Ej Cabrera

(2012-05-02 14:34:53)

the movie is about MILO who tries to rescue his mom from the martians.

OK. i don't get the people disliking this movie. i actually made anaccount on IMDb just to save this film from the reviews.first of all, its Disney. so how bad can it be? second, yes it wasreleased competing to other family movies. but i tell you, the moviewas good.and lastly, lets not talk about MARS NEEDS MOM, because the value thismovie tells us is EARTH KIDS THAT HATED THEIR MOM FOR NAGGING AND MAKETHEM DO THIS AND THAT, WOULD TOTALLY MISS THEIR MOM IF THEY WEREKIDNAPPED.i actually almost shed a tear and missed my mom with this movie.

Matthew Pejkovic

(2012-05-02 00:12:28)

Visually arresting and emotionally rich, Mars Needs Moms is another animated triumph from a rejuvenated Disney Animation.

(2012-04-28 11:43:23)

3D draws you in

watched on Vudu in 3D and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. In 2D it would have been a let down, but 3D draws you in. Who says good 3D doesnt help a so-so 2D movie ?

David Edwards

(2012-04-28 08:57:14)

Good looks are about the only thing going for it.

sallysunrise

(2012-04-26 11:54:04)

Wonderful sci-fi animation with a heartfelt story!

I don't usually like 3D movies because the 3D glasses aren'tcomfortable to wear over my own glasses, however the 3D animation inthis movie was so good that it was well worth the hassle of theglasses. My husband and I found both found the animation to berealistic, with fabulous detail. Also the settings were so interesting,with an other-worldly feel to it. Of course, great animation alone isnot enough; the story has to also be good. Mars Needs Moms isfast-paced, warm-hearted, amusing, and very pro-family. What's not tolike? (Well, my husband said it was a little too sentimental for histaste.) I want to see it again. I will definitely buy this when itcomes out on DVD!

(2012-04-26 01:18:11)

F -

This is the movie that killed the film company ImageMovers Digital. Rated the biggest flop in motion picture history, hated by critics, shunned by theater audiences, I knew I just had to watch it and decide for myself just how bad it was (or wasn't). Unfortunately, the negative hype didn't do it justice, how many kid flicks do you know that feature a firing squad? Slapstick and murder, (they wisely left out show tunes); this was the most off-putting cartoon I've ever seen.The plot was a bizarre choice: a vicious matriarchal society on Mars needs to kidnap and kill Earth moms in order to "train" their one-shot nanny-bots to care for their infants. Male Martians are disposable, relegated to the depths beneath Mars. If there was a message to be had, it blew right by me. I couldn't get past the creepy looking Milo character that looked exactly like Seth Green, only with a squashed face. I couldn't find even one redeeming quality. Bad idea, bad movie, no way am I ever going to watch it again, wish I could expunge the viewing from my brain.

Keith Phipps

(2012-04-20 20:39:07)

An entertaining, accomplished movie that shows off what its signature technology can do...

Dan Gear

(2012-04-20 10:23:14)

Infused with a half-baked psychedelic ethos, incorporating some rather incongruous imagery that is supposed to tie in with its simple-minded politics regarding ideas of child rearing and gender roles.

Jason Gary

(2012-04-19 02:42:34)

Hipsters need review catharsis

I'm astounded at how much I liked this film. It's not that Mars NeedsMoms was a crowning achievement in cinema, but my surprise derives fromthe film's abysmal IMDb score -- which has provided only more evidencethat IMDb reviewers and critics are either unduly harsh, or simplyabusing a clearly fallible rating system.That's right: I'm implying that a good many hipsters andfaux-intellectuals out there actually exploit community rating systemssuch as IMDb's as a means of expressing generic angst and/or exactingmisguided vengeance against... some random institution (children'smovies must die!). Still others believe there are only two ratingsworth giving: Anything adapted from a graphic novel gets a 10, andwhatever *isn't* laden with cell-shading gets a solid 1. Gray areas?Are there gray areas in Watchmen? No, it was colorful and woah-my-god!This isn't a binary rating system, people.Many cite the lack of any plot or character arcs for their negativereview, to which I respond, "huh?" It has both. I don't know how todefend an obvious fact, other than to provide spoilers (so I won't).Another unfounded, common complaint is that the film's Martians are"weird." I suppose this one is up to the individual, but I can'tbelieve such overwhelming throngs of reviewers actually take issue withthe shape of Martians in what is essentially a cartoon (not to mentiona cartoon that takes place in a fictional world). I didn't seedisparaging concern over hobbits' massive feet, inexplicableliabilities from an evolutionary standpoint; nor did I see complaintsover the aliens in Star Wars or Star Trek -- and I'm sure we can allagree that some of them were just outright silly. You'll find that a majority of criticism over this film hinges aroundsuch nagging, straw-grabbing minutia.Among the bigger quasi-valid complaints is that the film downplays therole of fathers and that men aren't central to the film. I would arguethat the entire film revolves around bringing father *back* into thepicture. Without offering spoilers, the ultimate message of the filmespouses the virtues of family and love, not exclusively those ofmothers. Reference the cave painting and the climactic "hairy" revoltfor evidence of male importance and for a foreshadowing of where Marsis headed in the future.Mars Needs Moms is cute, relatively well-written, and absolutely worththe average family's time. It's certainly not perfect, but it kept mykids interested while simultaneously entertaining me. The acting isactually very tight and comedy is well- timed, albeit somewhat dry(think Arrested Development timing and execution). The animation isabove-average, and all characters have distinguishable, fleshed-outpersonalities, despite other reviewers' scornful remarks.Give the film a shot. Watch it with an open mind, and you won't bedisappointed (unless you are expecting perfection/graphic novelcell-shading).

(2012-04-18 15:57:14)

Complete Package: Action Packed, Emotional, Funny

This review is from: Mars Needs Moms (DVD) "Mars Needs Moms" turned out to be MUCH more than we thought it would be. WOW! What a ride! It was exhilarating from the start. The movie had humor, action, emotion, and lots of good-feelings. The message was strong... as well as many other adult messages that could be points of conversation later. We all loved the movie and want to see it again and again. Very well thought-out and produced. We are surprised it didn't do better in the theaters. By the way, seeing it on a big screen would be optimal as the imagery is awesome. Regardless, a great flick for the entire family :)

ajy1

(2012-04-15 06:27:17)

Will become a cult classic in time....

MARS NEEDS MOMS was a nice surprise. It certainly is not the "kids"film that they marketed....I'd say it's target aud is prob. a slightlyolder one. It's really a sci-fi adventure that's about alien abductionan...d enslavement, a pretty dark ...theme for a movie. Also some thedialogue is pretty wacky, references to botox and street art. One ofthe characters is an alien that learned English through a "PartridgeFamily" type show so they call her a hippie alien. The landscapes arequite awe-inspiring and the usage of 3D here makes absolute sense. Theclimax of the film was jaw dropping too, I was really surprised thatthey would try and go there....would be pretty disturbing for youngkids. The end credits feature some action motion capture footage andit's pretty amazing what physicality the actors go through for theprocess.

brandfam

(2012-04-14 16:48:21)

Pretty good movie

I think all the bad reviews of this movie are sad. I thought this was awonderful family movie. Me and my kids loved it!! My kids are 8 and 10.Some of the other reviews mentioned violence and there is nothingviolent about this movie. There are a FEW moments of martians shootingat humans, but nobody gets shot, wounded or killed. Not even themartians get shot, wounded or killed. Thats not what this movie wasabout!! This is a great movie that was worth going to see. It's aboutlove and understanding that parents and kids share. All the otherpeople that picked this movie apart and tore apart Disney should beashamed of themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a family movie, that wasmade by Disney and mention's Disneyland once in it. Big deal! What kiddoesn't talk about Disneyland, even if they have not been there? Myfamily would go see this again for sure. And to think we almost didn'tgo because of all the bad reviews . Very, very sad.

(2012-04-10 14:27:26)

Great

This review is from: Mars Needs Moms (DVD) Movie plays good and received as described and it was received quick; just as expected! My kids loved it, they've seen it like 10 times already!

Neil Welch

(2012-04-10 04:15:29)

Misjudged

I understand that Mars Needs Moms has tanked at the US box office and,to be brutal, I can quite see why.The basic idea is fine - young Milo's mother is kidnapped by Martians,and he stows away to rescue her (he's having a guilt attack because hesaid some nasty stuff to her). The Martians kidnap a good Earth momonce every generation and use her memories of child-rearing to programthere robo-nanniee. Unfortunately, this kills the Earth mom, so Miloonly has a few hours to rescue his mother, with the aid of Gribble (achunky and rather strange human) and Ki, a Martian female who haslearnt English from bad 70s TV programmes, received in the course ofsurveillance to select an appropriate mom. Perfectly good stuff for afamily film.Character design is fine. Martian babies look like a cross betweenCabbage Patch Dolls and chimps. Martian men are like rastas. AndMartian women - well, if the question is "Do my thighs look big inthis?", the answer is "Oh yes, my dear, they certainly do." The humanslook OK, except they have that not quite alive look which inhabitsrealistic-looking CGI people.But there are two major snags. The first is that the film takes placealmost entirely in darkness. All exteriors are at night, and allinteriors are in places which are only dimly lit. There are a fewpoints where bright colour is splashed across the screen and, while Iam perfectly aware that the contrast is one of the reasons for thedarkness, the visual dimness remains considerably overdone. Also, itcompletely sucks away the effectiveness of the 3D - something dark,against a dark background, isn't easily perceivable in 3D.More to the point is the fact that this movie is too grown up for kids,and too childish for grownups, and therefore satisfies neitheraudience.Voice talent is fine - Joan Cusack is, as always, excellent, SethGreen's voice is effectively tweaked down to kids' level, and Dan Fogelirritates (although I think that is the fault of his character).Elizabeth Harnois' Ki is fun, both visually and vocally.This film is by no means a disaster but, equally, it is far from asuccess, and its box office failure is understandable and justified.

Rich Cline

(2012-04-05 08:27:16)

It's enjoyable enough, but a live-action movie with a better script would have been much more engaging

Lou Lumenick

(2012-04-04 17:20:38)

Aside from a relatively brief appearance by Joan Cusack's avatar as the kidnapped mother, there are no involving characters or situations.

dogsoldier_spoon-1

(2012-04-04 05:45:31)

Mars Needs Mom - A Review

Well, let me first start by saying that I wasn't particularly lookingforward to this film. The plot sounded fairly familiar (kids having torescue a parent/parents) and I was guessing this could be another TheWild (which still had its moments but wasn't really that good a movie).But I eventually saw it anyway and well, it was surprising.As you can read at the summary section it's about a kid named Milo. Hismom gets abducted by Martians to learn their nanny-robots how to takecare of children. Milo ends up in the spaceship and tries to rescue hismom, finding help along the way. It sounds clichГѓВ© and not veryinteresting, right? Not to mention that the marketing didn't do a verygood job at promoting this movie.But in all fairness, this movie is actually quite good. I'm usually nota big fan of this kind of animation, but must admit that it lookedreally well in this movie. They're gradually getting better. I rememberseeing Monster House and the Polar Express a couple of years ago andthe animation bothered me. The characters looked weird and somethingabout the movements never seemed right. This movie does it a lot betterand it never bothered me a single bit. I actually thought the animationlooked great. The people who saw this in 3D might have had anotherexperience of course, but I'm speaking from a non 3D perspective here.The characters and their voice acting was great. Dan Fogler gives agreat performance as Gribble and has a moment in which he actuallymoves me. That came as a total surprise since I've only seen this guydo comedies. I never expected that he would bring a scene this well.Mindy Sterling shouts the same way she does in the Austin Powers filmand that's always great too. I guess that Seth Green's voice wasn'tkiddie enough for a movie like this, but at least he still did themovements. Whoever the kid is, he sounded alright. As for the characterKi, the alien hippie, well another total surprise. I often dislike thetype of character that tries to be cool, make unfunny jokes and use acertain type of 'slang' (I guess). Ki, however, was an adorablecharacter and she actually was funny, I liked the performance.The story is honestly very predictable. You could often tell what wasgoing to happen a couple of minutes before it actually happened. But ifyou can ignore that and some weird plot holes (why are there 2 aliengenders if they don't need each other to make kids?) you'll find thestory pretty entertaining. It's god a couple of jokes, plenty of actionand some emotional scenes. It's a standard formula but that's notalways necessary bad. Especially considering it's a kid's movie. Iwasn't bored for a minute and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Other things to mention? Well I guess the soundtrack was okay, nothingspecial but nothing really bad as well. It's not a laugh out loud film,but the jokes are okay and well at least we don't really get many fartjokes.As you can probably read on various places, there are people who takethe movie way too seriously. They think this film carries an antifeminist message and that a real family needs a mother and father.Women who choose careers over children are evil! Well, those peopleclearly take this film way too seriously and are overall incorrect. Themovie's main message is that a family needs love. They're not sayingthat they need a father (actually Milo's father is pretty much absentfrom the film except for the beginning). They're not saying that womenshould stay at home and abandon their careers (it's not even said thatMilo's mom doesn't have a job, who says she doesn't?). It's not sayingthat a society run by women is evil (the other female aliens quicklychanged opinions when they learned about family. Hell, the only evilone is a dictator and whether male or female, dictators are never agood thing) And it's not saying that men are worthless. Actually thelatter two are an immediate result of a society of aliens grown upwithout being raised by a real parent. There was only one and she waskinda crazy). It's about children loving their parents and parentsloving their children. It's a film about that crazy love thing. And ifpeople can't appreciate that, well fine for them. I loved this film andwill see it again. Call me tasteless, call me a sexist, I don't care.The film was great and it had heart. Why I gave it an 8? I compare it only to the genre of animated films.You can't compare this film to the Godfather or the Dark Knight (and ifI would, it would of course drop quite some points). But it was a goodanimated film that children can enjoy. Ignore the bad critics and givethis movie a chance. Because let's face it, opinions are different. Sosit down and make up your own mind, like you always should.

Michael Phillips

(2012-04-03 21:44:49)

The tone baffles and wobbles. This is one of the least visually appealing films ever to go out under the Disney banner.

(2012-04-03 14:31:16)

Fun but could use more material!

This review is from: Mars Needs Moms (DVD) A fun and enjpyable movie but seemed to be lacking in clear direction of where it is going or trying to provide to the viewer. I think that the younger < 13 groups will enjoy this a great deal more than anyone older.

j-stewart

(2012-04-03 00:43:04)

Cant believe all the negative reviews

I wasn't going to watch this movie at all because of the terribly lowscore (4) on IMDb. Luckily, my kids talked me into it, and I was verypleasantly surprised indeed.I am amazed that this movie scored so low. Yes, granted, its nothinggroundbreaking; there are plenty of well-worn formulas applied. But itsfar from unusual in this regard, and the story is full of funsituations and characters.Visually, its very nice to look at, and I found myself thoroughlyenjoying the time I spent watching it. So did my kids, 8 and 10, whoboth thought it was great! I don't usually review movies here, but Ioften check the ratings before watching films. In this instance, I amamazed at the low rating this film received, and feel itsunrepresentative of the actual quality.So 7/10 from me, and really at a loss as to how almost 30% of viewerscould have possibly thought 1/10 was a fair rating!