Mars Needs Moms

As with a good live-action movie, it all begins with the script, and this one is solid-well thought-out, briskly paced, funny and sweet. In the end, it's the finished film that matters, not the process...

What really sells this fabulous, kid-friendly 3D adventure to anybody over eight (no offense, kids) is its astonishing visuals, which uses motion-capture technology to a degree that surpasses what we saw in Avatar.

The credited director is Simon Wells (The Time Machine), but the grotesque characters and dark action bear the Zemeckis stamp.

Children are unlikely to enjoy it, and parents will be aching for a few stiff drinks in a Mars bar long before it's over.

Mars Needs To Work Out How To Animate Humans So They Don't Look Like Possessed Shop Window Dummies.

It's an interplanetary clunker.

An unsightly experience of motion-capture computer animation comprised of far too many so-called technological advances.

A decent flick that could have been so much more.

I just love Simon Wells' sense of adventure and with Mars Needs Moms, he soars.

With a more inventive storyline, Mars Needs Moms could have been an out-of-this-world cinematic experience. As is, the animated film offers an entertaining romp that will play best to the preschool and grade-school set and, yes, their moms.