Mars Needs Moms
Walt Disney Pictures | Release Date: March 11, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
11
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumMar 9, 2011
The movie is also visually magnificent - modestly so. Plus, it's half the length of "Avatar." Read full review
75
Washington PostSean O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\Mar 10, 2011
A majestic musical score by the great composer John Powell somehow makes everything old feel fresh and wondrous again. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsMar 10, 2011
Any satirical points about contemporary gender roles get lost in a mad rush through the matriarchy's beautifully realized, Death Star-like gray fortress. It's a fun rush, though, and an intense one, too. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondMar 10, 2011
The perfect family film in every way, moms, dads, kids and even those Martians are gonna love this funny, warm and wonderful tale. Read full review
70
MovielineMichelle OrangeMar 7, 2011
I salute the effort to go somewhere strange in Mars Needs Moms; if only a fully realized idea - and not the same, barely concealed right-wing rap, different planet - had been the destination. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen ColeMar 11, 2011
It's amazing to see, but potentially unsettling. Green is now 37. And it may be more than some mothers can take, imagining themselves cleaning up after their "little boy" when he's crowding 40. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoMar 10, 2011
"Mars" needs Mom more than the filmmakers seem to realize. Read full review
63
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreMar 9, 2011
Though light enough in tone, packed with good messages and delivering a couple of lovely, touching moments, "Mars" still has that plastic look that made you wish you were seeing the REAL Tom Hanks in "Polar Express" or the REAL Jim Carrey in "A Christmas Carol." Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 10, 2011
While not every family film can plant a flag here, the happily offbeat Mars Needs Moms turns out to be a charming, subversive, minor addition to the club. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttMar 8, 2011
The three most important things in movies are story, story, story so the movie never comes off as the considerable achievement it truly is. Read full review
60
VarietyLael LoewensteinMar 8, 2011
A modestly enjoyable performance-capture creation bearing the unmistakable imprint of producer Robert Zemeckis. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMar 12, 2011
The how-it-was-made demonstration may have been the most captivating part of Mars Needs Moms. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJody MitoriMar 11, 2011
Mars Needs Moms is dark for a Disney movie. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 10, 2011
Mars Needs Moms floats about 45 minutes' worth of story in an 88-minute ocean. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigMar 10, 2011
The movie has more charm when it's earthbound. Cusack and Green's mother-son repartee has sharp comic timing. Once the story veers off to space, it goes downhill. Read full review
40
The New York TimesMike HaleMar 10, 2011
It seems that it's time to admit that dressing actors in LED-studded catsuits, asking them to give performances on sterile white sets and handing the results to a team of computer animators is not a way to make a good movie. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMar 10, 2011
Instead of breathing life into cartoonist Berkeley Breathed's cheeky kids morality tale, the movie - with all its 3-D motion capture animation flash - flatlines. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid FearMar 8, 2011
After the novelty of these backgrounds and comin'-at-ya bits wears off, Mars Needs Moms has to rely on Fogler's obnoxious Jack Black Jr. shtick, a weak subplot involving a '60s-obsessed Martian graffiti artist (Harnois) and rote video-game-y action sequences to carry it along-and that simply won't cut it. Read full review
40
Village VoiceNick SchagerMar 8, 2011
Imagination is in short supply, with rubbery heroes repeatedly plummeting (down chutes, primarily) or hopping and running in slow motion-images that (to state what has now become the obvious) are seldom enhanced by pedestrian IMAX 3-D effects. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 10, 2011
On the whole, I'd rather be on Pluto, which isn't even a planet. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 10, 2011
There's nothing to be said in favor of sitting through garbage, and this movie is awash in the stuff, both figuratively and literally: One of its main locales is a vast garbage dump. Read full review
25
New York PostLou LumenickMar 11, 2011
Aside from a relatively brief appearance by Joan Cusack's avatar as the kidnapped mother, there are no involving characters or situations. Read full review
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