MARS NEEDS MOMS

"Mars Needs Moms" relates the adventures of Milo, a boy who seeks to rescue his kidnapped mother from Martians . Based on a children's book by the famous comic strip author Berkeley Breathed, this animated film, while uneven in certain respects, excels in its depiction of sacrificial family love. Milo is truly heroic in his single-minded determination to free his mother despite insurmountable odds and even a powerful temptation to give up. I also found the Martian settings to be artistically imaginative, fascinating, and impressive.The film's portrayal of the relationship between an American mother and her son was not only realistic but profoundly moving. Young Milo attempts to deceive his mother. Like all good mothers, she catches him out and holds him accountable. Like all disobedient children (which covers most of the human race at one time or another), Milo angrily lashes out at her. In a moment that rings true with my own childhood and with our own children on occasion, Milo's mother is reduced to tears by her son's cruel words. Milo tries to go to sleep but the guilt over his response to his mother troubles him. He gets up to apologize, only to discover that he is, in one sense, too late. His mother has disappeared. In another sense, he arrives in the nick of time, just able to follow after the strange beings who have kidnapped his mother. Love for his mother stoked by his remorse for his meanness fuel an unquenchable determination in Milo to rescue her. Within a fast-paced, wildly fantastic and carelessly implausible animated movie, this true-to-life family relationship comes as somewhat of a surprise. But the film succeeds brilliantly because the filmmakers remain true throughout to the theme of love between a mother and son.Milo's mother has been kidnapped by a radical feminist Martian society that has all but destroyed maternal love in its elevation of power and technological progress. The Martians abandon their males at their planetary dump and leave their females to be raised by robot nursemaids. But little ones, even in a twisted society, need more than a robot to be cared for properly. Presumably unable and/or unwilling to provide quality maternal nature themselves, the Martian supervisors spy out likely outstanding mothers on planet Earth and kidnap the best candidates in an evil plan to enrich the maternal behavior of the robots.In his quest, Milo meets Gribble, a fellow human stranded on Mars with his own tragic story and Ki, the Martian who has rebelled against the oppressive Martian society. The events that bring Milo and his new friends to the film's final climax uncover Mars' own dark secrets about motherhood and the family.It is unfortunate that "Mars Needs Moms" was a dismal flop at the box office. The film's odd mix of a relatively serious theme in a wacky action-adventure animation vehicle may have hurt its reach. Some may have been repelled by its central theme of the importance of motherhood and the natural family. Surveys at a leading film website indicate that this film splits its audience, with people either loving or hating "Mars Needs Moms," with relatively few in between. Such a divergence indicates that people's fundamental views on life dictated their response to the film, not less weighty matters such as the animation style, humor, music, or plot devices.It is my hope that the mostly brilliant folks at Disney made a few marketing errors and missed their target audience. If you believe that the natural human family is a fundamental, even divinely ordained social unit with motherhood being one of its key components, please give this film and the dvd a chance. You may find yourself not only entertained, but surprisingly moved.

Great movie

This is a cute movie that didn't get the positive attention it should have. It is made with the green screen and tracking markers on the actors. The premise is that periodically, Martians kidnap a mother from Earth, and Milo, is trying to rescue his mother who was kidnapped. You get to explore fun Martian technology, and get in touch with your "Flower Power" inner self. It's a lot of fun with a great storyline. All ages would enjoy this. I even got it as a gift for my mother!

This movie held the interest of my elementary age students. Late elementary children and older may not enjoy this film as much (my older child refused to watch it at all.) The film had a great message about appreciating your mom and all she does for you. We have been having an issue lately with a case of the "I wants" and not wanting to follow directions as the holiday season approaches. This was a great way to remind the boys to behave without having to nag them. It was funny and heart-felt. The graphics were good and the target audience was children. I gave it four-stars instead of five on advice of the children as it left out the importance of Dads. The boys felt it should have taught more about appreciating both parents.

Well, I liked it. Like all affairs of the heart this enjoyment probably doesn't bear close scrutiny. Yes, the uncanny valley is present in this film but I guess I'm not really bothered by that the way some people are. It does take a great deal of suspension of disbelief knowing that there would probably be no known way for an advanced Martian society to hide from us earthlings. But I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. I loved the depth of that world and found the characters and their actions believable. For some reason I was very drawn to the character of Ki. I hope that doesn't make me some sort of "Furry." I have no idea why this movie was such a disaster at the box office. It's a quality film all the way and has all the warm fuzzies you expect from a Disney film. This film deserves a second chance and is worth a look.

This was a big surprise! I really enjoyed this move, so much so that I purchased a copy for my niece to view. (Spoiler Alert) It is about a kid who like most kids, doesn't want to do his chores or for that matter, anything else that his Mom tells him to do. One evening he actually tell his Mom he hates her and wouldn't ya know it, that is the night that aliens kidnap his Mom and take her to Mars. They want to take all of her talents as a mother right out of her brain then discard her body. The only one who can or even wants to save her is the little boy who "hates her". He has stowed away on the ship and now realizes how important his mother really is to him. How can he save her on a planet run by alien females that think males are useless and throw them into a giant garbage dump in the center of the planet?

It is odd that animated movies of this type(being the ones that are meant to actually look real, hence, Polar Express and Beowulf)do not seem as popular as the 'obviously animated' character driven ones are. It is amazing that these can be created in such detail.I really had no intention in watching this movie when it first came out. The premise sounded really 'dumb' to me. I just thought it was Disney spreading themselves a little too thin again. They have a tendency to do that. Alas, I was bored and couldn't decide on what to stream. I chose this out of about three others, if for anything, the animation value.'Mars Needs Moms' was actually very entertaining. In story, as well as, of course, the visuals.I would recommend anyone, of any age, to take the time to watch this meaningful tale.