 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Mars Needs Moms
- Review Date: January 1, 2011
- PG
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2011
Common Sense Media says
Surprisingly touching adventure has sad moments amid comedy.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this animated 3-D adventure comedy based on the book by Berkeley Breathed is occasionally frightening -- and scenes in which it looks as though the Mom character has died could be quite upsetting for younger viewers -- but it has a very strong message about unconditional love. Because the animation is based on motion-capture technology, some of the tenser scenes (chases, a near execution, close calls with death) seem more realistic and may affect younger kids more than regular computer-generated animation. Expect a few insults ("stupid," "idiot," etc.) and very mild flirting between a female alien and a man who's grown up on Mars. Moms will particularly appreciate the movie's biggest take away: Even when they nag kids to do their chores or send them to bed without a treat, moms love their kids and would do anything to ensure their safety.
What's the story?
Nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green, whose voice is altered to sound younger) has a loving but occasionally disciplinarian mom (Joan Cusack) who sends him to bed without a movie because he feeds his broccoli to the cat. In response to her nagging, Milo spits out, "I wish I didn't have a mom," leaving her in tears. That night, an alien ship abducts her, but not before Milo jumps aboard and flies back to Mars as a stowaway. On Mars, Milo evades detection by jumping down a trash chute that leads to an underground Martian garbage dump, where all the male Martians are kept locked away by the ruling females. Milo meets Gribble (Dan Fogler), a tech-savvy human who explains that every 25 years, the Martians abduct a good Earthling mother in order to program a flock of nanny robots who raise Martian girl babies. If Milo can't save his mom before programming, she'll die -- and he'll be stuck on Mars forever.
Is it any good?
As motion-capture technology advances and produces more and more films, the startlingly realistic animation it produces is no longer as occasionally disturbing as it was when The Polar Express was released. It's easier to just be in awe of it now -- and to see the actors' faces and expressions in every scene. And MARS NEEDS MOMS, like most animated movies, features a noteworthy comedic voice cast, especially Green as Milo, Fogler as Gribble, and Cusack as Mom.
The film's weak link is the '60s-show-obsessed Martian, Ki (Elisabeth Harnois). She believes in groovy love thanks to watching the same 1960s TV program over and over again. It's funny for a little while to hear her say anachronistic catchphrases, but after a while the joke gets a bit flat. Still, this is a surprisingly tender and sweet adventure that helps kids understand that, despite the rules, the chores, and the bedtimes, mothers love their kids fiercely, unconditionally, and sacrificially. Mothers -- don't be surprised if you cry and your kids hug you extra tight.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the movie's message. What is it saying about moms and kids? Kids: Do you see your mom at all differently after watching this movie?
Kids: What parts of the movie were scary and/or sad? Did any of it seem scarier or sadder because of the way the animation looks? Why do you think that is?
How does Milo's experience affect him? How does he act differently once he's back home?
- Show:
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- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
Just as dumb as the title suggests
The premise is interesting and the animations are alright for motion capture, but this story is a mess. They rush the beginning and everything else is just repetitive. The worst thing has to be the message and how they get it across. The moral is to always be good to your mother... and if you do, she'll get taken away by aliens and blown up... what!? What kind of message are you trying to send kids, movie!? Make up your mind!
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AGE
i think its very good & entertaining movie for kids...they will njoy a lot...has a good message..
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AGE
Great for young and older kids
I loved this movie! It had a very positive message about Moms and how important they are to a child's life. There may be a few scary moments (when the mom is abducted or when one of the moms dies - the latter isn't really shown and is only suggested) that might be upsetting to a younger child, and some violence, but my kids loved it and we thought it was really entertaining. I even got teary at one point!
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AGE
This is the most disturbing kids' movie I've ever seen. I did not enjoy this movie at all.
Most disturbing was when Gribble was remembering how his mom had been killed by the aliens. This was shown through a series of flashbacks. Gribble was a kid and unable to save her.
The message of the movie was good, but the content leading to it was very heavy.
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AGE
Okay for most kids, with a few caveats.
Not a great movie, but one that my 7-year-old enjoyed (my son, not so much), and I tolerated. Some concerns were the scary mom abduction scene; scary scenes where they show how they extract mothering thoughts from the mom; scary flashback scene of a mom being obliterated 26 years earlier; and sort of stereotypical dad vs mom behavior...moms are strict, dads just wanna have fun. And one possibly negative message (that I quickly debunked w/my kids DURING the movie): the "movie" mom was abducted b/c she was strict and her son obeyed her. Moms whose kids were ill-behaved brats were safe. Bad message!
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AGE
Surprisingly Scary and Some Weird Messages.
Quite scary - my 7 year boy sees lots of movies - but this had too many near death scenes and was disturbing. One of the main characters was not able to save his mom.
The messages were confusing and unclear. The moms that had well behaved kids and were stricter moms were the ones that could get abducted and killed by the Martians. So the message almost becomes don't behave too well or your mom could be abducted and killed. Also, there were male martians that behaved like unintelligent, fun-loving, crazy creatures that were not part of the orderly female run martian culture, they were not valued as bright or effective enough to raise the "hatchlings" along with the females. The male martians were ostracized from the society and lived together in the garbage dump. Very strange message that seemed to minimize the value of men & boys.
The movie also had non-stop stressful moments - which was frightening for my son (who has actually seen parts of many live action movies such as "Lord of the Rings", "Star Wars", etc.). There was no down time for the child viewer - very few funny moments.
Usually the reviews from Common Sense Media are right on - but this movie was not suitable for my family. This was an intense, stressful movie for my son with a very stressful subject matter (the idea of losing one's mom).
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Kid, 12 years old
March 22, 2011
AGE
stupidest movie ever!
I HATE THIS STUPID MOVIE! Dont waste your money on it people. good graphics, horrible movie.
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AGE
Best for older kiddos
I took my 10-year old son and same-age friend to this movie. While they understood the happenings were fictional and appreciated the humorous parts, I would not recommend for a child younger than 8 or 9 (depending on the child's maturity level and ability to handle intense scenes). This could be scary and confusing for younger children.
Overall positive message; but also fairly deep underlying messages for a children's movie.
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AGE
Beware! Very Scary Themes!!
My son asked us to leave the theater 20 minutes into this film, which we willingly did because the movie was creepy. The characters are almost too real, and for sensitive kids (or most kids at this age, I'd think) the idea of a mom being taken away by aliens is too much. I'll admit I made a snap judgment to take him to this movie after seeing the 7+ rec. on CSM, and I didn't read the movie summary in advance - my mistake. But I think this 7+ age rating is way off base.
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AGE
YIKES!!! Unclear messages, parents MIGHT like, but it will scare kids!
Hated it. Messages were unclear, male Martians were portrayed as the huggers', they were stupid, partied, and relegated to the dump. Moms were too strict or...??? And the robots that were created to raise Martian children were shown as spanking the baby Martians. It was great 3-D, but an unbelievably bad movie for 7-8 year olds. My grandson thought the movie was a 'tear-jerker'. (My daughter also read the CSM 7+, without reading further.) I was so surprised that Joan Cusack agreed to portray motherhood in such a way. Maybe the editors deleted the message that mothers make rules that benefit the child and society...I don't know, it was a mess. My husband and I were groaning out loud. Role models were poor, I don't see how a 7 year old could learn that mothers are good from this movie! And our grandson has seen many movies that WE think weren't age appropriate. This one was one of the worst. We went to the 7pm show on the day after it opened, and the theatre was almost empty, we changed seats to try to accomodate the 3-D, and weren't disturbing a soul...there was no one else there!
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| Topics: | adventures, book characters, space and aliens |
| Studio: | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Director: | Simon Wells |
| Cast: | Dan Fogler, Joan Cusack, Seth Green |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 88 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | March 11, 2011 |
| DVD release date: | August 9, 2011 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | sci-fi action and peril |
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