Space Chimps

Space Chimps
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kirk DeMicco
Produced by	Barry Sonnenfeld John H. Williams
Written by	Kirk DeMicco Rob Moreland
Starring	Andy Samberg Cheryl Hines Jeff Daniels Patrick Warburton Kristin Chenoweth Kenan Thompson
Music by	Chris P. Bacon
Cinematography	Jericca Cleland
Editing by	Debbie Berman
Studio	Vanguard Animation Odyssey Entertainment Starz Animation Studiopolis
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 18, 2008 (2008-07-18)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$37 million
Box office	$64,834,964

Space Chimps is a 2008 computer-animated science fiction comedy film produced by Vanguard Animation, Starz Animation, and 20th Century Fox, and it was released on July 18, 2008. The film is produced by Barry Sonnenfeld, John H. Williams, and John W. Hyde and stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Kenan Thompson, Carlos Alazraqui and Zack Shada.

The teaser ad premiered on June 20, 2008 during a Fox broadcast of another primate/space-related film - 2001's remake of Planet of the Apes.

Plot

The film begins with Ham III, grandson of the first chimpanzee in space, being a cannonball at his circus and later being criticized by his grandfather's friend Houston. Meanwhile, an unmanned NASA space probe called the Infinity is dragged into an intergalactic wormhole, and crash-lands on an Earth-like planet on the other side of the galaxy. Zartog, 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 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, and their bombastic commander, Titan. The Senator 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 falls for Luna(though he is unaware that Luna was doing the same thing for Ham). The three go in a gravitational probe, having Luna and Titan screaming, but Ham's internal structure could stand the pressure, forcing him to ask Luna to help him move next week (The makeup trailer is not seen in the second movie, making people think that she helped him move.)

The three chimps enter the wormhole, where Titan and Luna pass out from the pressure, leaving Ham with the task of getting the ship out and landing it. This is done, and Ham and Luna explore the planet, during which their ship, along with Titan, is taken by a group of aliens sent by Zartog. Ham and Luna begin their journey to Zartog's palace, and on the way they meet one of the inhabitants, known to them as Kilowatt. Kilowatt offers to lead them to the palace, but soon after they encounter a flesh-eating monster in a cave. The monster blocks the exit, but Kilowatt distracts it, sacrificing herself so Ham and Luna can escape.

The two chimps finally reach the palace, where they discover that Titan has been teaching Zartog some of the probe's features. They rescue him and are able to board their ship. After getting back in the "Horizon", the controls are lent to Ham, but it doesn't start, making them open the hatch, and all they find are bells and whistles(making them realize that Ham was right about the whole thing being a hoax). Ham says that NASA wanted to see if their brains still worked after going through the wormhole, and that they are nothing more than guinea pigs(they are on Mars for the time being) and Luna realizes that the ship was on autopilot the whole time and Ham was right all along(but Ham didn't want to be right and that's what humans think of, not them) thus making Titan start crying. Just as they are about to leave, Ham glances outside and sees Zartog torturing some of the other aliens. He then tells Titan and Luna that they indirectly sent the probe there, and that they owe it to Kilowatt to help save the planet. The three of them exit the ship, which blasts off set to autopilot, but as they are trying to think of a plan, Zartog attacks them with the probe. Just as they are about to get destroyed, Titan tricks Zartog into triggering an ejection mechanism in the probe, which in turn leads to his defeat.

The chimps then discover that Kilowatt has survived, and they are able to make contact with Comet and Houston back on Earth through a walkie-talkie. Houston reminds them that if they can redesign the probe, then they can use it to get back to Earth. They manage to do this with help from the planet's inhabitants and they use an erupting volcano to get the thrust they need to escape the planet's gravity. They go into space, and just as they are about to re-enter the wormhole, Titan hands the controls over to Ham, since Ham is the only one who can withstand the pressure, and thus, the only one who can pilot the ship home. Titan and Luna once again pass out. Ham is unsure if he is up to the task until he has a mental conversation with his grandfather, who tells him to believe in himself and to just do things his (Ham's) way.

Ham manages to manoeuver the ship back to Earth and land it with Luna's help and Luna says that they were on their date throughout the whole movie, and the Senator, under pressure from the press, decides to dramatically increase the space program's funding. The film ends with a celebration being held for the chimps' return.

Cast

• Andy Samberg as Ham III, Ham I's grandson; a circus chimp who loves his job
• Cheryl Hines as Luna, Titan's lieutenant; fearless, intelligent and beautiful, she is directly in love with Ham
• Jeff Daniels as Zartog, a real-estate-developing alien
• Patrick Warburton as Titan, the pompous commander of the expedition
• Kristin Chenoweth as Kilowalawhizasahooha (Kilowatt), a tiny but sweet alien who befriends Ham and Luna; her head lights up when she is frightened, hence her name
• Kenan Thompson as Ringmaster, the owner of the circus where Ham III worked
• Carlos Alazraqui as Houston, friend of Ham's grandfather and Ham's confidant
• Zack Shada as Comet, a technical genius chimp
• Omid Abtahi as Dr. Jagu
• Patrick Breen as Dr. Bob
• Jane Lynch as Dr. Poole
• Kath Soucie as Dr. Smothers
• Stanley Tucci as The Senator
• Wally Wingert as Splork / Infinity Probe / Pappy Ham
• Tom Kenny as Newsreel

Release

The premiere was held on July 13, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

Reception

Critical reaction has been mixed to negative; Rotten Tomatoes reported that 34% of professional critics gave positive reviews based on 92 reviews, giving it a "rotten" rating overall. The consensus states: "Space Chimps' cheap animation and overabundance of monkey puns feels especially dated in a post-WALL-E world."

Roger Ebert gave a positive review of 3 stars and saying in his review that "Space Chimps is delightful from beginning to end." The New York Times said that Space Chimps was "hilarious".

The film opened with $7.1 million in 2,511 theaters with an $2,860 average. 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.

Sequel

Main article: Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back

External links

• Official website
• Space Chimps at the Internet Movie Database
• Space Chimps at AllRovi
• Space Chimps at Rotten Tomatoes
• Space Chimps at Box Office Mojo
• Space Chimps at Metacritic