Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Space Chimps Blu-ray Movie Review

'Space Chimps' Blasts off on Blu-ray with excellent sound and picture quality.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 27, 2008

Technically there is no such thing as nerds in the simian world.

Films like Space Chimps require reviewers to walk a tightrope when it comes to just how much criticism will be leveled on a movie with the solitary goal of entertaining the youngest of movie audiences. It's easy to pick apart a film like this one, but does such harsh criticism really do any good? The bottom line is that many young viewers will at least like this movie; many will find copies of the film under trees and stuffed in stockings this year with no concern that the film offers little in the way of significance either in film or animation history. Space Chimps offers young audiences a fun ride with likable characters traveling to distant worlds, with, of course, a heavy dose of zany comedy thrown into most every scene. This movie was made to bring a smile to bright young faces and to fill theaters and living rooms across the country and around the world with laughter, not to earn the high praise of film critics. As Space Chimps plays on that new high definition display on Christmas afternoon, or on a lazy Saturday as several neighborhood kids lay sprawled out in front of the television, the fruit of the film's labor will be clearly evident. In that regard, and despite any shortcomings more discerning viewers may find with the material, Space Chimps is a success.

See no cliche. Hear no cliche. Speak no cliche.

When the Infinity Probe, a deep-space unmanned vessel in search of extraterrestrial life is pulled through a wormhole and crash-lands on a distant planet, NASA chooses to retrieve the vessel and, hopefully, answer the age old-question as to whether alien life forms actually exist. Unfortunately, a manned rescue is, at first, removed from the equation as NASA's brightest minds remain unsure if humans can survive the journey through the wormhole. Enter the Space Chimps -- Titan (voiced by Patrick Warburton), Luna (voiced by Cheryl Hines), and Comet (voiced by Zack Shada) -- a trio of trained simians that will take the risk and travel further than any man, or any chimp, has gone before. To add some pizzaz and notoriety to the mission, NASA recruits the grandson of Ham I, the first chimp in space, to join the mission. Unlike the others, Ham III (voiced by Andy Samberg) is anything but prepared for the rigors of space flight. Capitalizing off his lineage, he is a popular circus performer, but is whisked away by government black helicopters to join the mission. With room for only three chimps in the shuttle, Comet is left behind as ground technical support as Luna, Titan, and Ham travel to the strange new world, boldly going and discovering a race of peaceful creatures living in fear of the maniacal Zartog (voiced by Jeff Daniels), whose power stems from his discovery and use of the Infinity Probe.

Space Chimps is certainly no Kung Fu Panda or Ratatouille; about the only two things it has in common with DreamWorks' and Pixar's fan favorites is that it is animated and features talking animals in its lead roles. Neither is the film in the same league as these and other animated hits in style, watchability across a broad spectrum of varied audiences, nor even story line implementation of metaphorical underpinnings (the importance of self-worth, for example). Space Chimps certainly tries to be more meaningful underneath the barrage of jokes, offering its take on the meaning of sacrifice, dedication, and respect, but the message is neither as strong nor as well-played as it is in the superior animated films of late vintage. Still, there is really nothing inherently wrong with Space Chimps when absorbed in the proper context; it's a Saturday morning cartoon spread out into 81 well-paced minutes that, even for older viewers in search of something to watch with their family, is neither wholly offensive to the sensibilities nor completely dull in its presentation. The film features plenty of lighthearted verbal humor, some of which may be over the heads of younger audiences, but the accompanying visual gags always ensure a laugh. The film often attempts to integrate pop culture into its story line, though many of the jokes fall flat rather than succeed. Several times throughout the picture the characters themselves poke fun at the absurdity of various segments of the script, which adds a bit of charm thanks to the wink-and-a-nod to the audience that reminds them not to take the picture too seriously.

Space Chimps Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Space Chimps swings onto Blu-ray with a fine looking 2.35:1-framed, 1080p transfer. Colors are fabulous, rich and bold, the all-digital transfer never failing to render each one with precision. The digital artists did a great job of making the movie look nice and detailed without becoming too overdone or busy. There is a simplicity to the animation when compared to the complexities of something like the richly detailed and lifelike realism of WALL●E, particularly those early scenes on Earth. Still, Space Chimps looks pleasing enough; its bright, easy-on-the-eyes animation will satisfy younger audiences. The characters are nicely detailed, too. Wrinkles and creases in space suits and the colors and gizmos that make up the control panel in the shuttle's cockpit also look very good. The blu-ray reveals all the fine details as the image is sharp and crisp and features a rather nice feeling of depth. If there are any drawbacks, one may note a few cases of banding, and a bit of the image sometimes looks hazy. Nevertheless, the transfer is very impressive, another in the ever-growing list of great looking animated titles on Blu-ray.

Space Chimps Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Space Chimps blasts onto Blu-ray with a surprisingly robust DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This soundtrack features a fantastic sense of spacing and depth; an announcer at a circus introduces Ham at the beginning of the movie, and his voice reverberates throughout the rear channels, as does ambient crowd noise and the film's pleasing, exciting music. The soundtrack is incredibly active and virtually every scene features a loud, discernible rear channel presence. Bass is also ridiculously powerful at times, many scenes rumbling and rattling the furniture, though others seems slightly more reserved than one may expect. A scene in chapter five featuring the chimps training to withstand 10 G's features a swirling, bass-heavy sound that travels around the room in a loop, a completely immersive experience that's a blast to listen to. The shuttle launch in chapter seven also features a fantastic amount of bass. Dialogue reproduction is never a problem throughout the film. Space Chimps offers yet another fantastic DTS-HD MA lossless experience.

Space Chimps Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Space Chimps lands on Blu-ray with only a handful of extra materials. Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session (480p, 8:55) features cast and crew discussing the plot of the movie and the voice work behind the characters, discussing the strengths each actor brought to the characters. Five TV spots are next, all presented in a windowboxed 480p image -- Adventure (0:16), Countdown (0:32), Meet (0:31), Right Stuff (0:30), and Spacier (0:31). Trivia Blast is a pop-up trivia track that allows viewers to delve deeper into the film, discovering information from five categories -- Monkey Business, Spaced Out, Chimp it Real Good, Who's on Board, and Ground Control. Also included is a still gallery. Concluding this all-too-brief supplemental section are trailers for Nim's Island, Meet Dave, and Elephant Tales.

Space Chimps Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Its characters aren't all that deep, its story line isn't all that polished, and the film isn't all that memorable, but Space Chimps succeeds as a simple entertainment, an animated adventure that features plenty of laughs, a series of funny and likable characters, and certainly no lack of singing and dancing chimps amidst a watchable animated Sci-Fi Adventure film. If nothing else, Space Chimps has its heart in the right place, the film seemingly setting out to do little more than entertain the young ones in a completely non-offensive, lighthearted manner that might even hold the interest of a few accompanying adults that have come along for the ride. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray presentation of Space Chimps should at least provide owners with a sense of pride as the film plays back with fabulous picture and sound qualities. Unfortunately, the disc lacks much in the way of supplemental materials, particularly more kid-centric extras. Still, Space Chimps will make a nice stocking stuffer for young Blu-ray fans, or at least a family-safe rental for movie night.