DreamWorks Animation’s 2015 family feature HOME, was a strange thing for us – a rare animated film that just didn’t really strike a chord at all. Featuring the voices of Rihanna and Jim Parsons in a buddy tale about a young girl and her alien friend, I didn’t like it – but what was surprising is how flat it fell with The Rock Daughters™, who loved Parsons’ Oh more as a little action figure (which they still have) than a CGI character on the big screen. When I was invited to the DreamWorks Animation campus in Glendale, California to work on some promotional efforts for VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER as part of my gig with the Netflix Stream Team, I was a little apprehensive about the secondary component to the assignment – taking a then-early look at HOME: ADVENTURES WITH TIP & OH, their new animated series based on the feature film. I took a seat in the screening room and settled in for some episodes… and much to my delight, I really liked it!
From Netflix: “What happens after a misfit alien named Oh conquers Earth, befriends an adventurous teen girl named Tip and together they save the day? Oh moves in with Tip and her human family and finally discovers the true meaning of home. The galaxy’s dynamic duo are back in DreamWorks Animation’s HOME: ADVENTURES WITH TIP & OH, an all-new Netflix Original Series jam-packed with outrageous laughs, tons of heart and contemporary urban pop music performed by teen singing sensation Rachel Crow (Rio 2, X Factor). Life on earth will never be the same!
Picking up where the hit 2015 animated film left off and building upon their enduring friendship, this coming-of-age buddy comedy follows fearless Tip and overenthusiastic Oh, as they navigate the crazily combined human and alien culture they live in, finding adventure everywhere they go. “
With Mark Whitten taking over for Parsons as the voice of Oh, and Rachel Crow stepping in for Rihanna as the voice of Tip, the switch feels seamless – but the overall package is more enthusiastic and vibrant, bringing with it that something that for me was missing in the feature film.
Trading the CGI of the big-screen adventure for 2-D animation that re-styled the characters and world into a look more in-line with shows like SANJAY & CRAIG (which showrunner Ryan Crego also worked on), there’s a familiarity that should resonate with families right away – whether they loved the movie, or where like me and weren’t quite sold yet. Having see a few episodes and with the series streaming in-full beginning July 29, 2016 on Netflix, I’m looking forward to sharing it with my girls and seeing if they enjoy HOME in our home as much as I enjoyed the preview.
