J.Lo & Rihanna are mother and daughter in Home

This is big news. Pop divas Jennifer Lopez and Rihanna are playing mother and daughter in a movie. Given how a great beauty like J.Lo is most likely vain about her looks and would never want to look like the mother of a grown-up girl like RiRi, this spells great, very interesting casting for the upcoming motion picture, simply titled Home.

 Of course, the catch here is that they do not really play mother and daughter the way they usually look. Home is a new animated feature from DreamWorks Animation, which means we will not see J.Lo and RiRi the way we usually do. They will be animated characters. We will only hear their familiar voices talking and singing in the soundtrack.

Rihanna is the voice of Gratuity Tucci, nicknamed what else but Tip. Tip as in the gratuity given to taxi drivers, waiters, valets, etc. She is feisty and independent and really like most girls. But then she has to fend for herself when her mother, Lucy, is captured along with everybody on earth by the alien people called Boov. The Boovs have been moving from planet to planet in search of a place they can call home and have decided to settle on earth. So Tip is alone at the mercy of these Boovs headed by the mean Captain Smek voiced by Steve Martin, the famous actor, comic, singer and a lot of other things besides.

Tip is off in search of her mother with her beloved Cat named Pig when she meets Oh. He is an escaped purple Boov boy who speaks strange English with the voice of Jim Parsons of the highly-rated TV series Big Bang Theory. Unlike Smek, Oh is actually a nice kid and wants to be friends with Tip. However, given how the Boovs have invaded Earth and captured all of the people, she remains distrustful of Oh. That is until, he fixes her car and turns it into a fly ring machine called The Slushious that can fly over Earth. So while Tip is on a mission to save her mother and Oh is running away from Smek, they embark on a journey that will not only give them their hearts’ desires but also lead them home.

It is a sweet tale and I have a feeling I know why J.Lo was chosen for the role. The sexy, glamorous J.Lo has such a sweet and soothing voice. But it is also firm and authoritative, much like I think a parent should be. This is very much in evidence when J.Lo is in the TV show American Idol. See how she treats the contestants. She is not only nice to all of them. She feels for them and is sometimes even reduced to tears when somebody gets booted out. She is motherly and this quality will be a heartwarming part of the story. Their separation and reunion are the emotional center of the picture.

As for Rihanna, she embarks on new ventures with her participation in Home. For one, this is the first time she is voicing a character in an animated movie. Jennifer did it before in Antz, which was directed by Tim Johnson, who also did Home. But Riri is involved with the movie in a really big way. Aside from being Tip’s voice, she is also the contributor of key songs to Home. In fact, she helped shape the film’s whole soundtrack and chose to include works by her and other contemporary artists like Kiesza, Charli XCX + Stargate and Ester Dean into the usual film score.

It helps that music is an integral part of the Home story. One of its highlights is how Tip introduces Oh to Earth music. This is done to the tune of Dancing In The Dark by Stargate. Oh, who I am sure will soon give Barney stiff competition as the kiddies’ favorite purple stuffed toy, is at first resistant to the tune. But then the irresistible beat sends him moving. His foot starts tapping, his hips start wiggling and soon he is in a full-blown boogie number. Choreographed by Beau Casper Smart, the scene is one of the highlights of Home. You can expect to see dancing everywhere go Boovified soon.

 Home opens in 3D and 2D screens nationwide on March 26. Check out how J.Lo and Rihanna come across as mother and daughter. Enjoy the groovy soundtrack. And best of all, get ready to be captivated by Oh. He is so cute.