MOVIE NEWS: Mars Needs Moms

Remember January and February, you guys? Remember how there were almost no movies at all released for kids in either month? Well, those times are long gone. We’re officially back into “Kid Movie Season”! Last week we talked about Rango, we’ll be talking about Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules in a couple weeks, and today we get to talk about Mars Needs Moms. I got a chance to see the new Disney flick earlier this week, and I’m here to share some thoughts.

The movie centres around Milo. He’s a pretty average kid with average problems — he doesn’t like eating his broccoli, taking out the trash… or, really, taking any orders at all. Especially not from his mom. But all that changes when Martians swoop in on a spaceship to kidnap her so that they can use her to teach robots how to raise young Martians. (Sound weird? Well, it kind of is! Also: young Martians are born right from the ground, so they don’t have moms of their own.)

Anyway, Milo sneaks onto the spaceship to get his mom back, but accomplishing that feat will be anything but easy — especially after they all take off for Mars. He’ll need a little luck and a lot of help from some new friends. But that’s all I’ll say!

Here are a few observations about the movie:

1) It’s techno-rific. Not only does this film feature tons of cool Martian gadgets (such as headset translators, handheld projectors, etc.), but it was made using motion-capture technology. You may remember this tech from such films as Polar Express and Disney’s A Christmas Carol. As I said in my review of A Christmas Carol way back when, “motion capture is the process of recording live movement and turning it into digital images. Like this.”

2) It’s not like Mars Needs Moms, the book. I’m not sure if you guys know the picture book this movie is based on, but if you do, don’t go to the theatre expecting a faithful adaptation. Pretty much everything that happens after Milo hits Mars is completely different. But, as we’ve seen with such wonderful flicks as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and How to Train Your Dragon, that’s not always a bad thing. Which brings me to…

3) It’s thrilling. That’s not really something you can say about the source material, but it’s absolutely true for the movie. Chase scenes, scenes of imminent peril, falling, flying, swinging from crazy techno-ropes… it’s all here. Note: if you have a fear of heights, maybe avoid seeing this in 3-D. (And definitely avoid seeing it in IMAX 3-D.) A lot of this movie takes place underground. Way underground.

Overall, I think this movie will satisfy fans looking for a sci-fi good time (or should I say “a sci-fine time”?). It’s got a lot of action, a few laughs, and some good messages (ie. be grateful for your parents!).

If you see this movie, come back here and let me know what you thought in the comments.

Have a great weekend!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com