Space Chimps (2008)

Disclaimer: I have no particular interest in chimps. The first email I ever sent was to what was at the time my favorite pop radio station, complimenting the chimp they had obviously hired to come up with their short-lived strange music mix.This turned out to be better than I expected. Sure, the humor was silly, but it was fun. The nerdy scientists had some of the best lines. And there were enjoyable jokes--if you're not expecting real quality, that is--from our heroes, the aliens, and the villain.This was also an inspiring story, because our heroes had to accomplish so much on their own, unable to communicate with home base. And their counterparts back home proved quite intelligent, even if humans could only hear screeching noises from them. The original Ham provided a touching moment from the great beyond.I don't recall any standout performances, but Kristin Chenoweth was so cute as a tiny alien creature with a beautiful operatic voice whose contribution proved valuable. Whenever she got scared or excited, she hit that high note so marvelously.It had to be intentional that Luna looked like Cheryl Hines. I don't recall any other characters being drawn to look like the corresponding voice actor, but she was really good-looking for a chimp. I don't actually think the real Cheryl Hines has that pretty a face, but I can see how one might think she is pretty. And the resemblance adds so much to Luna, making her seem more human.The G rating is a little surprising considering all the potty humor, but apparently more is considered acceptable these days. The "violence" of the villain freezing those who disagree isn't as bad as it looks.It's a worthwhile film, but nothing ground-breaking.

When I saw this film in the cinema I loved it and now I have the DVD. It is just brilliant. It's just so funny. How can people not find the main monkey not Hilarius? He has the best lines and is a total twit, and is very funny. I was very surprised that it was rated so low, and after reading other reviews it seemed like people didn't find it funny. Their opinion (not a very good one, mind). If you haven't seen it, you might hate it but you might love it and think it's great. (nothing to do with film now) IMDb! How are we supposed to write 10 lines about a film? Come on! who wants to read a long review? Make it 3 lines! Sheesh!

Chimps get shot into space, adventure and self-discovery ensue... You really don't need to know too much more about the plot. Story wise, it's not nearly as fleshed out or satisfying as the "big budget" CGI movies everybody raves about... but it serves it's purpose for the most part. Protagonist learns a valuable lesson and/or sees the error of their ways, good guys come out on top, etc, etc... just the budget version of the same story Pixar has been telling for the last 15 years.My three and a half year old enjoyed it just fine, it's not knocking Lightning McQueen or Buzz Lightyear of their pedestals... but he's seen this twice and was entertained both times. He asked me multiple questions about what was going on or why a character was doing something, and that's a surefire sign that he's into the movie and not simply zoning out in front of the boobtube.From an animation standpoint, nothing here is making Pixar nervous... but I'm certainly not going to hold that against anybody. Looney Tunes weren't as technically well done as Fantasia, but Bugs Bunny still made me laugh. Once they get to the alien planet, things take a noticeable downturn... as if they didn't have enough budget to make these scenes to the same quality as the rest of the movie... While I knew this was a budget feature from the get-go, this obvious quality gap within the movie is jarring. The alien world and most of the aliens are just downright unappealing.With the exception of Jeff Daniels, who seems woefully miscast as an over-the-top alien villain, the rest of the voice cast does their job well. While the dialog has it's share of misses throughout, Adam Sanberg delivers some generally funny lines and Cheryl Hines does capable work as the foil / romantic interest. Patrick Warburton seems to appear in 70% of all animated works lately, and while he's not given much to do, he delivers some gems as well. Outside of an almost unbearable Daniels, the voice work is unobjectionable.I've sat through this once from start to finish and didn't feel burdened in the least. Sure, it's nothing to write home about... but this isn't horrible either. Three outta five stars for the kids... maybe slightly less for adults with sticks in their behinds...

Have you seen movies that almost wore you out after 45 minutes? Im talking about too much action, too much bickering and yelling between people, too much happening the screen, too loud.....just too much. You want to cry, "enough, already....give us a few lulls!" That's how found this cute-at-first animated film which starts off great but quickly spirals into the "too much" category and never lets go. Maybe I'm just too old for this sort of thing; maybe this is what five or ten-year-olds want....but I'm not surprised this animated film wasn't a hit - with adults or some kids.Don't get wrong: there are a number of funny lines in here, the animation is great in spots, and some of the characters (i.e. "Kilowatt") are very appealing. It's just that the film feels rushed, right from the start. One can never just settle down and enjoy the stories, character and artwork. This story needed more lulls.It also need less ("wink" "wink") inside, pretentious remarks by the writers, who tried too hard to get their PC agendas in here throughout. The "heroes," the space chimps, were always bickering among themselves. That led to some funny put-down lines but also got tiring, too, after almost an hour of it. The villain, "Zartog," meanwhile, was just plain stupid. Nobody that silly/dumb, even in science fiction, could rule anyone.In all, it was just too disjointed and too frenetic - all the while being predictable - to enjoy. Although only 80 minutes in length, I found myself often checking how much time was left in the film.