Rated PG for sci-fi action and peril.
Starring Seth Green (voice), Dan Fogler (voice), Joan Cusack (voice)
Directed by Simon Wells (The Time Machine, Life Or Something Like It and The Prince Of Egypt)
It’s rare for Disney to make an animated film this poorly.
Nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) finds out just how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack) when she’s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. Produced by the team behind Disney’s A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express, Mars Needs Moms showcases Milo’s quest to save his mom — a wild adventure that involves stowing away on a spaceship, navigating an elaborate, multi-level planet and taking on the alien nation and their leader. With the help of a tech-savvy, underground earthman named Gribble (Dan Fogler) and a rebel Martian girl called Ki, Milo just might find his way back to his mom-in more ways than one.
Let’s see… Science-fiction themes… A flat, joyless story… Motion-capture animation that results in everyone having creepy robot faces… What are the chances Mars Needs Moms has Robert Zemeckis’ name on it?
Sure enough, the man behind Polar Express, Beowulf, and the Jim Carrey A Christmas Carol is the producer. As with Polar Express, the source material was too limited to be a feature-length film, so it had to be “expanded,” i.e., robbed of its simplicity and dragged out for 90 minutes.
Zemeckis shares the blame with director Simon Wells and his wife, Wendy Wells (co-writer). They do stick to the book’s original message — kids, be thankful for your moms — but it’s just too cluttered.
Simply put, Mars Needs Moms is a film about a rambunctious boy who goes to Mars and saves his mom — produced by the guy who directed Back to the Future! — That should have been an amazing adventure. It should have been fun, interesting and memorable… instead it’s worth skipping.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
This one is fine for all ages!
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: As I said in the review the heart of this moral tale is for kids to be thankful for your moms. So let’s broaden that to include dads too.
Are you thankful for your parents?
List some of the things you are thankful for?
Discuss a couple of ways you show them you are thankful.
Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: Most of us know that Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
So what does this verse tell us (as children) to do?
Why are we supposed to honor our parents?
What does this verse tell us will happen if we do?
What do you think that means?
So what does honoring our parents look like? (To honor means to show respect. Doing what your parents say without complaining or making excuses. Trying to listen without interrupting, and looking in their eyes when they are talking can also show respect and honor. Trying to do special things to make them happy or comfortable is another way to honor them.)
Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: As with most of the Bible, the difficultly is not understanding what we read, it DOING what we read. So let’s talk about practical ways to DO what Ephesians 6:1-3 says.
What are some things that your parents yell at you about?
What can you do this week to HONOR them instead of causing them to be upset?
