Home
Detailed parental analysis
Home is an animated adventure comedy with a light, colourful atmosphere, driven by uninhibited humour and infectious energy. The plot follows a clumsy alien rejected by his own kind who teams up with a determined young girl searching for her mother, separated from her during an extraterrestrial invasion. The film is unambiguously aimed at children from 6 years old, with accessibility designed for the whole family.
Parental and Family Portrayals
The mother-daughter relationship is the emotional engine of the film. Tip is separated from her mother Lucy from the opening, and the entire plot hinges on her quest to find her again. This separation is handled with sincerity and creates several moments of bittersweet tension that may touch sensitive children. The maternal figure is portrayed positively and the family bond is presented as the most precious value in the narrative.
Underlying Values
The film builds its message around an unlikely friendship between two characters who have nothing in common, valuing mutual trust and the ability to recognise oneself in the other despite their differences. A sense of belonging and the definition of home as a human connection rather than a geographical place run throughout the narrative. These themes are conveyed with sincerity, without didactic heaviness, making them all the more fertile ground for discussion after viewing.
Violence
Violence is virtually absent. Chase and escape sequences generate dramatic tension suited to their audience, without tipping into brutality or irreversible danger. Very sensitive younger children may be slightly startled by a few chase sequences, but there is no gore, no real physical violence, and no traumatising consequences shown on screen.
Social Themes
The alien invasion and forced displacement of human populations constitute a readable metaphor for migration and loss of home. Without ever hammering home the parallel explicitly, the film creates a natural empathy for those who are displaced, lost, or rejected by a dominant group. It is a discreet but real angle, one that can fuel a conversation about what it means to belong somewhere and to treat others with dignity.
Strengths
The film draws its strength from the writing of its central duo: the rapport between Tip and Oh works because it is built on a genuine dynamic of differences and complementarity, not on immediate sympathy. The humour largely rests on Oh's linguistic and cultural clumsiness, offering children a playful introduction to the idea that social codes are relative and learned. The pacing is brisk without being exhausting, and the emotional hooks, though simple, are handled with an honesty that avoids cheap sentimentality. The soundtrack is omnipresent and heavily marked by one particular artist, something some parents may find excessive but which contributes to the film's deliberate sonic identity.
Age recommendation and discussion points
The film is suitable from 6 years old without reservation, and can be watched as a family with young children from 5 years old in a parent's presence. Two angles for discussion after viewing: ask your child what the word 'home' means to them, beyond an address or a house, and explore with them why Oh is rejected by his own kind and what that says about the fear of those who think differently.
Synopsis
When Earth is taken over by the overly-confident Boov, an alien race in search of a new place to call home, all humans are promptly relocated, while all Boov get busy reorganizing the planet. But when one resourceful girl, Tip, manages to avoid capture, she finds herself the accidental accomplice of a banished Boov named Oh. The two fugitives realize there’s a lot more at stake than intergalactic relations as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime.
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2015
- Runtime
- 1h 34m
- Countries
- United States of America
- Original language
- EN
- Studios
- DreamWorks Animation
Content barometer
- Violence1/5Mild
- Fear2/5A few scenes
- Sexuality0/5None
- Language0/5None
- Narrative complexity1/5Accessible
- Adult themes0/5None
Values conveyed
- Friendship
- Acceptance of difference
- Perseverance
- Compassion
- Autonomy
- courage
- empathy
- cooperation