The Costly Lesson of Mars Needs Moms

Mars may need Moms, and Disney may need social media Moms, but the rest of us could do without, thank you very much, especially when it comes to hugely hyped movies that debut not with a bang but with a murky motion capture whimper.

- by Bob McLain, March 21, 2011

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It cost Disney $175 million to make Mars Needs Moms. In its opening weekend, the movie grossed about $7 million. The reviews have been scathing. The movie is a flop. In fact, it will likely become one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history.

Disney can't figure out why.

They point to the film's 'legendary' producer, Robert Zemeckis, and its 'descended from legendary' director, Simon Wells, the grandson of H.G. Wells.

Chuck Viane, Disney's President of Worldwide Distribution, put it succinctly if a bit nonsensically when he said: "We're wondering what happened".

Chuck, you've come to the right place.

What happened is that you had a great movie ... title. I bet the movie got the green-light based substantially on its catchy title. Mars Needs Moms. I love that title! And the whole 'Mars' thing suggests high adventure in the Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition.

With kids the heroes!

What happened, instead, is that the great title turned into a terrible movie. Do kids, especially young boys, really want to watch a movie about Moms, especially bossy Moms, and do those kids ever fantastize (in a non-Freudian way, at least) about rescuing said Moms and returning to domesticity?

I guess not.

And who thought that young boys, who typically worship their Dads, deservedly so or not, would identify with the movie's depiction of Dads as irrelevant slackers?

Moms, after all, (usually) become Moms because of Dads.

Had the visuals been appealing, maybe the movie might have earned a few extra million, but Zemeckis insisted on using his odd-ball 3D motion capture animation. Even at its best, that technology leaves many people cold. Compare it to the hand-drawn animation of Disney classics from the pre-computer era.

Want to give a movie a living, beating heart: use artists, not algorithms.

Disney, lately, has lacked creative and executive focus. They've been dashing into various social media initiatives, double-thinking themselves about theme park expansions, and heedlessly 'improving' guest experience with such dubious perks as allowing guests to reserve FastPasses from home.

Easy does it, fellas. Too much, too fast. Set some priorities. Deal with that Harry Potter envy. Make no more trips to Mars. You already have some of the best properties, the best characters, the best entertainment on earth. Don't blow it.

And by the way: to the guy at Disney who announced recently that the company would make no more princess or fairy tale movies, such as the box office smash hit Tangled...

How about you make no more movies like Mars Needs Moms, instead.

Don't stop there! More Tidings Await...