Mars Needs Moms

The kids and I were intrigued by the trailer for this film when we first saw it.    Adam digs sci fi and so do I.  Caity not so much and she also rolled her eyes when she found out it was 3D….take note film makers.  The kids are  BORED with the 3D thing. My daughter HATES the glasses.

Despite that we were very happy to say yes to some passes for the advanced screening this past weekend.  The film comes out THIS Friday – March 11th, I believe.

Mars Needs Moms is the latest from Disney.    Where we meet Milo who discovers a deeper appreciation for his mom when she is abducted by aliens.   I kept turning and staring HARD at my son through this.

At the rate “kids” shows are churned out these days, my expectations were not very high, BUT….I have to say I did enjoy this way more than I thought I would.

Mainly because this is a pretty intense film for kids.  It is big and fast action and a fairly traumatic story line.   His MOM is abducted by aliens after they have a fight…..GUILT!

There is a ‘mom death’ theme running through the story……you know, like BAMBI.  So for the younger or more sensitive kids (not mine, as this aspect apparently did not bother them in the least) it might be a bit intense.

For age wise…..I would say 9 and up.

The fact that an ADULT (Seth Green) plays the child Milo, also contributes to the adultness of this film.    That is, for me, a creepy way to use technology….and make child actors redundant.

Technically it is basically ‘Avatar‘ for kids.   Except these alien are all about order and robots and have forgotten the lets all love each other feeling their forebears had.

The end credits have a ‘making of’ montage showing the cast running around in their motion capture suits.  Robert Zemeckis is the producer of this film.  His other ‘cartoon’ venture was Monster House, which again was a tad intense for younger children.  The house EATS people.

He does produce sure fire hits, and he does attach himself the latest in film and animation technology (see Beowulf) (see Polar Express), I am just not convinced he uses or pushes the technology for the right reasons or that it makes better movies.

As said, I did find myself enjoying this…..and would happily recommend it for older kids who love a bit of science fiction and adventure.