Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{Infobox film
| name = Mars Needs Moms
| image = Mars Needs Moms! Poster.jpg
| caption = Theater Poster
| director = [[Simon Wells]]
| screenplay = [[Simon Wells]]<br>Wendy Wells
| story = Wendy Wells
| based on = {{Based on|''Mars Needs Moms!''|[[Berkeley Breathed]]}}
| producer = {{ubl|[[Robert Zemeckis]]|[[Jack Rapke]]|[[Steve Starkey]]|Steven Boyd}}
| starring = {{ubl|Seth Green|[[Tom Everett Scott]]|[[Joan Cusack]]|[[Elisabeth Harnois]]|[[Dan Fogler]]|[[Dee Bradley Baker]]|[[Mindy Sterling]]}}
| music = [[John Powell]]
| cinematography = Robert Presley
| studio = [[ImageMovers Digital]]
| distributor = [[Walt Disney Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|2011|3|11}}
| runtime = 88 minutes
| country = {{Film US}}
| language = English
| budget = $150 million<ref name="LABox">{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/03/movie-projector-battle-los-angeles-red-riding-hood-mars-needs-moms.html|title=Movie Projector: 'Battle: Los Angeles' will rule, 'Mars Needs Moms' will bomb|last=Kaufman|first=Amy|work=[[Los Angeles]]|publisher=[[Tribune Company]]|date=March 10, 2011|accessdate=March 13, 2011}}</ref>
| gross = $38,634,329<ref name="boxofficemojo">{{cite web | url = http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marsneedsmoms.htm | title = Mars Needs Moms (2011)| publisher = [[Amazon.com]] | work = [[Box Office Mojo]] | accessdate = 2011-04-03 }}</ref>
}}
'''''Mars Needs Moms''''' is a [[3-D film|3D]] [[computer animation|computer-animated]] [[sci-fi film|sci-fi]] [[adventure film|adventure]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Simon Wells]] (the great grandson of [[H. G. Wells]]) and based on a book of the same title by [[Berkeley Breathed]]. The film is centered around a nine-year-old boy who realizes he was wrong to be rude to his mother, and has to rescue her after she is abducted by Martians. It was released on March 11, 2011 by [[Walt Disney Pictures]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Andrew | last=Stewart | date=2010-03-09 | title=Disney sets date for 'Mars' | publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118016278 | accessdate=2010-03-10 }}</ref> The film stars both [[Seth Green]] ([[performance capture]]) and newcomer Seth Dusky (voice) as the main character Milo, and was the final product of [[Robert Zemeckis]]' studio [[ImageMovers Digital]]. The title is a twist on the title of [[American International Pictures]]' ''[[Mars Needs Women]]'' (1966).
==Plot==
{{Plot|date=May 2011}}
Mischievous and rebellious nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green, voice-over by Seth Dusky) is just beginning summer vacation, and his father ([[Tom Everett Scott]]) is leaving for a business trip. While Milo is wanting his summer to be a fun one, his mother ([[Joan Cusack]]) assigns him chores and tasks like taking out the trash. At dinnertime, Milo is given broccoli. His mother has a "no broccoli, no TV" rule which Milo cleverly evades by feeding the broccoli to his pet cat. When Milo's mother finds the cat throwing up from the broccoli, she sends him to bed early. After a heated disagreement with his mother, Milo wishes that he never had a mom. Later that night, his wish comes true when his mother is abducted by Martians who plan to steal her "momness" to rear their own young.
Milo's quest to save his mom involves [[stowing away]] on a [[spaceship]], navigating an elaborate, multi-level planet and taking on the alien nation and their leader, the Supervisor ([[Mindy Sterling]]). With the help of tech-savvy [[subterranean]]-dwelling [[earthling]] Gribble ([[Dan Fogler]]), his [[bionic]] underground pet Two-Cat ([[Dee Bradley Baker]]), and rebellious Martian Ki ([[Elisabeth Harnois]]), Milo finds his way back to his mom.
The Martians are born from the ground every five years. By an [[automated]] process, [[robots]] separate the [[males]] from the [[females]]. The males are cast into the [[garbage dump]] (where they live a [[primitive]] existence). Each female is placed in the care of a [[nanny]] [[robot]]. Each batch of nannies requires an [[earthling]] mother to provide their [[maternal]] programing. The process which will [[download]] each mother's memories results in her death.
The females are raised by the robot nannies to join a highly regimented [[matriarchal]] society; highly technological and free of physical [[affection]]. The Supervisor constructed this society to be freed from the burdens of [[child rearing]].
At the beginning of the film, Martians observe Earth mothers, passing up those who are too indulgent or unable to control their children. They select Milo's mother based on her ability to command Milo to take out the trash.
Upon arrival on Mars, Milo is locked up in a jail cell, but manages to escape down a garbage chute where he meets Gribble. Gribble helps him devise a plan to save Milo's mom and get her back to Earth before Earth's night is up. Unfortunately, the plan goes awry at a Martian checkpoint, when Milo is exposed and the troops raid Gribble's hideout, but Milo is able to escape. While hiding from the guards, Milo runs in to Ki, whose been spraying graffiti in the form of flowers throughout the underground city, having been inspired by a 1960s Earth TV show.
Once Milo makes it back to Gribble's hideout and discovers the truth about Gribble's name (being George Ribble), Gribble confesses to Milo on how he wound up on Mars: twenty five years ago, back in the 1980s, the Martians selected Gribble's mother as a fine example to program their nannybots. Like Milo, Gribble stowed away, but failed to rescue his mother in time and was stranded on Mars ever since, but finding company in the form of a male Martian and robot.
After Ki manages to locate Milo and Gribble in an untouched part of the Martian underground world, they come across an ancient cave painting that showed Martian families were like Earth families in the past. After evading the guards and capturing a spaceship, Milo manages to wake up his mother, and save her before the download destroys her, but in the process of escaping out onto the Martian surface, Milo trips and breaks his space helmet.
As Milo begins to choke in the unbreathable Martian atmosphere, Milo's mother gives him her space helmet. Although Milo's life is saved, the life of his mother has now been put at stake. Before the eyes of the Martians, Gribble (not wanting to see another Earth boy lose his mother) manages to find the space helmet he'd attempted to save his mom with and gives it to Milo's mother, showing the Martians the one thing they'd overlooked about Earth moms: love for their children, in which Milo apologizes to his mother about the disagreement. Afterwards, just as it looks like the Supervisor will recapture the Earthlings, Ki reveals the photo of the ancient cave painting and the Supervisor's deception to the soldiers, causing them to turn against the Supervisor.
With the Supervisor in prison, Ki and Gribble return Milo and his mother to Earth, just before Milo's dad returns home. Having nowhere else to go and having exposed feelings for Ki, Gribble decides to stay on Mars and returns there. Milo then takes out the trash before his mother asks him to, but secretly disintegrates it with a Martian weapon.
Under the new leadership of Gribble and Ki, the male and female Martians work together in raising their young, while the Supervisor is stuck with nanny duty. Gribble manages to contact Milo and let him know how he is by using the [[Spirit rover]] as a communication station.
==Cast==
*[[Seth Green]] as Milo (motion capture)
*Seth Dusky as Milo (voice only)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/851-seth-green-digitally-and-sonically-erased-from-mars-needs-moms?nc | title=Seth Green, Digitally and Sonically Erased From 'Mars Needs Moms' | publisher=[[Yahoo! Movies]] | accessdate=2011-03-09}}</ref>
*[[Joan Cusack]] as Milo's mom
*[[Tom Everett Scott]] as Milo's dad
*[[Elisabeth Harnois]] as Ki
*[[Dan Fogler]] as Gribble
*[[Mindy Sterling]] as The Supervisor
*[[Kevin Cahoon]] as Wingnut
*[[Ryan Ochoa|Ryan]], Robert and [[Raymond Ochoa]] as Martian Hatchlings
*Liam and Edgar Wells as Robot Martians
*[[Dee Bradley Baker]] as Two-Cat
==Production==
After spending six weeks outfitted in a special sensor-equipped [[performance-capture]] suit while simultaneously performing Milo's lines, [[Seth Green]]'s voice sounded too mature for the character and was dubbed over by that of 11-year-old actor Seth R. Dusky.<ref>According to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305591/trivia</ref>
==Reception==
===Critical response===
The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. The acting has been praised but the writing, story, 3D and drama has been criticized. Opinions of the motion capture animation have been mixed. Some praised it for looking realistic and others criticized it for crossing the [[uncanny valley]] and looking creepy.
[[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a score of 35% based on reviews from 98 critics, and reports a rating average of 5 out of 10. The critical consensus was: "The cast is solid and it's visually well-crafted, but ''Mars Needs Moms'' suffers from a lack of imagination and heart."<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|id=mars_needs_moms|title=Mars Needs Moms}}</ref>
At [[Metacritic]], which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 49% based on 22 reviews.<ref>{{metacritic film|id=mars-needs-moms|title=Mars Needs Moms}}</ref>
===Box office===
''Mars Needs Moms'' earned only $1,725,000 on its first day, for a weekend total of $6,825,000.<ref>http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/13/box-office-report-battle-los-angeles/</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/box_office_mars_needs_moms_megaton_rXfg1tZS83Hojg0gEzTRfK | work=New York Post | first=Lou | last=Lumenick | title=Box Office: 'Mars Needs Moms' a megaton bomb | date=2011-03-14}}</ref> This was the 12th worst opening ever for a film playing in 3000+ theaters.<ref>http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/worstopenings.htm?page=WRSTOPN30&p=.htm</ref> Due to its very high budget of $150 million, the film is a major [[box office bomb]], and at the moment is technically the fourth biggest box-office bomb in film history, with a net loss of $111,185,386.<ref>{{cite news | first=Doug | last=Ferguson | date=2010-04-01 | title=Mars Needs Moms: A film review | publisher=''Sour Grapes Winery'' | url=http://www.sourgrapeswinery.com/film/2011/4/1/mars-needs-moms-a-film-review.html | accessdate=2010-04-01}}</ref> On 14 March 2011, Brook Barnes of ''[[The New York Times]]'' commented that it was rare for a Disney-branded film to do so badly, with the reason for its poor performance being the subject (a mother kidnapped from her child), the style of animation, which crosses the [[uncanny valley]] threshold, and negative [[word of mouth]] on [[social networking|social networks]]. Barnes concluded, "Critics and audiences alike, with audiences voicing their opinions on [[Twitter]], [[blogs]] and other social media, complained that the Zemeckis technique can result in character facial expressions that look unnatural. Another common criticism is that Mr. Zemeckis focuses so much on technological wizardry that he neglects storytelling."<ref>{{cite news | first=Brook | last=Barnes | date=2010-03-14 | title=Many Culprits in Fall of a Family Film | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/business/media/15mars.html | accessdate=2010-04-01}}</ref> The poor box-office performance was a major contributor to Disney's decision to shutter [[ImageMovers Digital]], the company it formed with Zemeckis.<ref name="deadline">{{cite news | first=Nikki | last=Finke | url=http://www.deadline.com/2010/03/disney-closing-zemeckis-digital-studio-in-2011/ | title=Disney Closing Zemeckis' Digital Studio | publisher=[[Deadline.com]] | date=2010-03-12 | accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref>
As of May 8, 2011, the domestic gross was about $21,034,329 and foreign gross was $17,600,000.<ref name="boxofficemojo" />
===Home media===
The film will be released on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and movie download on August 9, 2011.<ref name="The HD Room">{{cite news|title=Mars Needs Moms Blu-ray 3D Release Date and Pre-Orders|url=http://www.thehdroom.com/news/Mars-Needs-Moms-Blu-ray-3D-Release-Date-and-Pre-Orders/8936|accessdate=6 May 2011|newspaper=The HD Room|date=6 May 2011}}</ref><ref name=MovieWeb /><ref name=Blu-ray.com>{{cite news|title=Mars Needs Moms 2D and 3D Blu-rays|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=6346|accessdate=8 May 2011|newspaper=Blu-ray.com|date=6 May 2011}}</ref> The release will be produced in three different physical packages: a 4-disc combo pack (Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and "Digital Copy"); a 2-disc Blu-ray combo pack (Blu-ray and DVD); and a 1-disc DVD.<ref name=MovieWeb>{{cite news|last=Gallagher|first=Brian|title=Mars Needs Moms 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD Arrive August 9th|url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/mars-needs-moms-3d-blu-ray-blu-ray-and-dvd-arrive-august-9th|accessdate=8 May 2011|newspaper=MovieWeb|date=6 May 2011}}</ref><ref name=Blu-ray.com /><ref name="Blu-ray Definition">{{cite news|last=DuHamel|first=Brandon|title=Mars Needs Moms Travels to Blu-ray, 3D and DVD in August|url=http://www.blu-raydefinition.com/news/mars-needs-moms-travels-to-blu-ray-3d-and-dvd-in-august.html|accessdate=8 May 2011|newspaper=Blu-ray Definition|date=7 May 2011}}</ref> The "Digital Copy" included with the 4-disc combo pack is a separate disc that allows users to download a copy of the film onto a computer through [[iTunes]] or [[Windows Media Player]] software.<ref name=MovieWeb /><ref name=Blu-ray.com /> The film will also be released as a movie download or On-Demand option. All versions of the release (except for the On-Demand option) will include the "Fun With Seth" and "Martian 101" bonus features, while the Blu-ray 2D version will additionally include deleted scenes, the "Life On Mars: The Full Motion-Capture Experience" feature, and an extended opening film clip.<ref name=MovieWeb /><ref name=Blu-ray.com /> The Blu-ray 3D version also has an alternate scene called "Mom-Napping," a finished 3D alternate scene of the Martian abduction of Milo's Mom.<ref name=MovieWeb /><ref name=Blu-ray.com /><ref name="Stitch Kingdom">{{cite news|title='Mars Needs Moms' Lands on Disney 3D Blu-ray/DVD on August 9; Includes 3D Exclusive Bonus Scene|url=http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-news/movies/mars-moms-lands-disney-3d-bluraydvd-august-9-includes-3d-exclusive-bonus-scene/|accessdate=8 May 2011|newspaper=Stitch Kingdom|date=6 May 2011}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Official website|http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/marsneedsmoms/}}
* {{IMDb title|1305591}}
* {{allmovie title|id=512928|title=Mars Needs Moms}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=mars_needs_moms|title=Mars Needs Moms}}
* {{metacritic film|id=mars-needs-moms|title=Mars Needs Moms}}
{{Simon Wells}}
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[[cs:Máma mezi Marťany]]
[[de:Milo und Mars]]
[[fr:Milo sur Mars]]
[[it:Milo su marte]]
[[la:Mars Needs Moms]]
[[ms:Mars Needs Moms]]
[[ja:少年マイロの火星冒険記3D]]
[[pl:Matki w mackach Marsa]]
[[pt:Mars Needs Moms]]
[[ru:Тайна красной планеты]]
[[uk:Мами застрягли на Марсі]]' |
