Craig Robinson talks Escape From Planet EarthBy Wilson Morales
February 18, 2013
Currently out in theaters is the animated film, ‘Escape From The Planet,’ 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 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 sound 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.
Did you have to do a different voice for the film?
CR: Actually, I did use my own regular voice. What was different, and this is where I could see the direction, was that some of the things that I said were not how I would have delivered a word of a line. That’s the part that stays with me. They were certain lines of words that I had never used before.
What’s the joy of doing an animated film?
CR: To be able to play a whole lot more that you would in a live action. You get as big as you want to. To do as much as you want to and you don’t even know that I’m at home doing this.
How much fun is it to collaborate with Rob Corddry again?
CR: I love Corddry. It’s always a pleasure to work with him because he’s always going to bring something outrageous to the scene. We ran into each other at the premiere and there’s been some hint as to a Hot Tub 2 so that’s exciting as well.
If the sequel were to happen, which time period would you want to go back to?
CR: Well, we did the 80s. At this point, we would have to go into the future and see something that we can make up and not something that we have seen before.
Would you have wanted The Office to keep going?
CR: Once Steve Carell, you figured that it was going to come to an end. I didn’t know that it would go two more years, but surprising, when Carell had left, it was like the captain of the ship had left and we had to get our balance back. Now, we’re back to crazy lessons and if there was a right time to go out, it would be now because it’s still fun.
Can you talk about the new TV project you have coming up with The Office’s executive producer Greg Daniels?
CR: We’re in the stage of casting the pilot, so once that gets done, then we’ll shoot the pilot and see if it gets picked up. It’s the most I’ve been involved in any project out in Hollywood. It’s exciting and crazy right now.
Is ‘We The Peeples’ coming out this year?
CR: Yes. The film comes out on Mother’s Day weekend this year. We’re all very excited to get that out in theaters. It’s a long time coming and I can’t wait to reunite with that cast. It was easily the most fun I’ve had on a set than any of the projects I’ve done.
What role do you play in the film?
CR: I play Kerry Washington’s boyfriend, Wade. It was a lot of fun to play. Kerry’s on fire right now; and I learned a lot from her and David Alan Grier. Quietly, he’s the funniest person on the planet.
What else do you have coming up?
CR: I have the apocalyptic film This Is The End, which brings back the crew from Pineapple Express and some other names like Jonah Hill, Rihanna, and Kevin Hart. We’re at James Franco’s house and the apocalypse happens around us. Then I have Rapturepalooza, which is set two years into the apocalypse and the anti-Christ has taken over the world. I play the anti-Christ. This is the End comes out in June and Rapturepalooza comes out the same weekend as We The Peeples.
How do you keep yourself grounded?
CR: That’s easy. I’m from Chicago and as soon as I get home to Chicago, my parents make me take out the garbage. It’s no problem staying grounded.
