Space Chimps [Blu-ray]

Titan: Are you in aluminum clothes?
Ham III: Yes.
Titan: Are you in a rocket?
Ham III: Yes
Titan: In outer space?
Ham III: Yes.
Titan: Are you David Bowie?
Ham III: Uh... no.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):

1. NASA loses probe in wormhole
2. To account for losing the billion dollar probe, they plan to send a billion dollar space craft after it, piloted by a team of chimps
3. To get full media coverage, they decide to send a celebrity chimp, and since Lance Bass wasn't available, they choose Ham III (voiced by Andy Samberg)
4. Ham III is the grandson of Ham I (I bet you figured that out on your own), the first chimp in space, III being currently employed as a simian cannonball with a circus.
5. Ham III, Lt. Luna (Cheryl Hines), and Commander Titan (Patrick Warburton) become space chimps
6. Lots of monkey business follows as the intrepid team go boldly where no chimp has gone before, to an inhabited planet ruled by cold-hearted Dictator Zartog (Jeff Daniels)
7. This is actually a much better movie than it sounds

This underrated cartoon is actually a lot funnier than you'd think. The animation won't make Pixar lose any sleep, but is pretty good anyway, and the humor will tickle your funny bone without ever once resorting to lowbrow potty jokes. [Note: Beware of the puns]

Although not in the class of Wall-E or Finding Nemo, this is one that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Rated: 3.5 stars

Amanda Richards, September 20, 2008

Took my girls to see this movie over the summer - loved it. We're still using the lines "Permission to speak" "Permission Granted" "You're a dork". We had fun. It's a good family movie. I probably laughed more than they did!

Ham III is the grandson of Ham, the first-ever chimp astronaut. This ne'er-do-well chimp may not be the most qualified ape for the job, but a scheming senator has recruited him for a most dangerous mission. It seems that a powerful tyrant has overtaken an alien world, and now it's up to Ham III and his trusty simian crew to help overthrow the deep-space despot. There's nothing complicated about "Space Chimps". It's a simple tale of 3 chimps sent to outer space and somehow end up on a strange and unmanned planet. Your kids will like this movie, but it's quite boring for the grown ups.