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Movies / On DVD / Space Chimps
Space Chimps

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Space Chimps (2008)

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Reviews Counted:89

Fresh:33

Rotten:56

Average Rating:4.7/10

Consensus: Space Chimps' cheap animation and overabundance of monkey puns feels especially dated in a post-Wall-E world.

Rated: U

Runtime: 81 mins

Genre: Childrens

Theatrical Release:01-08-2008

Synopsis: Circus monkey Ham III (voiced by Andy Samberg) works in a circus where he's regularly shot from a canon but he still lives in the shadow of his father's legacy (Ham I was the first chimp shot into... Circus monkey Ham III (voiced by Andy Samberg) works in a circus where he's regularly shot from a canon but he still lives in the shadow of his father's legacy (Ham I was the first chimp shot into space in 1961). A natural born rebel against authority, Ham the third is initially reluctant to go on a dangerous space mission to rescue a lost space probe, but away he goes, for lots of RIGHT STUFF-style astro-training alongside two highly prepared chimps, Luna and Titan (Cheryl Hines and Patrick Warburton). NASA's by-the-book methods jar with Ham's mischief-making of course, but once the space training ends, the mission begins, with myriad dangers along the way, including: a big-toothed monster and a run amok alien named Zartog (Jeff Daniels) whose harnessed the previous space probe for world-domination purposes, all good opportunities for Ham III to redeem himself. Despite all the fangs, parents shouldn't worry too much; not a hair on any chimp is seriously singed, and along the pratfall strewn way there's time for lessons about responsibility and realization of one's full potential. While the animation here is not quite up to Pixar level, it's still pretty and colorful, with a pleasing Candyland quality to the alien planet surface. Samberg brings a savvy zest to his vocal duties as the Ham, Stanley Tucci is a nefarious senator and--getting big laughs with flawlessly deadpan elan--Patrick Breen as one of the trio of egghead scientists. Kird De Micco directed; based on the computer video game. [More]

Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton

Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Stanley Tucci, Omid Abtahi, Patrick Breen, Kenan Thompson, Carlos Alazraqui, Kath Soucie, Jane Lynch

Director: Kirk De Micco

Director: Kirk De Micco
Screenwriter: Kirk De Micco, Rob Moreland
Story: Kirk De Micco
Producer: John H. Williams, Barry Sonnenfeld
Composer: Chris Bacon
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Space Chimps

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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Space Chimps isn't so terrible - unashamed kids stuff that addresses no bigger question than how to pee in a space suit.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/01/08
Cath Clarke
Cath Clarke
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The animation will dazzle undemanding tots, but the writers must have been paid peanuts for a script that flings around hit and (mostly) miss gags, ranging from fart funnies to Freudianism (!), like so much monkey mess.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
08/01/08
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

At a time when we are bombarded with dazzling CGI creations, the release of a film with such dull animation is intriguing. A film with clear adult aspirations held back by its supposed audience.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/01/08
Holly Grigg-Spall
Holly Grigg-Spall
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Coupling the men-on-a-mission antics of ‘Armageddon’ with the catch-all sci-fi pastiche of TV’s ‘Futurama’, ‘Space Chimps’ is an underwhelming slice of lowbrow CGI entertainment.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
08/01/08
Tom Huddlestone
Tom Huddlestone
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Space Chimps tries to please both kids and parents with a queasy mix of rapid-fire, Looney Tunes-y slapstick and sly pop culture references, but the surprisingly flat animation and tired jokes keep it from ever leaving orbit.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
08/01/08
Ken McIntyre
Ken McIntyre
Total Film

Up against WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda this CGI 'toon looks flat and unoriginal. Who's trying to ape Pixar?

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment 1 Comment
07/31/08
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext

It may look half-finished, but it's bright and silly and passes the time.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
08/01/08
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Space Chimp's narrative pendulum swings illustrate, in contrasting fashion, the care, depth and shading given to storylines by Pixar and creators of other top-shelf animated fare.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Screen International

My heartfelt advice is have mercy on your children and take them to see WALL-E instead.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
08/01/08
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

Entertaining, nicely animated and frequently funny family adventure with superb vocal performances and an extremely witty script.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/31/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Entertaining, nicely animated and frequently funny family adventure with superb vocal performances and an extremely witty script.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment 1 Comment
08/01/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The film is pacy, full of humour rather than thrills and not too long. Not for connoisseurs of animation but fun for the young.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
08/01/08
This is London
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unfortunately, the film-makers assume that pre-adolescent audiences will only identify with a smug, hyperactive central character such as the Andy Samburg-voiced Ham. Still, it’s remarkable that they managed to smuggle an oral sex joke into a U-rated film

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
08/01/08
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

So, as our badly animated apes are sent to an alien planet for dull-as-ditchwater adventures with a population of little green men, the film doesn’t just stoop in pursuit of a buck, it shimmies beneath the bar to record a new low.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
08/01/08
Daily Mirror [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The animation looks unfinished, with a kind of lifeless mechanical sheen replacing actual textures.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/17/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Kiddie space adventure cute, but no WALL-E.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
07/18/08
Sandie Angulo Chen
Sandie Angulo Chen
Common Sense Media

Small children may be distracted by the movie's bright colors, but others will be bored by the dull story and almost complete lack of wonder.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
07/17/08
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

It’s pretty much your run-of-the-mill CGI effort (and remember the days when the technology used to inspire 'ahhs and ohhhs?').

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/01/08
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

It's talking monkeys in space. How is that not fun?

Full Review Source: Film School Rejects | comment Comment
07/18/08
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
Film School Rejects

The movie is so routine that you welcome offbeat things like an alien who makes incredibly high-pitched noises. It's the sort of thing that might jolt you out of your sleep.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
07/18/08
Peter T. Chattaway
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Space Chimps

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