Mars Needs Moms
Mars Needs Moms | |
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Directed by | Simon Wells |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Mars Needs Moms! by Berkeley Breathed |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Robert Presley |
Edited by | Wayne Wahrman |
Music by | ImageMovers Digital |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $150 million[1][2] |
Box office | $39.2 million[1] |
Mars Needs Moms is a 2011 American animated
Mars Needs Moms premiered at the
Plot
Unbeknownst to humans, there is a thriving, technologically sophisticated society of
Later that night, Milo goes to apologize, but discovers his mom is taken away. He runs after her, but they end up in separate parts of the Martian spaceship. On Mars, Milo is taken to an underground prison cell. He escapes and is chased by the Supervisor's henchmen, but he follows a voice that tells him to jump down a chute, and lands in a lower subterranean level. There, he sees a trash-covered landscape that is inhabited by furry creatures.
Milo is whisked away by the creatures to meet Gribble, also known as George Ribble, the childlike adult human who had told him to jump down the chute. Gribble explains to Milo that the Martians plan to extract Milo's mom's memories at sunrise, using a process that will kill her. Gribble, who is lonely and does not want Milo to leave, pretends to help Milo find his mother. His plan goes awry, leading to Gribble being captured and Milo being chased by the Supervisor's henchmen. Milo is rescued by Ki, one of the supervisors who raise Martian babies. Milo tells her about his search for his Mom and what a human relationship with a mom is like, as Ki and her kin were mentored by only nanny-bots and supervisors and do not know of love.
Milo returns to Gribble's home but finds him missing. Gribble's robotic spider, Two-Cat, takes Milo to the Martian compound where Gribble is being prepared for
Milo, Gribble, and Ki save Milo's mom just before sunrise, causing the energy of the extraction device to short out the electronic locks to the control room. This lets the adult males and babies enter, where they run amok, attacking the guards and robots. Milo and his mom steal oxygen helmets and try to escape across the Martian surface, but the Supervisor, while attempting to kill them, causes Milo to trip and his helmet shatters. His mom gives him her own helmet, saving Milo but causing herself to suffocate in the planet's air. The Martians are awed, as this is the first time they have seen love. Gribble finds his own mother's helmet and gives it to Milo's mom, saving her. Milo apologizes to his mom for his earlier words and the two reconcile. Ki brings a ship for them to escape in, but the Supervisor intervenes. Ki argues that Martians were meant to be raised in families, with love, but the Supervisor insists that the current situation is better because, to her, it is more efficient. The henchmen realize the Supervisor's cruel nature and arrest her, deciding that they now prefer the loving vision of family life, and the other Martians celebrate.
Milo, his mom, Gribble, Ki, and Two-Cat travel back to Earth. Gribble decides not to stay because he wants to pursue a relationship with Ki on Mars. Milo and his mom return home just before Milo's dad arrives.
Cast
- Seth Green as Milo (performance capture), a 9-year-old boy who has a strained relationship with his mother
- Seth Dusky as Milo (voice)
- Dan Fogler as Gribble, a man-child human who lives beneath Mars and befriends Milo
- Elisabeth Harnois as Ki, an English-language-knowing martian who defects from the Supervisor and teams up with Milo and Gribble
- Mindy Sterling as The Supervisor, the owner and ruler of the Martians who seek to capture children's moms, extract their "mom-ness", and implant it into nanny-bots
- Joan Cusack as Milo's mother, who has a strained relationship with her son and is taken away by Martians
- Kevin Cahoon as Wingnut, a male martian and one of Gribble's friends
- Dee Bradley Baker as Two-Cat (voice), Gribble's bug-like robot assistant
- Tom Everett Scott as Milo's father
- Raymond, Robert, and Ryan Ochoa as Martian Hatchlings
- Matthew Henerson, Adam Jennings, Stephen Kearin, Amber Gainey Meade, Aaron Rapke, Julene Renee, Kirsten Severson, and Matthew Wolf as Martians
Production
Simon Wells had known Robert Zemeckis since the mid-1980s, having worked on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), and The Polar Express (2004).[4] The production designer was Doug Chiang, and the supervising art director was Norm Newberry.[5] The title of the film (and to an extent, the source material) is a twist on the title of American International Pictures' 1966 film Mars Needs Women.
The makers came up with their own alien language.[6] In developing the language, all of the actors spent a day where they recorded different interpretations of a list of words; the producers picked their favorite interpretations from that recording and put them in a book documenting the fictional language for the actors to speak.[7]
Elisabeth Harnois stated in an interview that she and the cast were given scenarios by Wells to which they acted out responses in improvised Martian language.[8]
Seth Green described doing the motion-capture as physically demanding work: "A lot of running, jumping, falling, hitting, spinning. I wore a harness for, like, 85 percent of the movie. It was uncomfortable."
For the auditions, Kevin Cahoon performed two scenes, including the ending; he recalled the instructions saying, "create your Martian language and play the scene."
In 2020, Brie Larson revealed via YouTube that she had auditioned for the character Ki, who was eventually portrayed by Elisabeth Harnois.[11]
Release
Mars Needs Moms was released in theaters on March 11, 2011.[12] The film's premiere was held at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on March 6, 2011.[13]
Home media
Mars Needs Moms was released on
Reception
Box office
Mars Needs Moms was a box-office bomb, and the worst financial loss for a Disney-branded film. It grossed $1,725,000 on its first day, and its opening weekend earnings added up to $6,825,000.
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 37% approval rating with an average rating of 5.00/10 based on 116 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The cast is solid and it's visually well-crafted, but Mars Needs Moms suffers from a lack of imagination and heart."[26] On Metacritic, the film had a score of 49 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[28]
The Sydney Morning Herald labeled the motion-capture animation superior to Avatar (2009), and while noting the story had "pure Disney cheese", Wells "thankfully know[s] precisely when to inject action and humour when the mush-o-meter approaches the red."[29]
Some critics favorably compared the set design to
Entertainment Weekly positively described the film as a children's movie version of Avatar: "Enhanced by nimble ad-libbing from the comedy-trained cast, the screenplay is delightful, by turns funny and emotional, as befits a Disney family fable in which, through wacky adversity, Mom and kid reaffirm their love for each other while Dad is nowhere in sight. (He's not dead, just away on business.) And with its splendid use of computer-generated motion-capture animation and 3-D effects, the movie is also visually magnificent — modestly so."
Lael Loewenstein of Variety magazine gave the film a mixed review and called it "A modestly enjoyable performance-capture creation bearing the unmistakable imprint of producer Robert Zemeckis."[5] In addition to acclaiming the visuals, SFX also opined gave some praises towards the writing "there are some good laughs, it's pacy enough to whizz us on by the sometimes repetitive narrative [...] and although it's hard to see little boys admitting that they really do love their mummies – as much as the film wants them to – Mars Needs Moms does provoke a few lumps in older throats, for all you may decry its mawkish Stateside sensibilities."[36]
Nick Schager of The Village Voice was very harsh; panning the "rubbery", "unreal", and "unsettling" character animation, which he called a "jarring dissonance" with the science fiction setting; and the stealing of common tropes in other well-known science fiction films. He also noted a major plot hole, specifically Supervisor's stealing of mothers' disciplinary skills for use on technological devices: "The plot thus hinges on a fundamental illogicality, since the chief differentiating characteristic between mothers and machines isn't discipline but compassion."[37] William Thomas of Empire gave the film a two out of five stars, saying, "An uninvolving mo-cap adventure that's well below par. Marvin the Martian would be unhappy to share his planet with this bunch."[38]
Some reviewers questioned the film's moral about well-behaved kids having their very good mothers taken by aliens.[39][37]
Accolades
Mars Needs Moms received a nomination for a Movieguide Award for Best Film for Family Audiences;[40] while John Powell's work on it, Rio (2011), and Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) garnered him a nomination for the 2011 World Soundtrack Award for Film Composer of the Year.[41]
See also
- List of biggest box-office bombs
- List of films set on Mars
- List of films featuring extraterrestrials
- Mars in fiction
References
- ^ a b "Mars Needs Moms (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
- ^ Kaufman, Amy (March 10, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Battle: Los Angeles' will rule, 'Mars Needs Moms' will bomb". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 17, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
- ^ Finke, Nikki (March 12, 2010). "Disney Closing Zemeckis' Digital Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- Twitch Film. Archived from the originalon November 11, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ a b Loewenstein, Lael (March 8, 2011). "Review: 'Mars Needs Moms'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
- ^ "Mars Needs Moms - Productions Notes". Cinemareview.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Cortez, Carl (March 8, 2011). "Exclusive Interview: MARS NEEDS MOMS actor Kevin Cahoon gets a kick out playing a sidekick". Assignment X. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ "Mars Needs Moms Interview - Elisabeth Harnois". Trailer Addict. March 5, 2011. Archived from the original on March 16, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- Movieguide. Archivedfrom the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Kaufman, Amy (March 8, 2011). "Seth Green moves, but doesn't speak, in 'Mars Needs Moms'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^ "Brie Larson: AUDITION STORYTIME! (pt. 2)". YouTube. September 3, 2020. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ Stewart, Andrew (March 9, 2010). "Disney sets date for 'Mars'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ^ ""Mars Needs Moms" World Premiere". December 13, 2012. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ "Mars Needs Moms Blu-ray 3D Release Date and Pre-Orders". The HD Room. May 6, 2011. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Gallagher, Brian (May 6, 2011). "Mars Needs Moms 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD Arrive August 9th". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Mars Needs Moms 2D and 3D Blu-rays". Blu-ray.com. May 6, 2011. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ DuHamel, Brandon (May 7, 2011). "Mars Needs Moms Travels to Blu-ray, 3D and DVD in August". Blu-ray Definition. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ "'Mars Needs Moms' Lands on Disney 3D Blu-ray/DVD on August 9; Includes 3D Exclusive Bonus Scene". Stitch Kingdom. May 6, 2011. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ Young, John (March 13, 2011). "Box office report: 'Battle: Los Angeles' conquers all with $36 mil". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks (March 13, 2011). "'Mars Needs Moms' ... and Paying Customers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
- ^ "Worst Openings at the Box Office for 3,000+ Theatres". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ Ben Riley-Smith (March 21, 2011). "'Mars Needs Moms': does flop mean 3D is history?". thefirstpost.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 23, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (March 14, 2011). "Why Disney's 'Mars Needs Moms' Bombed". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ Eller, Claudia (January 15, 2014). "The costliest box office flops of all time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks (March 14, 2011). "Many Culprits in Fall of a Family Film". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
- ^ "Mars Needs Moms (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019., accessed October 10, 2020.
- ^ "Mars Needs Moms Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 17, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019. Accessed October 10, 2020.
- ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Schembri, Jim (April 13, 2011). "Mars Needs Moms". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ Screen Daily. Archivedfrom the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ Adams, Thelma (March 8, 2011). "Mars Needs Moms". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on March 13, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Honeycutt, Kirk (March 8, 2011). "Mars Needs Moms: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- Time Out New York. Archived from the originalon March 12, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (March 10, 2011). "Mars Needs Moms". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Hale, Mike (March 11, 2011). "Mars, Moms and More". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Berriman, Ian (April 8, 2011). "Mars Needs Moms – Film review". SFX. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Schager, Nick (March 9, 2011). "Curse of the Mummy in Mars Needs Moms". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ "Mars Needs Moms". Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
- ^ Meek, Tom (March 10, 2011). "Review: Mars Needs Moms". The Phoenix. Archived from the original on March 19, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ "Awards". Movieguide Awards. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ "Film Composer of the Year". World Soundtrack Awards. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
External links
- Official website
- Mars Needs Moms at IMDb
- Mars Needs Moms at the TCM Movie Database
- Mars Needs Moms at the Big Cartoon Database
- Mars Needs Moms at AllMovie
- Mars Needs Moms at Rotten Tomatoes
- Mars Needs Moms at Metacritic
- Pictures of the scoring sessions of Mars Needs Moms at Scoringsessions.com