I love a good movie. I enjoy the entire experience. But, I HATE THIS MOVIE. Beside the fact that it is very violent, it is just a bad movie. The story is awful and the humor is childish. This is the only movie I have ever walked out on.
Mars Attacks!
(1996, Rated PG-13, Comedy, Starring Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, Natalie Portman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lukas Haas)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Alien-invasion satire for older tweens and up.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 12–13
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Mars Attacks! was written by Charles Cassady Jr.
Parents need to know this movie was based on a notorious series of trading cards that were censored for gruesomeness, and director Tim Burton doesn't hold back: abundant cartoony violence includes people being turned into skeletons by a death ray, vivisection (and whimsical re-assembly) of living humans, Martians' brains swelling and bursting, and cruelty to (computer-generated) animals. In addition the filmmakers have added some prostitutes to the blend. There is a subtle anti-authoritarian tone that kids have the smarts to save the world after all the annoying adults are wiped out.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the differences between this movie and Independence Day, and ask kids which one they enjoyed more, and why.
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More on Mars Attacks!
What’s the Story?
MARS ATTACKS! begins with a fleet of Martian flying saucers encircling Earth. While a blustery general (Rod Steiger) warns the self-aggrandizing US president (Jack Nicholson) not to trust the grotesque little aliens, a scientist (Pierce Brosnan) assures that creatures so intelligent could not possibly mean us any harm. The Earth's nations try to give the creatures a friendly welcome, to no avail. The Martians actually are sadistic varmints who enjoy faking out the humans with peace overtures, then opening fire with grisly death weapons. Eventually the Martians overrun Washington D.C. and declare victory, but their triumph is short-lived. Young Richie (Lukas Haas is trying to save his beloved grandmother from the Martians when he accidentally discovers that the old lady's favorite record -- Slim Whitman yodeling "Indian Love Call" -- makes the Martians' brains explode. If Richie can spread the news quickly enough, humankind may be saved.
Is It Any Good?
Director Tim Burton's dark sense of humor makes Mars Attacks! a must for the sort of young viewer who would rather read Famous Monsters of Filmland than Sports Illustrated. Remember "Sid," the twisted neighbor boy from Toy Story who liked to torture his playthings? This is his sort of alien-invasion film. Adults can enjoy it too, if they don't mind the subversive tone. But with an all-star cast and too many subplots, the movie threatens to turn into a collection of sketch-bits rather than a coherent whole.
Though the Martians are doubtlessly the villains here, you do get a sneaky anti-establishment message -- that the extraterrestrial holocaust will have a positive side effect of exterminating corrupt and worthless authority figures while sparing the cool kids and the few adults who listen to them.
Movie Details
Studio: Walt Disney Home Video, Director: Tim Burton
Run time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/12/1996, DVD release: 06/04/2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for fantasy violence, sexual themes
Run time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/12/1996, DVD release: 06/04/2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for fantasy violence, sexual themes
Our Members Say
See all 9 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
Just plain bad.
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
Just plain bad.
I love a good movie. I enjoy the entire experience. But, I HATE THIS MOVIE. Beside the fact that it is very violent, it is just a bad movie. The story is awful and the humor is childish. This is the only movie I have ever walked out on.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
50's style movie is fun for young teens
This movie is very good, it tries to co for that cheesey, clasic 50's B movie, and dose a pretty good job, andjust like movies from the 50's there are little issues: 1. COmic style violence that no one can take seriously, the martin's guns turn people into skeletons, Humans are abducted by the martians and experimented on, green martian blood when the martinas die. 2. Very little languge including afew uses of H--l, and one s--t, but other than that the language is fine. 3. A coule can briefly bee seen having sex (no nudity), with a coule matrians watching, the martian king breifly looks at a porn magazine from earth (no nudity either). So osverall, this is a fun 50's B movie with better special effects that is fun for teens young and old.
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
If you like violence this is the movie for you!
This is a VERY violent movie. Many say that language is not an issue BUT it is... Do you know what those Martians are saying? Who knows. I have seen lots of violent movies and on the violence meter this is WAY up there probably broke the scale.
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I rate this title off for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
Not suitable for under 15s, really. It's violent and too scary.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
This will make kids laugh more than it will scare them
The first time I really checked this out was before going to bed and I wanted to stop since I was about to go to bed but when I watched it all the way throug, I lauged. A race of martian aliens decide to invade earth. They have normal sized bodies but have huge heads. They try to invade a few times, each time disentagrating humans with a gun that zaps people and vaporizes their skin, leaving behind a red or green skeleton. This is just a movie full of crazy slapstick antics. For the 10 and up crowd.
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
UGH!!!!...
I remember surfing through TV channels , and we found this , so we watched it. My dad thought it was funny , and I thought it was horrible!!!!!! The violence! THE STUPIDNESS! I think that people who make stories of bad aliens are pretty dumb , because nobody said aliens , or things from another planet [ well , thier has to be some life in the other millions of planets!] had to be mean. I really suggest ET instead!
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
i lost six brain cells watching this
after i watched this ime gonna be scared of freakin aliens for the rest of my freakin life
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents don't think the messages are positive |
| 100% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
| 100% | of parents say it's too violent |
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