It's the End of the World as We Know It

When did it suddenly become hip to make fun of the Apocalypse?

Just a little under seven months ago, we emerged from the year 2012 having somehow managed to avoid the predicted End of the World. This of course is in reference the oft-fanatical response to the end of the Mayan calendar, which found popularity in pop culture thanks to a Roland Emmerich movie, several New Age books and one particularly embarrassed Family Radio host who incorrectly proclaimed our doom not once, not twice, but THREE times (if you include his first error in 1994). Now that the prophesied Endtimes have officially passed and the world can get back to normal until the next time somebody predicts our downfall, Hollywood has decided to pop projects out of the woodwork to offer their takes on what was supposed to happen. This is the End isn’t the first apocalypse movie to be released this year. It’s not even the first one to feature actor Craig Robinson; that would be Rapture-Palooza, which ostensibly came out on June 7 (good luck finding a showing, though). It might not even be the funniest comedy of that vein or feature the greatest cast, with Edgar Wright’s August entry The World’s End featuring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan. But right here, right now, This is the End takes some of the industry's most beloved screwballs, throws them in a room together, and dares you not to laugh at the results.

Name those soon-to-be-dead celebrities!

It's the coming of the Apocalypse, and six professional actors - James Franco, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and Jay Baruchel - find themselves trapped inside Franco's new and lavish home as the Earth cracks and burns around them. At first simply believing that this is a tragedy they will be rescued from (because as famous actors they will always be saved first), they simply hunker down and await their salvation. But when it sinks in that there's no escaping the end of the planet, how will six self-absorbed Hollywood performers adjust to the endtimes? By taking drugs, making impromptu and low-budget sequels to their most popular movies, and just generally screwing around, apparently.

Yes, Michael Cera is here. And he's HILARIOUS.

For a movie directed by Superbad and Pineapple Express co-writers Rogen and Evan Goldberg, you would expect This is the End to be a marijuana-fueled, acid-trip through the tropes of the genre's fiction and film. Making their directorial debuts, you might also expect that the overall quality of their product would not match their previous efforts on camera or with a pen. As it happens, the first part is absolutely true (especially the acid trip, which results in a very strange montage set to the tune of Korean rapper Psy's Gangnam Style). Demon dongs, crass language and crude behavior were all but guaranteed from the start, and if you thought there was a line the pair wouldn't cross, you'd be grossly mistaken. But what's surprising is how good the movie actually is. Yes, Rogen and Goldberg make plenty of typical rookie mistakes - many scenes are there not because they move the tale forward one iota, but because they were "cool" or funny at the time of filming. In fact, there's very little story anywhere in here; with the exception of the first and last twenty minutes of the entire movie. In between are countless examples of the hijinks and inanities that come with the group trying to "rough it" and survive the nightmare. You could literally cut a full third of the film and still leave the plot mercifully intact.

These six vs. the Devil... I like Satan's chances.

But the hitches in the story can be overlooked when the film itself turns out to be this funny. The filmmakers did a grand job putting their minimalist script on the big screen, thanks especially to a cast that play morally questionable, fictional (hopefully) exaggerations of themselves. The story is also brave in giving the leading reigns not to Rogen or the film's two Oscar nominees (Franco add Hill, for those keeping track), but to Baruchel, the least-recognized and arguably most likable of the group. What narrative there is is moved by his dislike of Los Angeles and the struggle between his lifelong friendship with Rogen and the influences of Hollywoodland. The acting is mostly solid, with the six actors more or less sticking together quality-wise (the one surprisingly lacking is Hill ("...from Moneyball"), who unlike the others doesn't seem quite at home making fun of himself or his accomplishments), and they're supplemented by great cameos from Emma Watson, Michael Cera, and some other blink-and-you'll-miss-them show-ups. The cast and crew obviously had a lot of fun on the set, and while that at times holds up the rest of the production, it also results in gags that just wouldn't work if the cast and crew didn't let the whole thing get away from them once in a while.

And thus, the movie became awesome.

Yes, it's incredibly stupid. Yes, the plot is thin as a piece of rice paper, and the the low budget means that the film's use of CGI emphasizes the "special" in "special effects". Yes, I was sick of Danny McBride pretty much from moment one (though the script does afford him some great moments). And you know what? I'm okay with that. This is the End is exactly the kind of mindless fun you need on a hot summer day, and while it's drug-fused production won't appeal to everyone and is nothing close to a seamless effort, it makes up for its miscues by keeping you laughing and keeping you invested. Is it a lot of fun for a summer day lacking in decent comedic offerings? Hell yes! Sure, it might not even be the best Apocalypse movie when 2013 is said and done, but for everything that could have gone horribly wrong, it remains a perfect excuse to spend a hot day in an air-conditioned movie theater.

It's Cool to be Blue

There's no plainer way to put it: 2012 was one of the best all-time years for animated films. It wasn't just the tremendous, unique contributions from the "Big Three" animated studios of Pixar (Brave), Disney (Wreck-It Ralph and Frankenweenie) and Dreamworks (Rise of the Guardians and Madagascar 3) that did it either, but also slew of third party and independent animators who put forth not just some of the best animated motion pictures in years, but also some of the best MOVIES of 2012, from Studio Gibli's The Secret World of Arrietty to LAIKA's ParaNorman. With this level of quality dominating last year's features, it's kind of disappointing to look at what 2013 has to offer. Monsters University? Epic? The Croods? Turbo? Frozen? The only animated flick I'm really looking forward to this year is Despicable Me 2, and to be fair that's just because I can't get enough of Gru's Minions (nor should anyone with a funny bone, as this trailer shows). Sure, any of these titles could turn out awesome and change my mind, but last year I was both eagerly anticipating and pleasantly surprised by most of the animated film released, and I just don't get the same feeling from this year's batch of entries, and they're going to have to earn my appreciation.

Scorch Supernova in repose...

That was certainly true for first entry Escape from Planet Earth, the freshman feature release from Canadian animation studio Rainmaker Entertainment. In it, we're introduced to Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser) and his brother Gary (Rob Corddry). Scorch is a widely-respected intergalactic hero, as well known for his magnetic charisma as his is for his reckless manner and ability to succeed where nobody else can. Gary, meanwhile, is his brother's brainy overseer at Mission Control, often trying to mitigate the trouble Scorch's methods always seem to attract. When Scorch accepts a mission to "The Dark Planet", from where no mission has never returned, he does so against the wishes of Gary, who quits in disgust at the lack of respect he has received from Scorch and others. But when Scorch is captured on the mission, it is up to Gary to become the hero and rescue his brother from the evil planet known as Earth.

Gary learns the evils of the Big Gulp.

Escape from Planet Earth succeeds in more places than you might expect from a fledgling animation studio. Despite perhaps not crafting their animation with the same level of quality as the big boys, the whole of the artwork - and especially the 3D - are very, VERY good. There were a few moments that didn't quite match up to the rest of the picture, but they happened so infrequently and at the very beginning, so that you'd barely remember them when all is said and done. And despite their relative cliches, the characters are fun enough and with motivations that are easy for kids to comprehend. Gary Supernova especially is nicely voiced by Corddry, who puts forth his second good performance this month (though not nearly as good as Warm Bodies) as a blue-collar (pun intended?) guy pushed to perform the extraordinary. Playing opposite him is the highly effective Fraser, who might have discovered a potential for career resurgence in voice acting with the macho, confident swagger he brings to the screen. Other strong (or at least amusing) performances belong to Craig Robinson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ricky Gervais and Jane Lynch (although nothing she ever does will top Lynch's Wreck-It Ralph role), but it's William Shatner hamming it up as an evil military leader that steals the show. Director/screenwriter Cal Brunker shows a real connection with his actors, unexpected from the rookie (he's typically been an art department guy), and he also has a talent for the wry quip and a propensity for the in-joke. For instance, one of my favorite bits featured human guards attempting to wrangle one of the story's aliens. One character's exclamation? "James! Cameron! Get the Alien!"

Okay... it's just like driving an interspace car...

But while Escape From Planet Earth manages to outstrip its meager origins, it doesn't necessarily make it an animated flick worth your time. Those dialogue gags don't happen often enough to be anything more than clever moments in a script practically bereft of them. The story is also an amalgam of cliched story and characters, from rambunctious kids to sibling rivalry to the rake gag, suitable perhaps for kids but not really all that engaging for their parents. There's also not really any one scene-stealer like Madagascar's Penguins to whom you could really see yourself getting attached... I mean, there IS Scorch, but his antics aren't nearly so inspired as to be entertaining on their own. And while most of the cast is quite good, the lone low score goes to Jessica Alba, whose lack of personality is on full display in a role that really shouldn't have been all that difficult to handle.

I think they actually stuck Fraser's eyes in there...

It's clever on occasion, the acting is pretty good and the artwork is VERY fun to look at. Those are the essential bullet points for what to expect from Escape From Planet Earth. It's a good first feature effort from Rainmaker, whose biggest success to this point was arguably the TV show Beast Wars: Transformers, and this successful release certainly sets the stage for them to form a lucrative movie business for the future. But what might make this movie the MOST appealing is that there is NOTHING else to take your kids to in the theaters right now. If you have the hankering to go to the movies, this isn't a bad family pick, even if the coming months will offer a few more (and hopefully better) options. Still, Escape From Planet Earth manages to top out as the #6 movie of 2013, not a bad start for the animated genre this year. I don't expect anything in the same vein of Wreck-It Ralph or ParaNorman when it comes to this year's titles, but hopefully this won't be the best thing the animated genre has to offer us for the near future.