Rating: PG
Starring:
Seth Green as Milo
Seth Robert Dusky as the voice of Milo
Dan Fogler as Gribble
Elisabeth Harnois as Ki
Joan Cusack as Milo’s Mom
Mindy Sterling as The Supervisor
Dee Bradley Baker as Two-Cat
Kevin Cahoon as Wingnut
James Earl Jones as Ja Mi
Breckin Meyer as Spangro
Billy Dee Williams as Myzic
Tom Everett Scott as Milo’s Dad
Directed by Simon Wells
Special Features:
Blu-ray(TM) Feature Film + Bonus Deleted Scenes + DVD Feature Film + Bonus
Extended Opening (Blu-ray 2D Exclusive): The movie begins… but wait, there’s more. See it here.
Deleted Scenes with Simon Wells introductions (4 Blu-ray 2D Exclusive Deleted Scenes): 7 deleted scenes of which four are exclusive to the Blu-ray 2D release. Some cool scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. Now you can see them with introductions by director Simon Wells.
Life On Mars: The Full Motion-Capture Experience (Blu-ray 2D Exclusive): Go way behind the scenes to the ‘space’ where the actors’ performances are captured. This feature-length, picture-in-picture viewing mode also lets you listen to director Simon Wells and actors Seth Green and Dan Fogler give a fun and insightful look into creating the movie
Martian 101: Do you speak Martian? Go behind the scenes and see how the producer and cast came up with their own unique Martian language. Then learn how to speak it yourself with lessons from a leading Martian language expert
“Fun With Seth” The cast and crew had a galaxy of fun making “Mars Needs Moms,” thanks to the on-set antics of Seth Green and Dan Fogler. Watch them do the ROM dance see them compete to see who can do their verbal ROM the fastest, and much more.
“Flower Power” Easter Egg: the hippy sitcom that Ki loved and learned her dated English from
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.40:1)
7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Sound
French and Spanish Languages
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 88 Minutes
The Details:
The following is the official description of the film:
“From Disney and Academy Award-winner Robert Zemeckis (best director, ‘Forrest Gump,’ 1994) comes the craziest adventure this side of the galaxy ‘Mars Needs Moms.’ Take out the trash, eat your broccoli who needs moms anyway? Nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) finds out how much he needs his (Joan Cusack) when she’s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. In a race against time and oxygen, his quest to save her knows no bounds. And with some unexpected help, Milo just might find his way back to her in more ways than one. Complete with intergalactic bonus features, it’s a thrilling journey that’s pure, out-of-this-world crazy fun.”
“Mars Needs Moms” is rated PG for sci-fi action and peril.
Mini-Review:
Like many of you, I missed seeing “Mars Needs Moms” in theaters but heard that it was a box office bomb. And despite being produced by Robert Zemeckis and based on a book by “Bloom County” creator Berkeley Breathed, it underperformed so badly that the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” movie was cancelled by Disney. So it was with some morbid fascination that I dove into the Blu-ray for “Mars Needs Moms.”
Things start out pretty strongly as we’re introduced to Milo, his Mom, and their broccoli vomiting cat. Things continue to do well as Seth is accidentally transported to Mars as his mother is being kidnapped by Martians. We’re treated to a beautiful alien subterranean world, strange creatures, and other amazing sights. Things continue to go well as we’re introduced to Dan Fogler as Gribble, the only other human on the planet (who has gone slightly insane). By that point we’re well into the halfway mark of the film and things are still going quite well. In fact, I’d say that 4/5 of this movie is quite strong.
Where things start to fall apart is the finale. For a movie entitled “Mars Needs Moms,” things get quite dark. I can’t get into details without giving away spoilers, but I’ll say that the movie entirely loses its lighthearted comedic tone and things turn darkly serious. That dark tone pretty much negates all of the fun feelings built up by the rest of the movie and it leaves you only thinking about that last, poor 1/5 of the movie, not the other 4/5’s that were fun.
“Mars Needs Moms” also features the creepy photo-real CG characters like in “The Polar Express” and “A Christmas Carol.” At times it’s cool because the characters move with such life-like grace. At other times its kind of distracting because you start seeing the actors and actresses peeking through the characters. You start thinking about the fact that Milo looks and moves like Seth Green, yet his voice was removed from the character (probably wisely, I might add, after hearing the ‘kid voice’ he used in the bonus features). If you don’t like that photo-real motion capture, then you’re really not going to like “Mars Needs Moms.”
Ultimately “Mars Needs Moms” is a fun family comedy worth checking out. Kids will enjoy the aliens and the message of appreciating your mother is always a good one. Parents will marvel at the technical achievements of the animation and the comedy performance of Fogler. Overall it’s not the best kid’s movie I have seen, but it’s not the dud that the box office would indicate either.
On the Blu-ray bonus features you’ll find an extended opening, deleted scenes, and a featurette on the Martian language. There’s also a featurette showing Green and Fogler clowning around. Finally, you’ll find “Life On Mars” in which you can see the actors doing their motion capture performances. Overall it’s not a lot, but it’s enough to make a respectable offering.
