Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Published
Sci-fi films have a history of bombing so badly at the box office that they bring down entire studios. It makes sense considering the average budget is hundreds of times higher than a horror film, and two to three times more than a slow burn drama. The risk of sci-fi is high but Disney decided that Robert Zemeckis, the mastermind behind it Back to the Future, Who invented Roger Rabit Forrest Gumpagain Get rid of it it was worth the gamble. What they found in 2011, was Mars Needs Mothersthe most fully animated feature on the biggest bomb threat in history. Instead of bringing Disney down, it scared Disney into exploring new IP and stopped original sci-fi from the House of Mouse.
Mars Needs Mothers is a Historical Tragedy
Mars Needs Mothers he imagines a universe where subterranean Martians kidnap Earth mothers to suckle their “mother” to power their nanny-bots who raise the next generation of Martians. The process of doing so kills someone, making this one of the darkest movies ever made by Walt Disney Productions. Seth Green portrays Milo, a 9-year-old boy whose mother (Joan Cusack) is kidnapped. He launches a mission to rescue the Red Planet, meeting friendly Martians and uncovering the ancient history of the aliens in the process.
Part of the problem with Mars Needs Mothers that to follow the structure, you need to go beyond the unusual animation style. Robert Zemeckis took the process used in the Beowulf again The Polar Expresswhich involves wide motion capture combined with superimposed animated CGI. It’s rotoscoping, but it’s aimed squarely at the odd valley.
Disney Changed Their Approach to Sci-Fi
From the reaction to the very first trailer, Disney executives have been preparing for a catastrophic bombshell. Mars Needs Mothers it was one of the first films to be brutal in the emerging social media. The cartoon style, combined with the corny plot, turned off adults and most importantly, parents. The result was a final box office total of $39 million, well short of the $150 million production budget, and that’s not to mention marketing.
When all is said and done, Mars Needs Mothers it cost Disney $144 million. The immediate impact was felt by John Carter of Marswhich happened John Carterthen it is the best film to be considered as a box office. Then-Disney CEO Bob Iger made the call to “mine IPs” after failing, to John Carter the last original sci-fi film from Disney. Everything since then has been tied to the franchise, and Fallout was so popular, that even other studios hesitated to pursue original sci-fi. The Creator it’s heavily marketed as an original story, and if that can’t be used as a selling point, you know the brand is in for a tough time.
Robert Zemeckis has had a “mixed” movie career may be a bit generous, but for all his faults, Here at least it was smart. Since Mars Needs Mothers bombed, few films come close to matching it, but Eli Roth’s The Borderlands in 2024 it managed to get less money ($33 million), and it costs more. Due to tax credits and creative accounting, Lionsgate lost only $80 million, dwarfing Disney’s staggering $144 million deficit. If it wasn’t for Mars Needs Motherswe might be on our sixth John Carter movie right now.
Mars Needs Mothers is currently streaming on Disney+, but before you watch it, ask yourself if that’s how you really want to spend your limited time on Earth.
