Mars Needs Moms

Milo is just your average, everyday boy. He has a mom (played by Joan Cusack) and a dad who love him very much. After deliberately disobeying his mother he is sent to his room and tells his mother that he wishes he had never had her as a mom.

After a long period of time, Milo decides that he shouldn’t have said what he said and decides to go and apologize to his mother for how he reacted. As he approaches his mom’s bedroom door, he sees a flashing light, opening the door to find his mother being abducted by Martians from the planet Mars. He races after the space-ship and climbs aboard in search for his mother.

Along the way he runs into another human living on Mars, Gribble. Gribble informs Milo that the Martians are kidnapping moms from Earth (who can properly raise their children) so that they can raise the Martian children by extracting the moms’ memories and programming them into their “nanny-bots.” It’s up to Milo, Ki (a friendly Martian), and Gribble to stop the Martians and save Milo’s mom.

Disney has been making movies for a long time. I grew up with Disney and remember the classics like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Beauty and the Beast,” etc. I am usually never disappointed when I see a Disney movie, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed when I saw this installment, “Mars Needs Moms.” This movie made me laugh. it held me in suspense. It did everything a Disney movie should do, and for that I applaud “Mars Needs Moms”.

Overall, I was impressed with the film’s quality. The graphics were astounding and so, how should I say, “life-like.” The story was simple which is why it made for such a great children’s movie. Joan Cusack puts in an outstanding role as Milo’s mother, though her scenes are very brief. Cusack was born to play this role. What makes Cusack such a great actress is that she can take a small role, such as Milo’s mother, and turn it into a spectacular performance.

I was also quite impressed with our protagonist Milo, voiced by the popular Seth Dusky. I have also seen a few films made by Dusky, such as “Old Dogs,” and have never been disappointed in his performances. Even Dan Fogler put in a humorous performance as Gribble. The music was just right for this film, with a couple exceptions to a few scenes. In general, this is a good film.

Objectionable content

This is the part of the review I never enjoy writing, especially when it’s on a movie I enjoyed viewing. Nonetheless, there are some scenes and issues that I have to share with children and their parents.

Violence: There was a moderate amount of violence for this film. In the beginning, Milo falls down a mountain of trash. In addition there are a few scenes in which the Martians are trying to shoot Milo and Gribble, but they are mild and brief. There is a scene where a mother is “disintegrated,” and lastly there is a scene where Gribble is electrocuted.

Profanity: There was some profanity but it was very mild and words that you would only hear on the playground at school for the most part. These words include, “cha-chee,” “jerk,” “idiot,” “freakazoid.” Also, there are a couple statements made about botox and about “always have a change of underwear”

Sex/Nudity. My biggest concern was the appearance of the Martians. The female Martians wear little to no clothing, except the guards. The Martian babies are also naked. Towards the end of the film, there is a Martian baby peeing on another adult Martian.

Spiritual lessons/morals

In the beginning of the film, Milo is disrespectful towards his mother. We can see that he loves his mother very much, but that he, like many children, doesn’t understand that with love comes obedience. Fortunately, he realizes how much he has love, respect, and even obey his mother at the end of the film. This message is not only geared towards the children in our lives, but even to those of us who are “grown-ups” and have parents who still live among us as well. The book of Deuteronomy says this:

“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord you God is giving you.” —Deuteronomy 5:16 (NIV)

“Mars Needs Moms” is Disney’s latest attempt, since “Wall-E,” to entertain children on space and the possibility of life outside of Earth. This movie was cute, and I can recommend this film to parents and children over the age of 7 (due to violent scenes). Children under this age will likely become confused and scared, as I noticed from children in the movie theater. Thank you Disney for bringing clean family films back into Hollywood’s vision.

I did not see this film in Digital 3D. However, I feel that viewers will still enjoy this film without the 3D glasses.

• Violence: Moderate
• Language: Mild
• Sex/Nudity: Mild

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