Today’s families come in all shapes and sizes and from various walks of life! While no two families are alike, each family is important as Mars Needs Moms clearly and endearingly shows. The story line is adapted from a preschool and early-elementary picture book written by Berkeley Breathed, featuring brilliant illustrations and the same touching plot. The movie, directed by Simon Wells, was released on March 11, 2011 and is a Disney adventure/comedy that has delighted audiences of all ages ever since. Aside from a few perilous situations and some sci-fi action, the PG-rated movie is extremely family-friendly and is, overall, a safe and entertaining movie option for families of all types! As a mother of six children ages 1 through 13, I loved this movie because it reinforced the importance of mothers not only to my children, but to me as well!
The movie begins with nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) in a standoff with his mother (Joan Cusack) over eating his broccoli and taking out the trash. Who needs Moms anyway? Milo laments his unfair status in his bedroom until his guilt eventually gets the best of him and he decides to go and apologize. Unfortunately for him, however, his mother has just been kidnapped by aliens who are in desperate need of someone to “mother” their young on their far away planet. Barely jumping aboard the spaceship before it launches from earth, Milo becomes a stow-away on the ship in hopes of saving his mother. During his quest, he encounters a tech-geek earthman named Gribble (Dan Fogler) and a rebellious alien named Ki (Elisabeth Harnois) who help him on his mission to save his mother from the alien nation and its unbending leader (Mindy Sterling). His perilous travels through the complex, multi-leveled planet somewhat parallel his life’s journey as Milo realizes the hard way that he does, indeed, need his mother far more than ever imagined. After a touching and tear-jerking climactic point, Milo finds his way home to his mother and to a new-found love and appreciation for his family life and all that comes with it!