Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Fox Home Entertainment – 81 minutes – 2008 – Rated G – 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 – DTS HD 5.1 Lossless Audio

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There were some great animated movies that came in the summer of 2008, one of them Wall-E and the other was Kung Fu Panda; then there was one really bad one, Space Chimps. To be on the positive side, Space Chimps has its heart in the right place, but its execution makes it painful to watch if you’re above the age of five. Space Chimps is now available on Blu-ray from Fox Home Entertainment, but if you had the option to pick up something else, you’d probably be better off.

THE MOVIE

During the space race in the 1950’s NASA used chimps, our closest relatives in the animal chain, to see how humans would survive space travel. Space Chimps uses this as its premise, beginning with a US probe being sucked into a wormhole and losing contact with NASA. Desperate to retrieve the vessel wants to send a manned team through the wormhole, but they are not sure humans would survive. This is where the Space Chimps come in, Titan and Luna. Needed a third member for the team, Ham III a chimp circus star who is the grandson of Ham I, who was the first chimp in space and an American hero. The trios are sent through the wormhole where they discover a new planet and an alien race, leading to the greatest simian adventure ever told.

The space chimps are voiced by Adam Samberg from Saturday Night Live, Cheryl Hines from Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as Patrick Warburton and Zack Shada. Unlike animated films like Shrek, Toy Story and The Incredibles, which are aimed at all audiences, Space Chimps is only aimed at kids. It just goes for the silly antics you’ll find in any Saturday morning cartoon, making it a perfect 80-minute baby sitter. If this film attempted to be clever instead of remaining on the sugar coated cereal level, it would have captured a wider audience.

There are some cute moments and some things that will make you chuckle, but other than that, this is a G rated children’s film and it’s not trying to go beyond that. If you have a very young child, this film is recommended because they will find it entertaining, but if you’re expecting something more Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda are also on store shelves and are more suited for the rest of us.

VIDEO

With a full 1080p image and a 2.35:1 aspect ratio Space Chimp looks good because of it’s pure CG source, but it’s not as detailed as other animated films looking flat in places. The chimps themselves look decent, but they were a little too plastic for my taste. The colors are sharp and stand out, but it may be strange to say this about an animated film, but it looks too cartoon-ish. Kids will not mind and will probably be thrilled, so on this level Space Chimps works.

AUDIO

Space Chimps sounds good with a DTS-HD 5.1 lossless mix, so moments such as when the rocket ship blasts off from Earth and into space are very effective. The dialogue is crisp and clean, and sound effects such as all the creatures on the alien planet are well done. The voice work from the actors is solid, but being that the talents involved are actors who are used to improve, you shouldn’t expect less.

EXTRAS

The bonus features are simple and sweet like the film itself, but again even here they seem to be aimed at the youngsters.

‘Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session’ runs a bout 10 minutes and gives a behind the scenes look at the actors providing the voices for the characters in Space Chimps.

A Trivia Track plays along with certain scenes, showing a pop-up track that runs with the clips offering various areas of information.

There are also five TV Spots that ran before the film hit theaters and a still gallery.

BOTTOM LINE

Space Chimps is cute, but it’s G rated cute and that a whole lot different form Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda cute. The little kiddies may gather around the TV and love you for getting them this Blu-ray, and that alone may make it all worth it.

SCORES (out of 5):

The Movie: 2.0

Video: 3.5

Sound: 3.5

Extras: 2.5

Bottom Line: 2.5