Originally published Friday, July 18, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Movie review
"Space Chimps": It has all the right stuff
Movie review: Kirk De Micco's "Space Chimps," a computer-animated comedy for the whole family, features Andy Samberg as the delightful voice of a wisecracking chimp hero who is sent into a galaxy-crossing wormhole.
Special to The Seattle Times
"Space Chimps," with the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Kristin Chenowith, Patrick Warburton, Jeff Daniels, Stanley Tucci. Directed by Kirk De Micco, from a screenplay by De Micco and Robert Moreland. 81 minutes. Rated G. Several theaters.
"Space Chimps" may be just a computer-animated comedy, but — don't laugh — it cleverly resonates with arguments favoring increased stature for chimpanzees (and all apes) with whom humans share a near-identical genetic blueprint.
However one feels about that, the film's witty, smart story reminds us that chimps (even if they're not being shot into space anymore) are still involuntarily on the dangerous, painful front lines of research.
"Saturday Night Live's" Andy Samberg, sans his usual irony, provides the delightful voice of wisecracking Ham III, a circus simian who delights in being shot out of a cannon. The grandson of a renowned primate who made history orbiting the Earth for NASA, Ham is yanked into service as an unwilling crew member sent into a galaxy-crossing wormhole.
Accompanied by another pair of chimps, the pompous Titan (Patrick Warburton) and the alluring — at least to Ham — Luna (Cheryl Hines), Ham ends up on a distant, Seussian-looking planet controlled by the power-mad but gullible Zartog (Jeff Daniels).
The easygoing "Space Chimps" borrows with carefree audacity from "The Right Stuff" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" (the latter already respectfully plundered by this summer's Pixar hit "WALL• E"). There's a scene, too, in which a sweet little character named Kilowatt (Kristin Chenowith) pulls a self-sacrificing, Jeff Goldblum move out of "Jurassic Park" by distracting a monster.
But the film's comic engine is supplied by Ham's running banter, Titan's passion for protocol, Zartog's delusions of grandeur, an opportunistic senator (Stanley Tucci) and a trio of space-agency brainiacs whose partying hearts beat beneath pocket protectors.
Animation-feature writer Kirk De Micco ("Racing Stripes") makes his directorial debut on "Space Chimps," overseeing wildly contrasting art direction between Earth scenes (kind of grotty) and those on Kilowatt's world (in explosions of color).
His penchant for quick flashes of humor (blink and you'll miss Ham, Titan and Luna in a classic three-chimps pose) and puns galore will keep parents and older kids happy along with the little ones.
Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Movie review: 'The Adjustment Bureau': Hats off to a fine fantasy
Movie review: 'Beastly': Fairy-tale misfits who look like models
Movie review: 'Rango': Johnny Depp nails his role as the lizard hero in this wild Western
Movie review: 'Take Me Home Tonight': a big '80s party you may not want to crash
Actor Mickey Rooney tells Congress about abuse

nwautos
Turismo upgrade "Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition" for PlayStation 3 has features such as new car-tuning settings, new NASCAR vehicles, better replay video...
Post a comment
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
434 - Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looming
346 - Sheriff's office unhappy with 911 dispatcher in caseworker's call
282 - 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
235 - Source: NY, California to sign mortgage settlement
209 - Oregon live game thread
153 - Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game
140 - Lakewood cop accused of taking donations for slain officers' families
114 - Department of Justice owes the Seattle Police Department an apology
88 - Thursday morning links --- and a video!!!
72
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- A wandering gene's destructive path | Book review
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review
- UW opening incubator facility for startups
- Controversial principal at Lowell Elementary takes job in Tacoma
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families







