Transported to Barsoom, a Civil War vet discovers a barren planet seemingly inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Woola and a princess in desperate need of a savior.
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John Carter, a Civil War veteran, who in 1868 was trying to live a normal life, is "asked" by the Army to join, but he refuses so he is locked up. He escapes, and is pursued. Eventually they run into some Indians, and there's a gunfight. Carter seeks refuge in a cave. While there, he encounters someone who is holding some kind of medallion. When Carter touches it, he finds himself in a place where he can leap incredible heights, among other things. He later encounters beings he has never seen before. He meets a woman who helps him to discover that he is on Mars, and he learns there's some kind of unrest going on.Written by
rcs0411@yahoo.com
Mario Kassar had the project at Disney in the 1980s, but it was also listed under his development projects during his deal at Paramount in the mid-'90s. In 2004--when the project was still known as "A Princess of Mars" after the book on which it's based--Robert Rodriguez had originally been signed and announced as director and had begun pre-production early that year (it would have been his largest project to date, with starting budget reported at $100 million). Rodriguez' most notable contribution was to hire fantasy painter Frank Frazetta (whose most acclaimed works have included striking illustrations of Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, most notably the "John Carter on Mars" books) as production designer. However, when Rodriguez resigned from the Directors' Guild of America (DGA) the same year (due to a dispute over his film Sin City (2005)), Paramount was forced to replace him. The studio has a long-standing arrangement with the DGA in which only the organization's members may direct Paramount films. He was replaced with Kerry Conran, who had just finished Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004). In 2005 Conran left the project and was replaced by Jon Favreau just before the release of Favreau's movie Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005); Favreau was on-board to direct until around August 2006. At that time Paramount chose not to renew the film rights, preferring to focus on Star Trek (2009), and Favreau left to work on Iron Man (2008). In January 2007 Disney regained the rights (it had rights to film the story previously: in the 1980s with director John McTiernan), and enlisted Andrew Stanton from Pixar to direct. See more »
Goofs
Carter's Confederate record states that he was "decorated six times, including the Southern Cross of Honor." In fact, the Confederacy never issued medals and only added a few names to a "Roll of Honor." The Southern Cross of Honor was a memorial recognition created by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in the late 1890s, 30 years after the Confederacy was disbanded. See more »
Quotes
Dejah Thoris:
In the Hall of Science.
John Carter:
And where's that?
Dejah Thoris:
[chuckles, while smiling with her head down]
Helium.
John Carter:
[Carter becomes angry, thinking that Dejah is still trying to convince him to go to Helium]
Then quick! Let's just head on turn on back to Helium.
[Carter grabs Dejah's arm in anger]
John Carter:
What do you take me for?
Dejah Thoris:
I take you for a man who's lost!
John Carter:
I won't be lost if you just tell me how to work this thing!
Dejah Thoris:
I will! But everything I need to understand the medallion is in Helium. I'm trying to get you back to your cave ...
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
At the end of the movie, a title card comes up that says John Carter of Mars. See more »
John Carter of Mars was an epic. A detailed story, written in a time when pulp fiction was a cultural phenomenon like today's epic superhero movies. This is not a wham bam in your face Avengers movie, but a grand epic with a tribute to one of the greatest American writers of his time: Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Thank you Disney for your bold efforts. Sales might be the standard of today, but in the hearts of John Carter fans this was a great movie. Put to the screen with taste, class, and detail that will let this story live on. May your efforts be rewarded with continued sales as this movie finds its way toward cult status.
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John Carter of Mars was an epic. A detailed story, written in a time when pulp fiction was a cultural phenomenon like today's epic superhero movies. This is not a wham bam in your face Avengers movie, but a grand epic with a tribute to one of the greatest American writers of his time: Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Thank you Disney for your bold efforts. Sales might be the standard of today, but in the hearts of John Carter fans this was a great movie. Put to the screen with taste, class, and detail that will let this story live on. May your efforts be rewarded with continued sales as this movie finds its way toward cult status.