Currently out in theaters is the animated film, Escape From Planet Earth, which features the voices of Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Jane Lynch, Ricky Gervais, Jonathan Morgan Helt, Craig Robinson, Jessica Alba, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sofia Vergara.
The 3D animated family comedy catapults moviegoers to planet Baab where admired astronaut Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser) is a national hero to the blue alien population. A master of daring rescues, Scorch pulls off astonishing feats with the quiet aid of his nerdy, by-the-rules brother, Gary (Rob Corddry), head of mission control at BASA. When BASA’s no-nonsense chief Lena (Jessica Alba) informs the brothers of an SOS from a notoriously dangerous planet, Scorch rejects Gary’s warnings and bounds off for yet another exciting mission. But when Scorch finds himself caught in a fiendish trap set by the evil Shanker (William Shatner) it’s up to scrawny, risk-adverse Gary to do the real rescuing. As the interplanetary stakes rise to new heights, Gary is left to save his brother, his planet, his beloved wife Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker) and their adventure hungry son Kip.
For Craig Robinson, who plays Doc and has done animated work in the past (The Cleveland Show, Shrek Forever After), the role gives him a chance to work with Corddry again. The two have worked on Hot Tub, this film, and the upcoming Rapturepalooza.
Blackfilm.com caught up with the Chicago native as he spoke about his role in Planet Earth and his upcoming projects.
How would you describe the character of Doc?
Craig Robinson: Doc is an inter-galactic radio talk show therapist who created social networking and he’s captured and held prisoner in Area 51. He helps makes the super bomb. He’s probably the coolest dude in the prison. He doesn’t have to do anything and has a lot of connections. He’s a real cool and scary cat.
Having done animated work before, what was the appeal to doing this film?
CR: They approached me with this and it just sounded like a fun thing to do. The more we got into it, and I did like six or seven voice-over sessions, the director would show me more storyboards and some of the animation as it got done. To see his vision come together, the final project, made me extremely proud to be a part of it.
Read more: BlackFilm
