Marbles, Moms, and Martians

Mars Needs Moms. Or so says the movie poster.

I caught my first glimpse of this movie a few weeks ago when I was down at Disney. I only saw a poster and the title and thought, yes, that will be cute. I’m ready for another Pixar flick.

Ever since Evan became proper movie-watching age, I have purchased a good portion of the Pixar film library. I love that they are innocent and interesting enough for kids but still funny and heartwarming for parents (without throwing in an annoying amount of pop culture references). My faves include “Meet the Robinsons,” “Wall-E,” and “Astro Boy” (not a Pixar flick, I know).

Needless to say, when a friend at the local children’s museum, Marbles, asked me if I was interested in reviewing “Mars Needs Moms,” all I had to hear was “free tickets” (yes, I still get carried away with the free stuff). Plus I love movies. And I love giving my opinion. But you knew that already.

This all worked out for a couple of reasons.

1. Evan has been bugging me for weeks to take him to Marbles.

2. I’ve never been to the IMAX at Marbles (where the film was showing).

3. I wanted to see “Mars Needs Moms” (see first paragraph).

4. I’ve never seen a new 3D film, let alone an IMAX 3D film.

So opening day, I dragged Evan with me to Marbles. He wanted to go to the museum but indicated very clearly that he did NOT want to see the movie. Only when I suggested that I go to the movies with another deserving child did he finally give in and agree to go with me.

We arrived just in time to snag some healthy snacks (sarcasm), grab our 3D glasses, and head into the extremely large theater. I believe they told me the theaters holds over 200 people. Because it was a matinee, we had no trouble finding a seat and headed to the top middle row (my preferred seating for IMAX movies).

I have to admit. I’m not a big fan of 3D movies and I’ll tell you why. First, those glasses. I wear glasses or contacts normally and I hate wearing glasses. So having to do that for a movie isn’t the most fun. And just look at what it did to my poor nose after 90 minutes of viewing pleasure.

The other reason, and maybe this is just me, but I having trouble seeing 3D. My eyes have to concentrate and focus to see the 3D images and sometimes it gives me a headache. I don’t know if it’s because I have astigmatism in one eye or what, but I’m definitely a mutant when it comes to 3D.

All that aside, I settled into my seat, immediately started chowing on my popcorn, and took in the movie. Let me start with a little negative.

What I didn’t like:

• Although the 3D effects made the picture super sharp and crystal clear, I don’t think it added anything to the movie.
• The animation in the film used the same techniques that were used in “The Polar Express.” I was not a fan of that animation style going into this movie and never really changed my mind about that.

What I liked:

• I loved the storyline: a kid who takes his mom for granted, a mom who gets abducted by Martians for being too good of a mom, a kid who ends up totally appreciating his mom.
• I’m a sci-fi fan so I loved the sci-fi flavor of the movie. Most of the movie was set on Mars and I could tell they took care to make sure that accounted for what we already know about Mars (although I did find some scientific inaccuracies that I’ll just keep to myself).
• I’m a sucker for an upbeat happy ending. That’s exactly what I got here.

I have to say that after the movie, my son still claimed he didn’t like it. At 4 years old, he didn’t entirely grasp the storyline and kept asking me who the bad guy was (turns out it was a bad woman). Some parts may have been a little too scary or perhaps the Martians were just a little too alien for his taste.

What you should know is that this movie is based on a story written and illustrated by Berkeley Breathed, he of Bloom County cartoon fame. It’s a cute story and one that I probably would have liked a lot better with a different style of animation. Apparently I’m not alone in that sentiment.