Click to read the article
Space Chimps (2008)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted: 88
Fresh: 32
Rotten:56
Average Rating: 4.7/10
Consensus: Space Chimps' cheap animation and overabundance of monkey puns feels especially dated in a post-Wall-E world.
Theatrical Release:Jul 18, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $29,942,542
Synopsis: Circus monkey Ham III (voiced by Andy Samberg) works in a circus where he's regularly shot from a canon but he still lives in the shadow of his father's legacy (Ham I was the first chimp shot into... Circus monkey Ham III (voiced by Andy Samberg) works in a circus where he's regularly shot from a canon but he still lives in the shadow of his father's legacy (Ham I was the first chimp shot into space in 1961). A natural born rebel against authority, Ham the third is initially reluctant to go on a dangerous space mission to rescue a lost space probe, but away he goes, for lots of RIGHT STUFF-style astro-training alongside two highly prepared chimps, Luna and Titan (Cheryl Hines and Patrick Warburton). NASA's by-the-book methods jar with Ham's mischief-making of course, but once the space training ends, the mission begins, with myriad dangers along the way, including: a big-toothed monster and a run amok alien named Zartog (Jeff Daniels) whose harnessed the previous space probe for world-domination purposes, all good opportunities for Ham III to redeem himself. Despite all the fangs, parents shouldn't worry too much; not a hair on any chimp is seriously singed, and along the pratfall strewn way there's time for lessons about responsibility and realization of one's full potential. While the animation here is not quite up to Pixar level, it's still pretty and colorful, with a pleasing Candyland quality to the alien planet surface. Samberg brings a savvy zest to his vocal duties as the Ham, Stanley Tucci is a nefarious senator and--getting big laughs with flawlessly deadpan elan--Patrick Breen as one of the trio of egghead scientists. Kird De Micco directed; based on the computer video game. [More]
Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton
Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Stanley Tucci, Omid Abtahi, Patrick Breen, Kenan Thompson, Carlos Alazraqui, Kath Soucie, Jane Lynch
Director: Kirk De Micco
Director: Kirk De Micco
Screenwriter: Kirk De Micco, Rob Moreland
Story: Kirk De Micco
Producer: John H. Williams, Barry Sonnenfeld
Composer: Chris Bacon
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Release:
Jun 16, 2009
Reviews for Space Chimps
It's likely that few people will ever even notice the success it might have been or the unremarkable failure it turned out to be.
Some days you just can't resist cartoon chimps mocking William Shatner's delivery.
Space Chimp's narrative pendulum swings illustrate, in contrasting fashion, the care, depth and shading given to storylines by Pixar and creators of other top-shelf animated fare.
A film that, in a non-Pixar dominated reality, would be cleaning up at the box office. It's enough to make you laugh.
While it is not a transcendent flick, it will certainly provide necessary child pacification on a hot Saturday afternoon.
It’s pretty much your run-of-the-mill CGI effort (and remember the days when the technology used to inspire 'ahhs and ohhhs?').
There is genuine sparkle in the voice work and more than a few jokes that really do hit the sweet spot.
A movie called Space Chimps ought to be cheap, crude and silly, and this computer-animated lark delivers on all fronts.
Cheap animation and a virtually non-existent plot pretty much destroy any semblance of potential this one-note premise has from the starting gates.
A real writer would have turned this in to a great animated action flick instead of animated ADD pabulum...
Entertaining, nicely animated and frequently funny family adventure with superb vocal performances and an extremely witty script.
The film is pacy, full of humour rather than thrills and not too long. Not for connoisseurs of animation but fun for the young.
So, as our badly animated apes are sent to an alien planet for dull-as-ditchwater adventures with a population of little green men, the film doesn’t just stoop in pursuit of a buck, it shimmies beneath the bar to record a new low.
My heartfelt advice is have mercy on your children and take them to see WALL-E instead.
Space Chimps tries to please both kids and parents with a queasy mix of rapid-fire, Looney Tunes-y slapstick and sly pop culture references, but the surprisingly flat animation and tired jokes keep it from ever leaving orbit.
Latest News for Space Chimps
September 02, 2008:
RT's Summer in Review: The Best, The Worst, and Our Favorite Films!
The summer movie season of 2008 ended last weekend, and boy, was it a good one. Led by box office smashes like Iron Man, Wall-E, and The Dark Knight, Hollywood raked in the... More...
July 20, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Kapow! The Bat Slams The Box Office
We have a new opening weekend box office high as The Dark Knight enters the record books. More...
July 18, 2008:
Review Revue: The Dark Knight vs. ABBA, Chimp Flicks
The year's most anticipated film finally hits this Friday, but will The Dark Knight live up to all the hype? Find out that and more, and watch Dave Chung's final farewell from... More...
July 17, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Dark Knight Set For Gargantuan Grosses
The superhero sequel The Dark Knight and the musical Mamma Mia! debut head to head in what could a tight race for the number one spot. Or one film might open $100M higher than... More...
Related Forums for Space Chimps
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
79% 79% |
Gran Torino |
30% 30% |
12 Rounds |
23% 23% |
Confessions of a Shopa… |
|
The Code |
39% 39% |
Inkheart |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
22% 22% |
Push |
12% 12% |
The Unborn |
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Space Chimps at Rotten Tomatoes
- Space Chimps at IGN
- Space Chimps at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.






