Space Chimps

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Space Chimps
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kirk DeMicco
Produced by	Barry Sonnenfeld John H. Williams John W. Hyde
Written by	Kirk DeMicco Rob Moreland
Starring	Andy Samberg Cheryl Hines Patrick Warburton Jeff Daniels
Music by	Chris P. Bacon Blue Man Group (additional)
Cinematography	Jericca Cleland
Editing by	Debbie Berman
Studio	Vanguard Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox / Odyssey Entertainment
Release date(s)	July 18, 2008  United States August 2, 2008  United Kingdom
Running time	81 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$37,000,000[1]
Gross revenue	$64,787,979

Space Chimps is a 2008 computer-animated science fiction comedy film produced by Vanguard Animation, Starz Media and 20th Century Fox, and it was released on July 18, 2008^[2]. The film is produced by Barry Sonnenfeld, John H. Williams, and John W. Hyde and stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Jeff Daniels, Cheryl Hines, Kenan Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Kristin Chenoweth and Patrick Warburton. The teaser ad for this movie premiered on June 20, 2008 during a Fox broadcast of another primate/space-related movie - 2001's remake of Planet of the Apes.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Premiere 3 Cast 4 Sequel 5 Reception 6 Blu-ray Disc / DVD release 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

The movie begins with Ham III (Andy Samberg), grandson of the the first chimpanzee in space at being a canonball at his circus and later being criticized by his grandfather's friend Houston (Carlos Alazraqui). Meanwhile, an unmanned NASA space probe called the Infinity is dragged into an intergalactic wormhole, and crashlands on an Earth-like planet on the other side of the galaxy. Zartog (Jeff Daniels), an evil-minded inhabitant, accidentally discovers how to take manual control of the on-board machinery and uses it to enslave the population.

Faced with the loss of the probe and probable loss of their budget, the scientists have to find a way to regain contact with the probe, to help retrieve the wayward craft. Technical genius chimp Comet (Zack Shada) gets the scientists to pick them as astronauts to explore the planet and get the probe back, with the help of the fearless Lt. Luna (Cheryl Hines), and their bombastic commander, Titan (Patrick Warburton). The Senator (Stanley Tucci) likes the idea, but wants something extra special to grab the attention of the media, and picks Ham. Ham is uninterested in the mission, but he is launched into space despite his best efforts to escape the scientist's training facility.

Their ship is also deposited on the distant planet, where they meet one of the inhabitants, known to them as Kilowatt, and endeavour to save the peaceful inhabitants from the comically evil dictator Zartog.

Finally overcoming Zartog's power and restoring peace to the planet, they return to Earth and safely land the spacecraft after a malfunction. The scientist's budget is, of course, not only restored but enlarged.

[edit] Premiere

The premiere was held on July 13, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.^[3]

[edit] Cast

• Andy Samberg as Ham III, the grandson of Ham I and the protagonist of the film. Ham is a circus chimp who loves his job. Throughout the movie, he is terribly self-absorbed and reckless, but comes to realize that there's more to life than being in a circus.
• Cheryl Hines as Luna, Titan's lieutenant and Ham's love interest. She is fearless, intelligent and beautiful. For most of the movie, she constantly rejects Ham's advances, but eventually grows to like him and learns to loosen up.
• Patrick Warburton as Titan, the pompous commander of the expedition. When he is unwittingly captured by Zartog's minions, he helps Zartog to create his paradise. He is ultimately rescued by Ham and Luna.
• Omid Abtahi as Dr. Jagu
• Jeff Daniels as Zartog, a real-estate-developing alien and the antagonist of the film. When he takes over Malgor, he plans to remake the planet to resemble a casino. He also attempts to capture the chimps, and frequently uses freznar to freeze those who oppose or question him. He is defeated when he falls into his own freznar. He is set to return as the main villain in the sequel, "Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back."
• Patrick Breen as Dr. Bob
• Kenan Thompson as Ringmaster
• Carlos Alazraqui as Houston, friend of Ham's grandfather and Ham's confidant
• Kristin Chenoweth as Kilowatt, a tiny but sweet alien who befriends Ham and Luna. Her head lights up when she is frightened, hence her name.
• Kath Soucie as Dr. Smothers
• Stanley Tucci as The Senator
• Jane Lynch as Dr. Poole
• Zack Shada as Comet, a technical genius chimp
• Wally Wingert as Splork

[edit] Sequel

Main article: Space chimps 2

[edit] Reception

Critical reaction has been mixed. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 37% of critics gave positive reviews based on 82 reviews, giving it a Rotten rating overall.^[4]

Roger Ebert gave a positive review towards the film. Ebert gave the film 3 stars and saying in his review that "Space Chimps is delightful from beginning to end".^[5] The New York Times claimed Space Chimps was "hilarious".^[6]

The film opened with $7.1 million in 2,511 theaters with an $2,860 average.^[7] However, the film became a moderate box office success. The film has grossed $30.1 million in the United States and $33.6 million in other countries totaling $63.8 million worldwide.^[8]

[edit] Blu-ray Disc / DVD release

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment November 25, 2008.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Space Chimps at the Internet Movie Database
• Space Chimps at Allmovie
• Space Chimps at Rotten Tomatoes
• Space Chimps at Metacritic
• Space Chimps at Box Office Mojo
• Space Chimps at VanguardAnimation.com
• Space Chimps web game at Candystand.com

v • d • e Vanguard Animation Feature films Valiant (2005)  • Happily N'Ever After (2007) • Space Chimps (2008) Upcoming films Space Chimps: Return to Malgor  • The Twits  • The Future is Wild • Chupacabra People John H. Williams