Space Chimps (2008)

Director:

Kirk De Micco

Writers:

Kirk De Micco (screenplay) and
Robert Moreland (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Ham III, the grandson of the first chimp astronaut, is blasted off into space by an opportunity-seeking senator...

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Senator | Surprise After End Credits | Computer Animation | Circus

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Andy Samberg	...	Ham III (voice)
Cheryl Hines	...	Luna (voice)
Jeff Daniels	...	Zartog (voice)
Patrick Warburton	...	Titan (voice)
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Kilowatt (voice)
Kenan Thompson	...	Ringmaster (voice)
Carlos Alazraqui	...	Houston (voice)
Zack Shada	...	Comet (voice)
Omid Abtahi	...	Dr. Jagu (voice)
Patrick Breen	...	Dr. Bob (voice)
Jane Lynch	...	Dr. Poole (voice)
Kath Soucie	...	Dr. Smothers (voice)
Stanley Tucci	...	Senator (voice)
Wally Wingert	...	Splork / Infinity Probe / Pappy Ham (voice)
Jessica Gee	...	Ship Voice / Infinity Probe / Additional Voices (voice)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:All | Hong Kong:I | UK:U | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:G (British Columbia) | Ireland:G | USA:G (certificate #44279) | Australia:G (re-rating on appeal) | Singapore:G | Sweden:Btl | Finland:K-7 | Chile:TE | Netherlands:6 | New Zealand:G | Malaysia:U | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT

Company:

Vanguard Animation

Trivia:

Fittingly, the teaser ad for this movie premiered on June 20th 2008 during a Fox broadcast of another 'Monkey in Space' movie - 2001's remake of "Planet of the Apes".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The chimpanzees are all small, even Houston, who is much older than the others. Fully grown chimpanzees are roughly the same size as humans.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Houston: Oh, Lord.

Movie Connections:

References Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Soundtrack:

Axel F

Well.... OK....

This CGI animated movie is not complex or sophisticated. It is a simple story of very clever chimps, full of human characteristics, being sent through a space warp to a planet full of aliens, and emerging triumphant. It is aimed at kids, although there are gags in it for adults. It is bright and colourful, the characters (humans, chimps and aliens) are all engaging, the alien world is imaginative, the action flows well, the dialogue is fun, and the story is easy to follow.

If I sound a little half-hearted, then it's because I am. Despite all the good things listed above, the movie itself comes across as a little half-hearted. The animation, for instance, while adequate, isn't up to the standard we've become used to in CGI features. The voice cast perform OK, but aren't particularly high profile (Jeff Daniels and Stanley Tucci are the top names). And there's at least one matter which we expected to see resolved before the end, but which is still hanging loose.

I enjoyed it, but was left feeling....

The kids loved it, though.