds. The crazed general thinks all aliens need to be destroyed to save earth.

None of the aliens being held in Area 51 realize General Shanker's true goals until Gary figures it out. They have all been deceived into thinking that if they build the Peace Shield for Shanker he will let them go. Despite Scorch's low opinion of Gary, and the distrust of him by the other aliens, it soon becomes obvious that Gary is the only one smart enough to get them out of this prison and stop Shanker's evil plans. There is a lot more to this story, but this is enough to give you the basic idea.

I'm not really fond of stories based on sibling rivalry, but this one works better than most. It also works the well-worn “geek versus manly men” angle pretty well. It isn't a particularly good movie, but it isn't bad, either. Chalk this one up as a decent kiddie film. It looks all right, too, with decent art work. Originally released in 3D, I saw this in mere 2D at a discount second run theater. It rates a C.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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