Mars Needs Moms (2011)

Director:

Simon Wells

Writers:

Simon Wells (screenplay) &
Wendy Wells (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

11 March 2011 (USA)

Genre:

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

Tagline:

Mom needs a little space.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Martian | Robot | Boy | Rescue | Surrogate Mother

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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
Matthew Wolf	...	Martian
Raymond Ochoa	...	Martian Hatchling
Robert Ochoa	...	Martian Hatchling
Ryan Ochoa	...	Martian Hatchling
Meredith Wells	...	Martian Hatchling
Teagan Wells	...	Martian Hatchling
Marianne Bennett	...	(voice)
Seth Robert Dusky	...	Milo (voice) (as Seth Dusky)
Jo McGinley	...	(voice)
Dan O'Connor	...	(voice) (as Daniel James O'Conner)
Gavin Bryson Thompson	...	Martian Hatchling
Edi Patterson	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Pasierbowicz	...	Crying Baby Boy (voice)
Barbara Kottmeier	...	Martian (uncredited)
Peleg Rand	...	Milo (uncredited)

Directed by
Simon Wells

Writing credits
Simon Wells		(screenplay) &
Wendy Wells		(screenplay)
Berkeley Breathed		(book)

Produced by
Steven J. Boyd	....	producer
Ryan Chan	....	associate producer
Jack Rapke	....	producer
Steve Starkey	....	producer
Peter M. Tobyansen	....	line producer
Robert Zemeckis	....	producer

Original Music by
John Powell

Cinematography by
Robert Presley		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Wayne Wahrman

Casting by
Scot Boland
Victoria Burrows

Production Design by
Doug Chiang

Art Direction by
Brian Flora
Kurt Kaufman
Norman Newberry
Mike Stassi

Makeup Department
Carlton Coleman	....	special makeup effects: key lab technician
Gabriel De Cunto	....	makeup artist
Tegan Taylor	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Jenny Head Appleton	....	production department manager
David M. Bernstein	....	unit production manager
Ryan Ralph Bond	....	associate production manager
Brian Brecht	....	production manager
Jason Brewer	....	associate production manager
Juan Bronson	....	assistant production manager
Daniel Carbo	....	production manager
Regina Carney	....	post-production supervisor
Megan Corbet	....	associate production manager
Darnie Davila	....	associate production manager
Johnny Duguid	....	associate production manager
Anna Fields	....	production department manager
Tommy Kiser	....	associate production department manager
Gabriela Rios	....	production supervisor
Gordon T. Wittmann	....	production department manager
Zoe Aimee Zaitzeff	....	associate department production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Larry D. Katz	....	second assistant director: additional photography
Lauren Pasternack	....	second second assistant director
Gregory J. Pawlik Jr.	....	second second assistant director
Jeffrey Schwartz	....	second assistant director
David H. Venghaus Jr.	....	first assistant director
Garrett Warren	....	second unit director

Art Department
Darren Bacon	....	concept artist
Robert E. Barnes	....	concept sculptor
Jennifer Bash	....	art department production assistant
Brian Berringer	....	CG generalist
Michael C. Biddle	....	digital set designer
Nick Bogle	....	concept model maker
Chris Bonura	....	art department production assistant
Gregory Bossert	....	researcher/archivist
Jeff Brewer	....	concept model maker
Franck 'Frenchy' Brousse	....	props
Lawson Brown	....	on-set dresser
Zack Bunker	....	art department assistant
Erin Collins Butler	....	art department production manager
Andrea Carter	....	art department coordinator
Kinman Chan	....	concept artist
David Chow	....	digital set designer
Francesca Christopher	....	production assistant (as Francesca B. Christopher)
Kevin Conran	....	visual development
Jack Cornelius	....	mocap propshop foreman
Andy Cunningham	....	concept artist
Michael D'Imperio	....	assistant property master
Fon Davis	....	concept model maker
Eddie Del Rio	....	concept artist
Colin Dennis	....	carpenter
Nathan Dollarhite	....	concept artist
Alan Droeger	....	welding foreman
John Duncan	....	concept model maker
Genevieve Elkin	....	art department coordinator
Landis R. Fields IV	....	CG generalist
Brian Freisinger	....	CG concept artist
Garrett Fry	....	concept artist
Paul Hamblin	....	concept artist
Scott Herbertson	....	assistant art director
Bensen Ho	....	assistant property master
David Hobbins	....	concept artist
Jennifer Hsyu	....	associate production manager
Ray Lei Jin	....	concept artist (as Lei Jin)
Philip Keller	....	assistant art director
Bobby Mara	....	construction general foreman
Brandon Martynowicz	....	matte painting
Brian Matyas	....	character designer
Pierre Maurer	....	concept model maker
Richard F. Mays	....	set designer
Tony McVey	....	concept sculptor
Jason Merck	....	concept designer
David Moreau	....	set designer
Fred O'Connor	....	lead on-set carpenter
Roel Robles	....	concept artist
Emmanuel Shiu	....	concept designer
Holly Sudduth	....	mocap prop maker
Roy Sutherland	....	concept model maker
Vladimir Todorov	....	character design
John Villarino	....	construction coordinator
Jim Wallis	....	set designer
Jeff Wisniewski	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Mark Agostino	....	production Pro Tools operator
Jonathan Borland	....	sound design intern (as Jon Borland)
Ronni Brown	....	foley artist
Derek Casari	....	adr stage engineer
Brian Chumney	....	assistant dialogue editor
Colette Dahanne	....	additional re-recording mixer
Sean England	....	foley artist
Kim Foscato	....	assistant supervising sound editor
Sue Fox	....	supervising foley editor
Thomas Giordano	....	fisher boom operator
Chris Gridley	....	dialogue editor
Nia Hansen	....	foley mixer
Doc Kane	....	adr mixer
Jesse Kaplan	....	boom operator: additional photography
William B. Kaplan	....	sound mixer
Leff Lefferts	....	assistant sound designer
Dennis Leonard	....	supervising sound editor
Scott R. Lewis	....	assistant re-recording mixer
David Lucarelli	....	adr recordist
Dmitri Makarov	....	digital editorial services
Peggy Names	....	boom operator
Jonathan Null	....	adr editor
Peter Pluer	....	adr dialogue recordist
Richard Quinn	....	supervising dialogue & adr editor
James Spencer	....	recordist
Corey Tyler	....	foley recordist
Cary Weitz	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Dan Crawley	....	special effects technician
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects supervisor
Dan Ossello	....	on-set special effects technician
Mike Scanlan	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Brendan Abel	....	motion capture technical director
Robert Adams	....	digital artist
Robert Adams	....	shot layout
David Aguilar Gomez	....	directors layout artist
Pedro Aleman	....	character technical director
Ohkba Ameziane-Hassani	....	senior grooming hair TD
Greta Anderson	....	motion capture production coordinator
Sarah Anderson	....	layout technical director (as Sarah Back)
Sarah Anderson	....	motion capture technical director (as Sarah Back)
Karen Ansel	....	digital artist
Nicholas Apostoloff	....	technical development lead
Tom Armbruster	....	motion capture
Jose Astacio	....	directors layout technical director
Al Bailey	....	lighting and compositing artist
Joseph Bailey	....	digital compositor
Kevin Baillie	....	visual effects supervisor
Tricia Barrett	....	directors layout artist
Craig Barron	....	visual effects supervisor: Matte World Digital
Matt Bauer	....	previs artist
Ryan Beagan	....	motion capture technician
Favian Beltran	....	motion capture technician
Ronaldo A. Benaraw	....	motion capture technician
Jonathan A. Berry	....	motion capture technician
Austin Bonang	....	pre-vis artist
Scott Bonnenfant	....	texture artist
Siksit Boonyodom	....	compositor/finishing
Olivia Bouwkamp	....	layout technical director
Alex Boyle	....	resource technical assistant
Derek Brady	....	layout technical director
Michael Brainerd	....	senior effects technical director
Margarita Bratkova	....	research & development engineer
Marco Brezzo	....	lighting technical director
Nicholas Pierre Brown	....	directors layout technical director
Andrew Butler	....	digital effects artist
Georgia Cano	....	digital effects artist
Mario Capellari	....	digital artist
Mario Capellari	....	lead lighting director
Kathryn Capri	....	digital artist
Josh Cardenas	....	lighting td & compositor
Eric Carney	....	previsualization d-lo camera supervisor: The Third Floor
Mei-Ming Casino	....	digital producer
Ryan D. Chan	....	layout artist
Kirk Chantraine	....	motion capture technical director
Pablo Chavez	....	directors layout artist
Derek Cheung	....	fx artist
Arun P. Chidambaram	....	lighting technical director
Sarah Jane Chin	....	visual effects production assistant
Adam Chrystie	....	character fx technical director
Po-Ming Chu	....	modeler
Eugene Chung	....	directors layout technical director: IMD
Matthew Cioffi	....	lead modeler
Joseph Clark	....	character effects technical director
Michael Clemens	....	studio comp lead
Mark C. Colbert	....	research & development engineer
Tim Coleman	....	character rigging supervisor
Glenn Cotter	....	matte painting supervisor
Doug Creel	....	fx supervisor
Andrew Cunningham	....	concept artist
David Dame	....	character fx technical director
John 'JD' Daniel	....	modeler
Purnell Davis	....	production engineering technical director
Anton Dawson	....	lead character technical director
Yoshi DeHerrera	....	3d scan technician
Greg Denton	....	assistant technical director
Cruz DeWilde	....	stereoscopic technical director
Alia Dong-Stewart	....	motion capture artist
Jennifer Downs	....	simulation artist
Christina Drahos	....	digital compositor: Imagemovers Digital
Stéphanie Dubé	....	lead texture painter
Richard Ducker	....	lead lighting technical director
Timothy Eaton	....	visual effects editorial
Rony Edde	....	fx technical director
Antonio Eggermont	....	assistant technical director
Jonathan Egstad	....	compositing tech supervisor
Nino Ellington	....	resource technical assistant
Brent Elliott	....	look development
Scott Englert	....	character technical director
Brad Falk	....	digital artist
Daniel Fazel	....	senior lighting/compositing
Alex A. Fleming	....	lighting technical director
Brandon Foster	....	production coordinator
Brad Fox	....	lead technical director
Alexandre Frazao	....	motion capture technical director
Nathan Frigard	....	lead character rigger
Garrett Fry	....	digital matte painter
Ryan Galloway	....	associate cg supervisor
Jay Gambell	....	character effects: ImageMovers Digital
Omar Garcia	....	resource technical assistant
Diego Garzon	....	lighting technical director
Jim Gibbs	....	lighting technical director
Matthew Gilson	....	digital matte painter
Paula Goldstein	....	lighting artist
Stewart Graff	....	cg modeler
Justin Graham	....	digital compositor
David 'Rudy' Grossman	....	cg supervisor
Jenn Grundstad	....	motion capture production assistant
Ben Guthrie	....	motion capture stage lead
Ben Hadden	....	associate production manager
Michael Hall	....	visual effects
Craig Halperin	....	crowd animation supervisor
Pascal Hang	....	character technical director
Jonathan Harman	....	lead technical director
Edward Helmers	....	lighting td
Rebecca Heskes	....	texture artist
Kevin Hong	....	technical director
Sunghwan Hong	....	stereoscopic compositor
Ryan Howell	....	assistant technical director: lighting/compositing
Vita Pei-Ying Hsieh	....	texture artist
Mike Huang	....	lighting department manager: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Shawn Hull	....	directors layout artist
Annemieke Loomis Hutchins	....	digital matte painter
Andrew Hwang	....	modeler / texture artist
Brad Isdrab	....	resource technical assistant
Anthony Jacob	....	directors layout technical director
Michael Janov	....	fx artist
Ian Jenkins	....	lead technical director
Jeff A. Johnson	....	crowds and fx: ImageMovers Digital
Jongo	....	lead lighter
Barry Kane	....	technical director
Oded Yosef Kassirer	....	motion capture technician (as Oded Kassirer)
Alison Kellom	....	layout artist
Kevin Kelm	....	lead character fx technical director
Jenna Kerr	....	visual effects coordinator
Si-Hyung Kim	....	character fx artist
Steven Kirchner	....	camera & layout artist
Mark Kobrin	....	character modeler
Ashley Koons	....	production coordinator: ImageMovers Digital
Ofer Koren	....	character technical director
Jarrod Kozeal	....	motion capture technician
Piotrek Krawczyk	....	associate cg supervisor
Jon Krummel	....	lighter
Christian Kubsch	....	general manager: imd
Brian Kulig	....	lighting supervisor
Jim Kundig	....	headcam supervisor
Dax LaFleur	....	character fx technical director
Robert Lariz	....	assistant technical director
Derrick Lau	....	performance layout technical director
Aaron M. Lawn	....	look development
Kerry Lee	....	lead layout td
Woei Lee	....	senior compositor
Hubert Leo	....	character fx technical director
Michael Leung	....	lighting and compositing
Dean Lewandowski	....	directors layout technical director
Mark Lipsmeyer	....	layout technical director
Richard Liukis	....	digital lighting and compositing artist
Christopher J. Logan	....	assistant technical director lighting/shading
Christopher J. Logan	....	lighting and compositing artist
Kimberly Lorang	....	hair and cloth technical director
Daniel Lowenberg	....	assistant technical director
Patrick Lowery	....	character animator
Andrew Lyons	....	senior effects tool developer
Euan K. MacDonald	....	supervising technical director
Marc Machuca	....	shot finishing artist/compositor
Steven J. Madonna	....	systems engineer
Andrea Maiolo	....	lead technical director
Paul A. Mais	....	technical director
Robert Marinic	....	senior look development td
Geordie Martinez	....	lead character finaler-rigger
Novaira Masood	....	production engineer
Lucy Maxian	....	character fx technical director
Vicky McCann	....	character fx technical director
David McGraw	....	production engineering technical director
Yvette Memory	....	digital production manager
David B. Menkes	....	look development
Clear Menser	....	senior vfx technical director
Michael A. Miller	....	hair and cloth supervisor
Damon Milman	....	senior technical director
Noah Mizrahi	....	character technical director
Betsy Mueller	....	lead lighting artist
Derek Nelson	....	lighting artist
Sue Nelson	....	visual effects artist
David Northcutt	....	character technical director
Chris Patrick O'Connell	....	cg modeler
Colleen O'Hagan	....	technical director
Jorge Obregon	....	lighting and compositing: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Christos Obretenov	....	look development
Maggie Oh	....	technical director
Michael Oregon	....	resource technical assistant
Scott Palleiko	....	senior lighting technical director: IMD
Josh Paller	....	technical director
Michael Vincent Palleschi	....	cg modeler
Jonathan D. Penney	....	technical director
Joel Pennington	....	lead motion capture technical director
Dave Preciado	....	motion editor
Reny Preussker	....	visual effects production assistant
Alex Prichard	....	lead lighting and compositing: ImageMovers Digital
Ralph Procida	....	senior compositor / lighting td
Osiris Pérez	....	lighting and compositing: Walt Disney Animation Studios
David Rand	....	senior effects technical director
Nate Reid	....	r&d developer
Ron Rhee	....	motion capture technician
Steve Rheinfrank	....	lead modeler
Matt Ridenour	....	resource technical assistant
Guy Riessen	....	digital matte painting supervisor
Gary Roberts	....	motion capture supervisor
Tracey Roberts	....	creature crew
Suzanne C. Robertson	....	motion capture production assistant
Ridley Roger	....	cg modeler
Ryan Rogers	....	lighting & compositing technical director
Ryan Rogers	....	lighting technical director
John Root	....	motion capture lead
Elliot Rosenstein	....	hair lead
Jason Rush	....	motion capture technical director
Jesse Russell	....	senior compositor: IMD
Derek Salemme	....	motion capture technician
Juwana Samman	....	lighting technical director
Nathan Santell	....	previsualization production manager: The Third Floor
James Sathre	....	assistant technical director: lighting/compositing
Jeremy Schichtel	....	motion capture technician
Lawrence Schlosser	....	production technology td
Janelle Schneider	....	surface/texture artist
Brett Schroeder	....	senior character animator
Sandra Scott	....	producer
Misty Segura	....	senior compositor
Anthony Shafer	....	stereoscopic supervisor
Damon Shelton	....	motion capture technical director
Ann Sidenblad	....	modeling supervisor
Bryan Silva	....	character modeler
Brett Skaggs	....	motion capture tracking assistant
Lisa Skinner	....	visual effects coordinator
Andrew B. Smith	....	motion capture technical director
Suzanne Smith	....	look development artist
Jon Speer	....	assistant technical director
Jeremy Squires	....	lighting and compositing
John Stillman	....	lighting lead
Justin Stockton	....	directors layout technical director
Frederick George Stuhrberg	....	3D scanning
Katelyn Takens	....	motion capture technical director
Chu Tang	....	look development lead
Gerald Tiu	....	senior production engineering technical director
Ellen Trinh	....	lighting technical director
Scott G. Trosclair	....	lighting and compositing artist
Bryan Trowbridge	....	assistant technical director: lighting/compositing
Ryan Tudhope	....	digital effects supervisor
Can Tuncer	....	senior modeler: Image Movers Digital
Chad Vernon	....	lead character technical director
Keven Viragh-Begert	....	motion capture technician
Eric Voegels	....	character fx technical director: ImageMovers Digital
Nick von Tagen	....	assistant technical director
Kelly Walsh	....	lighting and compositing artist
Michael M. Walsh	....	directors layout artist
Alex Wang	....	visual effects artist
Kevin Wang	....	motion capture editor
April Warren	....	director's layout technical director supervisor
Daniel James Weber	....	facial acquisition hardware technician: Gribble Entertainment
Shraga Weiss	....	character modeller
M. Alexander Weller	....	matte painter
Davy Wentworth	....	associate cg supervisor
Chris Wheeler	....	character technical director
Sean White	....	cloth/hair technical director
Kevin J. Williams	....	previs artist
Chris Winters	....	lighting lead
Brent Wong	....	modeler
Carolyn Wong	....	character fx technical director
Yuki Yamamura	....	modeler
Jason Yanofsky	....	digital compositor
Jason Yanofsky	....	lighting artist
Kwan Wayne Yu Yee	....	layout artist
Emre Yilmaz	....	character technical director
Zoe Aimee Zaitzeff	....	visual effects coordinator
Yi Zhao	....	lighting and compositing
Paolo Joel Ziemba	....	directors layout technical director
Michael Honrada	....	compositor: Matte World Digital (uncredited)
Siyu Song	....	resource technical assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Ilram Choi	....	stunt performer
Geo Corvera	....	stunt performer
Richard Epper	....	stunts
Colin Follenweider	....	utility stunts
Mark Ginther	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Shawn Kautz	....	stunts
Nito Larioza	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Brian Machleit	....	stunts
Mark Musashi	....	stunt performer
Tarah Paige	....	stunt double: Elisabeth Harnois
Justin Riemer	....	utility stunts
Jason Sanfilippo	....	stunt double: Seth Green
Frank Torres	....	stunts
Steve Upton	....	stunt rigger
Alicia Vela-Bailey	....	stunt double
Garrett Warren	....	stunt coordinator
Morgan Williams	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Brian Garbellini	....	camera operator
Dennis Hoerter	....	key grip: motion capture
Roger C. Johnson	....	video recordist
Joseph Lederer	....	still photographer
Maurice K. McGuire	....	camera operator
John Meyers	....	assistant camera
Dale Myrand	....	camera operator
Tony Olivieri	....	camera operator
Nick Paige	....	camera operator
Roberto A. Ramirez	....	grip
Christopher A. Schenck	....	camera operator
Jim Sheldon	....	still photographer
Benjamin Spek	....	camera operator
Victoria Tidmarch	....	additional assistant camera
Chris Wagganer	....	video engineer

Animation Department
Jimmy Almeida	....	lead animator
Jason Behr	....	animator
Jeremy Bolan	....	animator
Evelyn Botter	....	animator
Bryon Caldwell	....	animator
Kate Choi	....	senior lighter
Stéphane Couture	....	animation supervisor
Mike Dacko	....	animator
Cameron Folds	....	animator
Rena M. Fowler	....	animator
Oz Gani	....	animator
Traci Horie	....	animation lead: Image Movers Digital
Julie Jaros	....	animator
Keith Kellogg	....	animation supervisor
Dan Kunz	....	animator
David Latour	....	animator
Jax Lee	....	animator
Jean Lin	....	animator
Jonathan Lyons	....	animator
Brent D. Mason	....	motion capture specialist
Tom Meade	....	lead animation technical director
Yuhon Ng	....	animator
Gary Allan Parks	....	scene layout supervisor
Michael Parks	....	animator
Tal Peleg	....	animator
Brett Schroeder	....	character animator
David Shirk	....	animation supervisor
Dan Sukiennik	....	digital trainer: lighting & surfacing
Roland Vallet	....	animator
Alfonso Villar	....	senior generalist
Ryan Walker	....	animator
Kevin Wang	....	motion capture animator
Danny Wawrzaszek	....	animator

Casting Department
Toby Guidry	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anthony Almaraz	....	costume supervisor: mocap
Ashley Ellsworth	....	wardrobe
David Fernandez	....	key costumer
Shoghig Gagossian	....	mocap costume assistant
Erich A. Muller	....	costumer
Leticia Sandoval	....	specialty costumes
Stacy L. Tyson	....	set costumer
Carrie Ysais	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Logan Breit	....	associate editor
Jason Corgan Brown	....	digital asset manager (as Jason C. Brown)
R. Orlando Duenas	....	editorial consultant
Jason Fabbro	....	digital intermediate colorist
Ashley Farber	....	digital intermediate data manager
Bryan Lamoureux	....	assistant editor
Alison Learned Wolf	....	assistant editor
Bruce Lomet	....	digital intermediate producer
Ken O'Keefe	....	assistant editor
Justin Oliphant	....	assistant editor
Jessica Rubin	....	vfx editor
Nathan Schauf	....	digital preparation
Brett Schlaman	....	first assistant editor
Carin-Anne Strohmaier	....	assistant editor
Cameron Weaver	....	digital intermediate data manager
Everette Webber	....	digital intermediate editor
Dan Williams	....	digital intermediate assistant
Mark Sahagun	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator
Thomas A. Carlson	....	music editor
Beth Caucci	....	additional arranging, programming and orchestration
Beth Caucci	....	additional percussion
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Germaine Franco	....	orchestrator
Rick Giovinazzo	....	orchestrator
Michael Z. Gordon	....	composer: additional music
Paul S. Henning	....	musician: violin
Edie Lehmann	....	choral conductor
Edie Lehmann	....	vocal contractor
Dave Metzger	....	orchestrator
Michael John Mollo	....	additional arranging, programming and orchestration
Paul Mounsey	....	composer: additional music
Shawn Murphy	....	scoring mixer
Daniel Pinder	....	temp music editor
Fletcher Sheridan	....	playback singer
John Ashton Thomas	....	orchestrator
John Traunwieser	....	score mixing assistant
Gina Zimmitti	....	music contractor

Transportation Department
Robert Gaskill	....	driver
James A. Lundin	....	driver
Joel Marrow	....	transportation consultant
Graham Ready	....	transportation captain
Wayne Roberts	....	driver
Bobby Tacker	....	driver
Gary Thomas Williams	....	driver: Mr.Fogler (as Gary 'Little G' Williams)

Other crew
Donnalee Austen	....	scanning coordinator
David Binegar	....	production coordinator
Ana Birch	....	digital registrar
Laura C. Bowers	....	production coordinator
Cathleen Brown	....	clearances
Dannah Budny	....	assistant To Mr. Starkey
David Buehrle	....	production secretary
Kathryn Calogero	....	assistant: Mr. Rapke
Sarah Catizone	....	key set medic
Barry Curtis	....	production assistant
Patrick Danford	....	principal engineer
Paulette Dauber	....	unit publicist
Chris Davis	....	production assistant
Jennifer Davis	....	key office production assistant
Kirk Dunne	....	motion capture artist
Jamison Empey	....	post-production sound accountant
Rebecca Feldman	....	first assistant accountant (as Rebecca Feldman McLaughlin)
Kirby C. Fortenberry	....	second assistant accountant
Laura Gary	....	studio teacher
Susan Boylan Griffin	....	technical documentation
Jenn Grundstad	....	production assistant
Judith Jecmen	....	legal and business affairs
Kyoko Kageyama	....	travel coordinator
Stephen Kearin	....	creator: alien language
Ian Kelly	....	production video supervisor
Luca Kouimelis	....	script supervisor
Christie Kwan	....	assistant production coordinator
Tom Lafferty	....	director of information technology
Susanne Lariviere	....	production controller
Ryan Lasky	....	assistant to Jackie Levine
Buck Lindelof	....	production staff
Timothy McCormick	....	systems administrator
Mike McLaughlin	....	second assistant accountant
Christopher Medley-Pole	....	technical assistant
Allison Meriwether	....	assistant: Mr. Starkey
Jodi S. Miller	....	production coordinator
Crystal Munson	....	production assistant
Rich Murillo	....	systems administrator
Christopher S. Patterson	....	systems administrator
Joel Prihoda	....	motion capture crew
Angela Randazzo	....	payroll accountant
Julene Renee-Preciado	....	choreographer (as Julene Renee)
Matthew Richmond	....	assistant: Mr. Zemeckis
Michael Rose	....	creative executive
Cheryl Ann Sansonetti	....	production coordinator
Katherine Sauceda	....	senior systems engineer
Scott Sener	....	production assistant
Rosanna Server	....	recruiter
Clayton Shank	....	production assistant
Demetrios Skodras	....	assistant: Mr. Rapke
Erin Stern	....	set production assistant
Paula Stier	....	assistant production coordinator
Doug Swam	....	systems administrator
Spencer Taylor	....	office production assistant
David Tsao	....	storage architect
Amy Venghaus	....	production assistant
April Warren	....	puppeteer
Corie Zhang	....	production coordinator
Melissa Aouate	....	production executive (uncredited)
Thomas V. Thompson II	....	technology support: XGen (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Pictures (presents)
• ImageMovers Digital (presents)

Distributors

• Feelgood Entertainment (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Forum Hungary (2011) (Hungary) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Feelgood Entertainment (2011) (Greece) (DVD)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2011) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Fonco Creative Services (concept design)
• Matte World Digital (additional visual effects)
• Third Floor, The (previsualization)

Other Companies

• Café Joël  catering
• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables
• Dsire Design  official website design
• Intelligent Media  international monitoring agency
• Klass Security and Investigations  anti-piracy security
• Reel Chefs Catering  catering
• Rockbottom Rentals  walkie rentals
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Star Waggons  hair and make-up trailers
• Star Waggons  star trailers
• Walt Disney Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi action and peril

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS | Dolby (Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound)

Certification:

Malaysia:U | USA:PG (certificate #46530) | Singapore:PG | Ireland:PG | Japan:G | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Argentina:Atp | UK:PG | South Korea:All | Netherlands:6 | Peru:PT

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

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 (1968), which was intended to be made with the same motion capture technology used in "Mars Needs Moms".

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: The Adventures of Tintin (#5.1)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Slightly flawed, mildly entertaining

The average rating for this movie by professional film critics is about 3.0 out of 5 stars. That average is realistic. I would probably give it 6.5 out of 10 if I could, but I didn't feel it was as bad as movies I've given 6 out of 10 stars, so I gave it a 7 out of 10.

The movie uses motion-capture computer animation to apply more realistic textures and movements to its characters, following movies like A Christmas Carol (which wasn't as good), Beowulf (which was much better), and The Polar Express (also much better).

Mars Needs Moms features a plot that wasn't demographically targeted correctly. It features a boy who needs to rescue his mother from awkwardly humanoid-looking Martians, but boys that age are working very hard to separate themselves from needing their mothers. It is a very natural consequence of a male's life. So while the movie might appeal to mothers, I'm not sure it will appeal to boys.

The next problem, which exacerbates the previous one, is its timing. The studio made a big, big mistake trying to release it at the same time as Battle: Los Angeles, and only a week after Rango. Parents already took their kids to Rango the weekend before, and the dads really wanted to see Battle: Los Angeles (especially after being sorely disappointed with the similarly themed Skyline last Fall).

A lot of movies in January through March have been juggled around recently, causing all sorts of problems. Many movies were yanked from their original release dates and moved out later in the year. But Mars Needs Moms should have been released in early January. It would have fared a lot better. As it is, the movie has been a complete disaster at the Box Office. I fault Disney for the poor release strategy (they were only the distributor, not the actual producer of the movie), and Simon Wells for the rest.

There is also the point that a lot of viewers were troubled by the Martians themselves. I think Simon Wells could have had his animators design them a little more intelligently. They seemed awkward to me -- they were humanoid, but slightly differenced to a degree that some people found disagreeable: legs too far apart, butts too big, and legs like they were inflated with air. Mr. Wells also made the mistake of giving the male Martians dreadlocks-like hair, which has accidentally incited a lot of racist remarks, although racial nods was not intended. (People really need to stop being oversensitive. Grow some skin, please!)

There is an army of people flaming the movie, however, and the computer animation is at the core of their argument, which is very curious. One critic said, "Mars Needs Moms stands as the potentially final Zemeckis-produced motion-capture effort, and, like The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol before it, its characters boast the waxy complexions, unreal movements, and dead eyes of mannequins..." (Nick Schager, The Village Voice)

What the...? I'm confused here. What standard is this critic holding computer animated features to? I don't recall any waxy complexions or unreal movements or dead eyes of mannequins in any of these movies, or at least nothing that distracted me from the otherwise near photo-realistic computer animation that has only been around a few years. While they fall short of the realism of characters inserted into live action movies such as Peter Jackson's King Kong and Gollum, or George Lucas's Yoda in Star Wars episodes II & III, and certainly not the characters in Avatar, it didn't strike me as being a requirement in an animated feature to be THAT photo-realistic. Nobody complained about Shrek's movements being unrealistic or his eyes being dead as a mannequins, but clearly Shrek isn't being held to the same animation standard. What gives?

While I'm not going to defend Mars Needs Moms on every point, I don't understand the beating its taking from reviewers here at IMDb. It's a fairly average film from a director who isn't very good to begin with, with plotting that could have been better and could have been worse, and some character design that could have been more intelligent. But unfortunately there seems to be a subculture out there (probably made up of mostly teens, and maybe even competing film marketers and computer animation folk -- perhaps some Rango promoters attempting to keep its returns high in the second week) who are throwing one stars around IMDb with malignant glee. To give 1 out of 10 stars to this movie is dishonest, and an abuse of having a rating system in the first place. There were 404 people who gave A Bug's Life "1 star" for example, and 3,284 who gave Shrek "1 star." And so forth. Movies need to be rated with some perspective on similar movies.

Mars Needs Moms has some redeeming values. Not nearly as witty as Tangled or Shrek, but easier to understand and more enjoyable than Rango, which seemed to bore my two boys (4 and 7) whereas Mars Needs Moms entertained them. In all fairness, Rango was intended for slightly older children than mine, but I'm a pretty old child myself, with a lot more filmmaking, movie-going, and storytelling experience than the average IMDb reviewer, and I didn't find Rango nearly as brilliant as Johnny Depp's ground-worshipers claim.

My advice to you, if you haven't seen Mars Needs Moms, is ask your kid if he or she is interested, and if so, take them. Forget about what you hear about it on IMDb boards, it's likely tainted.