Mars Needs Moms

Mars Needs Moms is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated science fiction film co-written and directed by Simon Wells, produced by ImageMovers Digital and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Berkeley Breathed book of the same title, the film was animated through the process of performance capture and stars Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, and Joan Cusack. It was the second and final film produced by ImageMovers Digital before the studio was shut down and re-absorbed into ImageMovers. It tells the story of a nine-year-old boy named Milo who sets out to save his mother on Mars after she is abducted by Martians. Mars Needs Moms premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on March 6, 2011, and was released in theaters on March 11, 2011, in Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D formats. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals, set design and cast, but criticized its story, characters and "unsettling" character animation, with critics saying that it "suffers from a lack of imagination and heart". It grossed $39.2 million worldwide on a $150 million budget, becoming one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time, losing an estimated $100–144 million for Disney. Plot Unbeknownst to humans, there is a thriving, technologically sophisticated society of Martians living below the surface of Mars. The Martians' Supervisor, while observing Earth, sees a mother persuading her son, Milo, to do his chores. The Martians decide to bring her to Mars, where her "mom-ness" will be extracted and implanted into the next-generation of nanny-bots. Meanwhile, Milo, who doesn't like to follow house rules and do chores and has been sent to his room for feeding broccoli to his cat, Cujo, sarcastically tells his mother that his life would be better without her, which hurts her deeply.