Mars Needs Moms is the story of Milo. Milo is your typical nine year old boy - he doesn't want to eat his broccoli, take out the trash, or go to bed when he's told. Suddenly one night, he sees his mom being "momnapped" by Martians! You see, Martians need human moms because they have no mothering skills. They use the Moms to program bots to take care of all of the female Martian babies - while the male babies are shipped down to the trash land to be raised there. Can Milo save his Mom before her usefulness is gone? Will they make it back to Earth on time?
The animated graphics on this Blu-Ray movie are so incredible, that at moments when you look at the scenery of space, you almost can't tell this is simply a "cartoon". I have to give an A+ to Disney's computer animation department - they really outdid themselves!
The story, however, is another story, no pun intended. DH and I viewed this one sans kiddo, and I am glad we chose to do so. Even though at the end of the story, Milo realizes exactly how much he loves and needs his mother, and the "bad guy - or gal" in this case gets what she deserves, there was more than one point where I want to just stop this DVD. Even DH - who is much more lax in what he feels kids can watch than me - called it "feminist propaganda". I was horrified at the lack of family shown in this one - Mars has no fathers, no men other than down below taking care of the trash, and neither does Milo, who's parents seem to be divorced. I got the vibe that this movie was all about "women can do just fine on their own". If this doesn't bother you, then you'll probably enjoy this movie. I personally could not get past that at all, and I hate to say it, but this is the first Disney movie that really has no place in my home - beautiful graphics or not. Maybe when my daughter is a teenager, she could watch it, but it won't be any time soon!
Now, I do love these combo packs! While they cost just about $10 more than just buying the regular DVD, you end up saving money in the long run because you won't have to re-buy the same title in the Blu-Ray format down the road if you don't already have a Blu-Ray player or PlayStation 3. Plus, if you have a computer/laptop with DVD playing capability or portable DVD players, you can play the regular DVD disk on those. And if like us, you have the whole HDTV set up going, it does make for a great movie night at home! The disc also feature Disney Fast Play, where the DVD will start immediately upon placing it in your DVD player, no remote or button pushing necessary.
The DVD disc features several bonus features: a fun "Martian 101" segment, where you will learn to speak "Martian" with an "expert", as well as a short featurette with Seth Green, the actor who did the movement for Milo's character for the graphics crew, and Dan Fogler too. The Blu-Ray disc has more exclusive content, including an extended opening, several deleted scenes, and a really coool "Life On Mars" segment, which is a full motion capture experience with audio commentary - this was the best part of it all, I think! There is also a hidden Easter Egg, so be on the lookout for it.
This titles also qualifies as part of the Disney Movie Rewards program, so be sure to enter the code inside the box to get your reward points. You can also receive 50 bonus points for entering this code, and the one from The Fox And The Hound, which is releasing from the Disney Vault the same day. If you are interested in purchasing this title for your home movie collection, there is a printable coupon currently available that will save you $5 off the Mars Needs Moms Combo Pack.
Mars Needs Moms will be released this Tuesday, August 9th, 2011. It will be available as 4 Disc Blu-Ray Combo Pack (that includes the 3D!), 2 Disc Combo Pack, and regular DVD edition. Rated PG for Sci-fI action, peril, and frightening scenes (see my thoughts above), it is widescreen format, and has a total running time of 88 minutes. The suggested retail price for the 2 Disc Blu-Ray Combo is $39.99, but Amazon has it available on pre-order as of this posting for $22.99. (I've seen it cheaper at several grocery stores, so print that coupon mentioned above and take advantage!) Netflix users: be sure to add this movie to your DVD queue to be notified as soon as it is available. It is not currently available for instant streaming.
I received a copy of this DVD in order to share my thoughts on it. All opinions are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment