Escape from Planet Earth

Along with bird flick Adventures of Zambezia, this animated alien escapade has been stuck in the large shadow cast by Dreamworks' The Croods this school holiday period. Which, frankly, is completely expected, yet also a bit of a shame. Escape never soars to great heights, in fact it's happy to just coast along in second gear for the most part, but there's a simplicity and lack of self-knowingness to it which is uncommon for family outings these days, making it somewhat refreshing. There are very few pop culture winks and nods, and even less gags for adults, with the focus predominantly on crafting a fun, and funny, film for the kiddies. The animation is noticeably cut-price, the story is unoriginal and the voice cast is a who's who of of C-grade talent - Brendan Fraser as the dimwitted hero, Rob Corrdry as his brainy brother, William Shatner as the nefarious human villain, plus Sarah Jessica Parker, Steve Zahn, Jane Lynch and Craig Robinson to boot - however the tempo is quick, the jokes are frequent and the action sequences are full of gusto; everything a little critter wants from a trip to the cinema.