“Mars Needs Moms”
Directed By: Simon Wells
Starring: Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, and Joan Cusack
DVD Release Date: August 9, 2011
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Rated PG for Sci-Fi Action and Peril
I’m going to be honest. The first commercials I saw for “Mars Needs Moms” made me cringe. I knew it was another stop-motion disaster waiting to happen. There was absolutely nothing that appealed to me about the film. It looked like another lifeless CGI movie that would be thrown to the wayside with the rest of the animated garbage.
“Mars Needs Moms” centers on “nine-year-old Milo [who] finds out how much he needs his mom when she’s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. In a race against time and oxygen, his quest to save her knows no bounds. And with some unexpected help, Milo just might find his way back to her in more ways than one.”
First off, if you like “The Polar Express,” “Monster House,” “Beowulf” or any of the other Robert Zemeckis/Imagemovers Digital Productions, you might want to sit out of this review. With the exception of “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” I absolutely loathe the animated style of every one of these films. Honestly, I’m not even a big fan of Pixar’s animation. I know, I just blasphemed. Zemeckis’s animated films are particularly awful, though. The human characters in the film look like lifeless mannequins staring into nothingness. It’s creepy to say the least.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the backgrounds and scenery in “Mars Needs Moms” wasn’t tantalizing. However, you can’t just sit and watch the environments in a movie for an hour and a half. It’s like trying to watch TV around someone standing in front of it. There are still those pesky characters always getting in the way of the good stuff.
And pesky characters they are. There is barely any character in “Mars Needs Moms” that is likeable. The kid Milo is a spoiled brat who is disobedient to his mother. Gribble, the stranded astronaut that lives on Mars is idiotic and there is no chemistry between him and Milo at all. The alien girl that helps Milo named Ki is absolutely annoying. You see, all Mars knows about Earth they learned from watching 1960’s television. They think we are still living in the days of flower power as hippies. Isn’t that original AND hilarious? Yes, that means we get an hour and a half of hippy aliens. Believe me, it is an absolute beating. The only character in the film that is ever remotely bearable is Milo’s mother who is voiced by Joan Cusack.
“Mars Needs Moms” feels like an afterschool special split into two parts. The beginning is the set-up of the lesson. Insert an interlude with a bunch of nonsensical running, chasing, and bad jokes that fall flat for an hour. Then there’s the 10-minute lesson wrap-up after that. It’s just unbearable.
My five-year old son liked “Mars Needs Moms.” I guess that counts for something. With that being said, if you need to get something done in an hour and a half and it’s 150 degrees outside as it has been here for the past two months, “Mars Needs Moms” could be the babysitter you’ve been looking for to get some housework done. It sure isn’t going to be anything an adult is going to want to sit through, that’s for sure.
I received the “Mars Needs Moms” (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo). Disc 1 is the Blu-ray feature film and bonus materials. The bonus features include an extended opening; deleted scenes; “Life on Mars” full motion-capture experience with audio commentary; “Martian 101,” which teaches you how to speak Martian with lessons from an expert; and the “Fun with Seth” featurette showcasing the on-set antics of Seth Green and Dan Fogler. Disc 2 is the regular format DVD version of the film and the “Martian 101″ and “Fun with Seth” special features.
You can buy the “Mars Needs Moms” (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) right here.
You can buy the Mars Needs Moms (Four-Disc Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/ DVD/Digital Copy Combo) right here.
You can buy the “Mars Needs Moms” regular format DVD right here.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
“Bambi” Diamond Edition Blu-ray/DVD Movie Review
“Alice in Wonderland 60th Anniversary Edition” Blu-ray / DVD Movie Review
“Fantasia / Fantasia 2000″ Blu-ray / DVD Movie Review