Story
After disobeying his mother (voice of Joan Cusack), nine-year-old Milo (voice of Seth Dusky, performance capture by Seth Green) isn’t allowed to watch his favourite TV program and is sent to bed. He says to his mother, ‘My life would be so much better if I didn’t have a mom’. Later Milo goes to his mother’s room to say sorry, but discovers Martians in the process of kidnapping her. Milo chases the Martians and ends up as a stowaway on the Martian spaceship.
When the ship reaches Mars, Milo finds that the planet is ruled by female Martians, who quickly discover Milo and put him in a prison cell. With the assistance of an unseen source, Milo escapes via a garbage chute that leads to a giant Martian rubbish dump. In the rubbish dump live hundreds of Martian males and one human male, Gribble (Dan Fogler). Gribble is a technological genius who has been a castaway on Mars since he came as a boy.
Through Gribble, Milo learns that every 25 years, a batch of Martian babies are born. The males are thrown away, while the females are raised by nanny-bots. These robots are programmed with the memories of a single human mother, which is why the Martians needed Milo’s mom. When Milo learns that the Martians will kill his mother by taking her memories, he enlists Gribble’s help to come up a rescue plan.
Themes
Loss of a parent; aliens
Violence
Mars Needs Moms contains sometimes intense scenes of family argument, action violence and danger. For example:
Sexual references
This movie has some sexual references. For example, a female Martian, Ki, tells Gribble that she thinks he’s amazing. Gribble blushes. They flirt several times, and Gribble turns red each time. Ki tells Gribble, ‘I dig it when you change colour’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie has some use of substances. For example:
- A recorded image of a 1960s TV show shows two men behaving as if they’re on drugs.
- Ki injects two Martian guards with a tranquiliser. A droid also injects one of the guards with a tranquiliser.
Nudity and sexual activity
This movie has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Naked Martian babies have furry bottoms.
- Female Martians wear tight-fitting clothing.
- Gribble and Ki cuddle.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
This movie has some infrequent low-level coarse language, name-calling and put-downs.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Mars Needs Moms is a 3D animated science fiction adventure targeting primary school-aged children. It’s also likely to entertain older viewers. The movie’s animation is based on motion-capture technology, which gives the movie a more realistic appearance. As a result, some of the scary images or disturbing scenes might have a bigger impact on younger children. Also, some of these scenes make it unsuitable for children under seven.
The main message from this movie is that parents love their children unconditionally, even though they have to set guidelines, enforce rules and hand out punishments.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include the following:
- Selflessness, courage and bravery – throughout the movie, Milo repeatedly puts his life on the line to save his mother and his friends.
- Perseverance – regardless of the obstacles placed in his path, Milo refuses to give in.
You could also talk about the reasons why rules and boundaries need to be set, and how they give children a sense of security and a safer environment.