Mars Needs Moms (2011)

A young boy named Milo gains a deeper appreciation for his mom after Martians come to Earth to take her away.

Director:

Simon Wells

Writers:

Simon Wells (screenplay), Wendy Wells (screenplay),

Stars:

Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Joan Cusack

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seth Green	...	Milo
Dan Fogler	...	Gribble
Joan Cusack	...	Mom
Elisabeth Harnois	...	Ki
Mindy Sterling	...	Supervisor
Kevin Cahoon	...	Wingnut
Tom Everett Scott	...	Dad
Jacquie Barnbrook	...	Martian
Matthew Henerson	...	Martian
Adam Jennings	...	Martian
Stephen Kearin	...	Martian
Amber Gainey Meade	...	Martian
Aaron Rapke	...	Martian
Julene Renee-Preciado	...	Martian (as Julene Renee)
Kirsten Severson	...	Martian

Storyline

On Mars, the female babies are nursed by robots while the male babies are dumped in the junkyard under the command of Supervisor. They research Earth and finds that the boy Milo is raised by his Mon with love and discipline. The Martians come to Earth and abduct Mon, to use her brain to instruct the robots about how to raise children. However, Milo slinks into the spaceship and comes to Mars. He meets Gribble, a young man that behaves like a child and together with the hippie Martian Ki and Gribble's friend Wingnut, they try to rescue Mon and bring her back to Earth. But Supervisor will give her best efforts to stop Milo and his friends.

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Plot Keywords:

martian | robot | boy | rescue | surrogate mother | 

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Taglines:

Mom needs a little space.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action and peril

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marte necesita mamás

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£113,559 (UK) (8 April 2011)

Gross:

$21,379,315 (USA) (17 June 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, ImageMovers Digital

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS Dolby (Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film had an opening weekend gross of only $6.9 million, making it the twelfth worst opening ever for a film playing in more than 3000 theaters, and one of the lowest openings for a major 3D release. Due to its high budget of $150 million, the film is considered a massive box office bomb. Its commercial failure contributed to Disney's cancellation of the planned remake of Yellow Submarine, which was intended to be made with the same motion capture technology used in "Mars Needs Moms".

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Quotes

[first lines]
TV Announcer: NASA scientists are excited over recent findings by the Mars Rover of fossilized organic compounds on the surface that indicate at some time in the past there may have been life on the red planet.

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Crazy Credits

The Walt Disney Pictures logo is tinted red for the final eight seconds to make it seem like the logo takes place on Mars (the sunset sky behind the castle morphs into reddish browns from 00:24 to 00:31).

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.8 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Written by Freddie Mercury
Performed by Queen
Licensed courtesy of Queen Productions Ltd.
Courtesy of Hollywood Records Inc. for N. America

User Reviews

How do you explain soul....

Like andrewj-lee wrote, how fun to read the obviously planted movie reviews here. Ranging from the ones in a journalistic style to the short and tear-jerking. That's the way to do it, Disney. As for the movie, it is terrible. Disney is dead. The people who now control the corporation have nothing in common with its founder. Walt Disney had a vision, his movies had a soul. "Disney" today has only calculation, with movies made of plastic.

For example: Who in his right mind would give a movie aimed at kids the tag-line "Mom needs a little space."? It means that children's' mothers want to get away from them. Is this heartwarming? Is it truly what children should hear? Or is it just something a movie producer thinks is a clever play on words? Few parents will pay to see a movie with a tag-line that insults them.

The characters look freaky. Aliens with bloated heads that would make their tiny necks snap are not a welcome sight. The anteater-like "Wingnut" character is outright disturbing. I am reminded of the creepy Australian children's show "Dirtgirlworld". (If you want to be freaked out, look it up in YouTube.) At the end you have to wonder where the people went who could make Lady and the Tramp and put true feeling in it, with way less technology than today. Now we get do-it-by-the-numbers productions: "Let's find a Heartwarming Subject. Let's throw in Funny Sidekicks (loved that Jar-Jar Binks). Let's have a Mean Enemy Boss. Give him a mean name too. In the end the kid Saves The Day. With lots of special effects."

What could go wrong? You did it by the numbers, right? Took it from A to Z. Why doesn't it work? Like when you survey people about what they like to see on a car, and put it all together to make the perfect vehicle. How could it be a flop? (It was, it's a marketing disaster classic.) Or when you hire a decorator to decorate an apartment in an "eclectic" style, choosing only the most expensive parts and the most appreciated objects in the catalogue. How could it be awful? Or when you go to the gym and pump up your muscles, targeting exactly those muscle groups that people are said to look at the most. How could people think you look fake?

How do you explain soul to a Hollywood executive - and do they care?