Space Chimps

In this CGI takeoff of The Right Stuff, narcissistic circus ape Ham III (voiced by Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg), a relative of the first simian in space, finds himself rocketed into the galaxy with a primate crew (with characters voiced by Patrick Warburton and Cheryl Hines) to battle aliens led by Zartog (Jeff Daniels) who have captured an Earth probe. Though it was overshadowed during its summer release by Pixar’s acclaimed WALL-E, Space Chimps skews younger and is sure to get repeat play from all ages. The animation is nowhere near the standards of WALL-E or other summer hit Kung Fu Panda, but Space Chimps is good enough to keep the 10 and under crowd engaged. The Blu-ray edition adds an exclusive trivia track featuring on-screen facts about outer space, space travel and the space program.

Shelf Talk: Despite stalling at a $30 million box office in a summer filled with blockbusters, Space Chimps should soar on the home market, particularly as it serves the children’s niche and adults via some nifty inside references to Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Be sure to promote this to those who gravitate toward animated talking-animal flicks a la Madagascar, Hoodwinked and Over the Hedge.