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 [jp]

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

Milo's (Seth Green) mom (Joan Cusack) is wearing a Carolina Panthers jersey with the name Smith and the number 21 on it when she is taken to Mars. As of the 2011 season no player with the last name Smith has worn 21 in the team's history. (Most recently the number has been worn by defensive back Brandon Hogan.) Because of this, Smith may be Milo's family's last name, as fan apparel is often customized in this manner.

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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

At the end credits, there is a behind the scenes making of the film done at 4 different camera angles.

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Connections

References The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

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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

**** not a good movie for children, especially not small children

This was quite a surprise: A Disney family movie rated PG with creepy animation, lots of dark scary scenes, aliens, homicides and attempted homicides and more! Why make a movie about children's mothers being abducted by aliens and murdered in some kind of giant laser machine? I guess it will grab kids' attention, but it will also scare them to death.

Aside from the crazy story line, which is not child-friendly, we have a new kind of animation that makes computerized characters look very much like real people. So, for example, the supposed 11-year old boy was modeled by a 35-year-old man, so that the kid looks like a cross between a kid and a middle-aged man. The forehead is expressive, but in a 35- year-old-man kind of way. You have to see this to understand. It is weird and a little scary.

Frightening, realistic aliens and robots chase a child while shooting at him with their ray guns, trying to kill him. They also try to kill his mother. They attempt to execute his friend in a firing squad. This all takes place in a dark and scary world where people run through long tunnels and dive into dirty chutes to spend some time in a giant fiery trash dump. The dump is inhabited by a monkey-like species of "stupid" creatures who wear primarily yellow, red and green clothing and have their hair in dreadlocks. I'm not kidding.

The character called Gribble, played by Dan Fogler, was an exception to the general drudgery of this film. He had a strange part to play in a weird script, but he brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm and a really unique style. It wasn't enough to save the movie, but he added at least two stars to my rating. The animation quality is good, but these days it's hard to count that for much. The story is just terrible and that's what really matters. Sorry, Disney, but I know you will overcome this setback.