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

The red ball in the Image Movers Digital logo is replaced with Mars (from 00:34 to 00:48).

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.9 (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

A Message to the Open Minded

Due to the copious negative reviews about "Mars Needs Moms," I decided to write a quick positive one.

I've read a bunch of different kinds of bashing over this film; from sexism and hidden political agendas to poor animation and a poorly timed release. Now, I think we can all safely agree that if the viewer really wants to find something negative about "Mars Needs Moms", they won't have to look very hard. Keeping this in mind, I went into watching this film with just one simple goal in mind, to be entertained, and I was. This film really isn't as bad as everyone says it is as long as you just go into it with the right mind set.

The animation is incredible, as well it should be with a $150 million dollar budget and over 6 minutes worth of end credits of people who worked hard creating it. Like Beowulf, the human characters look almost identical to the actor/actress voicing them and the surroundings like the space sequences, the garbage mountains, and the Mars tunnels are breathtaking. This simple animation element will be enough to entertain the open minded person. Yet, the overdone and predictable story is still heartwarming and I believe it served as a nice reminder of how special a mom really is. Though some of the dialogue isn't the greatest, and there are a few ominous notes played throughout (leaving me to recommend this movie to children over ten), wait for it to go down from a new release rental price and give it a try.