Mars Needs Moms

Directed By: Simon Wells   
Written By: Simon Wells & Wendy Wells
Starring: Seth Green, Joan Cusack, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois and Mindy Sterling
Rated: PG

MY RATING: B

Extraterrestrial family entertainment!

Mars Needs Moms is about a boy named Milo (Seth Green) who misbehaves and doesn't show enough appreciation for his mother.  One night his mother is abducted by Martians and he gets caught up in the ship and taken with her.  Once aboard their spacecraft he learns that a Martian called Supervisor (Mindy Sterling) controls everything and is responsible for his mom's captivity.  Luckily he meets another human named Gribble (Dan Fogler) who knows how the Martians operate and may be the key to helping Milo save his mom.

Surprisingly I quite enjoyed this one!  It does start off a little slow and was losing my attention here and there within the first 15-20 minutes but after that I was thoroughly entertained.  This was a very nice, original story, but that tends to happen when it's developed as a book first.  Even so, the writers did a good job of transferring a children's picture book to the big screen. 
The entire movie was done using motion capture technology which I initially thought was unnecessary.  I thought it would've been better as a "regular" cartoon or a live action movie but as I got further into it I realized it was perfect.  They were able to create a limitless, believable world in space that wouldn't have been possible any other way. 
Actor Dan Fogler was great as Gribble.  He was funny and lovable, just what the character needed.  Elisabeth Harnois did a good job voicing the Martian "Ki."  She was the refreshing element their planet needed.  Then there's Mindy Sterling from the Austin Powers films, she was great as the controlling old "Supervisor." I found it amusing that she was speaking a Martian language but was easily recognizable.  She had the same yell as in Austin Powers, "bring out the Fembots!" 
At the heart of this movie though is a message about appreciating our loved ones every single day that they're in our lives.  Now who wouldn't appreciate a story like that?  Very sweet.  Another one the whole family can enjoy!

I say this one's worth checking out!