We're Very Excited About Dreamwork's New Character

It's always interesting (read: frustrating) to see movies set in the future in which the world is just as heavily centered around white people as the present is. It's like, really, futuristic YA dystopian franchises? The world hasn't gotten more diverse in the 100+ years since the early 2000s, and the people of color are still just the fringe characters? National Geographic was lying to us?

It's this frustration that makes DreamWork's next project so refreshing. Because Home, a future-set 3D computer animated feature, stars a young black girl as its protagonist.

The film is being described as a "post-apocalyptic-alien-invasion-buddy-comedy," which sounds delightful. Its main character will be voiced by Rihanna, with supporting characters being voiced by people like Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin. So far it's sounding like a winner. Here's the 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 the Boov get busy efficiently reorganizing the planet. But when one resourceful girl, Tip, (Rihanna) manages to avoid capture, she finds herself the accidental accomplice of a banished Boov by the name of Oh (Jim Parsons). Equally stubborn and set in their ways, these two fugitives realize there’s a lot more at stake than intergalactic relations as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime. Good thing they have a flying car.

Though it was a nice step in a lot of ways, The Princess and the Frog wasn't enough: We need more protagonists of color on those big screens. And yes, we need more animated protagonists of color on those big screens: Media is a major teacher to all of us, especially to young children. For white kids and brown kids alike, Tip is necessary. And from the sounds of it she'll be a lot of fun, too; the whole thing sounds like a sort of modern Lilo and Stitch.

To see a short prequel to the film that focuses on the alien backstory (so sadly no Tip), we direct you below:

Image: DreamWorks