Mars Needs Moms

Nine-year-old Milo (voiced by Seth Green) ends up with the adventure of a lifetime when he tries to rescue his mom (Joan Cusack) from a group of evil Martians in this CGI movie directed by H.G. Wells’ grandson. Milo hides on the spaceship that whisks away his mother and enlists the help of whiz-kid Gribble, who also once hitched a ride on a Mars-bound ship. Gribble ended up living on Mars, where he set up an arsenal of computer equipment that gives Milo a fighting chance against the Martians who plan to turn Mom into a robotic nanny. Luckily, Milo and Gribble befriend Ki, a peace-loving Martian hippie chick and graffiti artist. The movie’s message about family bonds is a conventional one, but the performance-capture animation is quite stunning, especially in 3D. And there’s enough going on to keep little ones from getting too restless.