Escape from Planet Earth is a 2013 animated comedy-adventure science fiction film produced by Rainmaker Entertainment (now Mainframe Studios) and distributed by The Weinstein Company in the United States and Entertainment One in Canada, directed by Cal Brunker (in his feature-length directorial debut), with a screenplay which he co-wrote with Bob Barlen, and features an ensemble voice cast that includes Rob Corddry, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, William Shatner, Jessica Alba, Jane Lynch, Craig Robinson, George Lopez, Sofía Vergara, Steve Zahn, Chris Parnell, Jonathan Morgan Heit, and Ricky Gervais.
One day, Gary receives a message from the head of BASA, Lena Thackleman that Scorch will be sent to the "Dark Planet" (the Baabians' name for Earth) due to an SOS call.
Meanwhile, Lena captures Kira, who stayed at BASA and tried contacting Gary on his rescue mission, while revealing her plan to give Shanker a lifetime supply of blubonium.
The aliens are directed to the base's "peace shield", with Shanker revealing the reactor, and Gary unintentionally provoking Scorch into stealing and breaking it.
Shanker places Scorch into a freezing chamber and orders Gary to fix the reactor for his brother's release, revealing that he plans to destroy all planets with life on them, stemming from an incident in which a trio of grey aliens accidentally killed his father.
The brothers and their new friends escape Area 51 and head for Baab after locating Scorch's spaceship with help from Hawk and Hammer, two guys Gary met in 7-Eleven.
[7] Writer-director Tony Leech and film producer Brian Inerfeld sued The Weinstein Company, claiming they signed a deal whereby they were to receive at least 20 percent of Escape's adjusted gross profit, which they estimated would be worth close to $50 million in back end participation alone.
[8] But the film languished in development, and the plaintiffs claimed that the Weinsteins repeatedly unlocked the script, forcing rewrites at least 17 times, which they say "eviscerated" the movie's budget by keeping 200-plus animators on payroll.
[8] Leech and Inerfeld were upset, alleging that the agreement had mortgaged their own financial upside and said the Weinsteins advised them that if they wanted their past due money, they would have to agree to this arrangement.
[8] Instead, Leech and Inerfeld went on the legal attack against TWC even claiming that they were paid $500,000 in hush money to keep the dispute quiet on the verge of the Weinsteins' The King's Speech Oscar victory in 2011.
Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, saying, "The picture has enough entertainment value to tickle its target audience and even offers a few chuckles for accompanying adults.
"[16] Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "It provides a few smiles, and a decent amount of rainy-day, kiddie entertainment.
"[17] Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying, "A children’s movie about space-traveling blue beings that has lots of high-flying escapades but fairly low aspirations.
"[22] Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a negative review, saying, "It's a bowl of warm water into which no one has bothered to place a bouillon cube.
"[24] Gregg Katzman of IGN gave the film a 4.5 out of 10, saying, "Escape From Planet Earth looks fantastic and is sporting some commendable voice acting, but these qualities can't overcome a stale script and significant lack of laughs.
[28] Joe Leydon of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying, "A lightweight, warp-speed, brightly colored trifle that should delight small children and sporadically amuse their parents.
[5] In North America, the film opened to number four in its first weekend with $15,891,055, behind A Good Day to Die Hard, Identity Thief and Safe Haven.