“Home: The Adventures of Tip and Oh” Crash Lands on Netflix July 29th

In 2015, DreamWorks Animation released the film Home (based loosely on children’s novel The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex), about a young girl name Tip trying to survive after an alien invasion, who’s forced to team up with an ostracized alien named Oh in order to track down her missing mother.

An animated continuation of the film will be coming to Netflix July 29th, titled Home: The Adventures of Tip and Oh. The series will be something of a slice-of-life comedy, as the pair attempt to navigate a new world of human-alien collaboration.

The show was developed by Ryan Crego and Thurop Von Orman, known for their previous work on Shrek Forever After, Sanjay and Craig, and The Marvelous Misadventure of Flapjack. The original film’s director Tim Johnson is apparently not involved; furthermore, the original voice actors of Tip and Oh (Rhianna and Jim Parsons respectively) will not be reprising their roles. The protagonists will instead by voiced by Rachel Crow and Mark Whitten. Both are relative newcomers to voice acting, but it will be interesting to see (or rather, hear) what they can bring to the table.

However, the most striking change by far is the switch from 3D to 2D animation, as seen in this released first image. Home featured some absolutely gorgeous animation, using the medium to its full potential to capture both imaginative alien scenery and extremely grounded details. We can only speculate on the reason for the change; perhaps it the expense of making high quality 3D animation for television. Possibly, however, the change may be more thematic in nature. Home was a buddy-cop comedy adventure, but it appears that Home: The Adventures of Tip and Oh will be focusing on the more everyday adventures the pair have, after they’ve already succeeded in saving the Earth. This art style may be more suited to a story of this nature.

It’s hard to judge before actually seeing an episode, but I am curious about where the writers may take the series. The original film explored the themes of colonization, immigration and prejudice in a kid-friendly way, though ultimately was limited not just by its demographic, but also simple time limitations. The longer format might give these ideas a larger space to breathe, as well as a chance bring more of the lighthearted humor that made the film so enjoyable.

Author: Laura B

Lover of fantasy and science fiction, fascinated in how they impact the real world. Professional writer and science communicator.

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