Space Chimps

Post by **Wolf** » April 6th, 2008, 12:03 am

The teaser is up for Vanguard Animation's Space Chimps at the official site:

http://spacechimpsfilm.com/

Featurette Video (Click Animation-->Features-->Space Chimps-->trailer):
http://www.starzmediadistribution.com/

When a $5 billion NASA probe disappears into an intergalactic wormhole, the agency recruits Ham III, grandson of the first chimpanzee in space, to help retrieve the wayward craft. But Ham is a free-spirited circus performer more interested in zero gravity high jinks than living up to his illustrious heritage. The simian slacker becomes a reluctant hero and learns the true meaning of courage as he and his crewmates, the fearless Lt. Luna and their uptight commander, Titan, risk everything in an effort to save the peaceful inhabitants of a distant planet from an evil dictator. A hilarious, out of this world adventure the whole family can enjoy, "Space Chimps" features cutting edge CGI animation and the voice talent of Andy Samberg ("Saturday Night Live"), Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), Patrick Warburton ("Rules of Engagement"), Kristin Chenoweth ("The West Wing") and Stanley Tucci ("Robots").

Post by **Whippet Angel** » April 6th, 2008, 11:30 am

Hmmm..... Not quite sure what to make of this.

It kinda seems like they're trying to imitate Pixar's style (character design and all). O___o

Post by **Macaluso** » April 6th, 2008, 8:05 pm

Holy cow that looks awful.

Post by **eddievalient** » April 6th, 2008, 8:17 pm

LOL Man that was funny. At the very least, this looks better than the very-disappointing "Valiant" (that was Vanguard, right?). And it's got Patrick Warburton! In a lead role, not a cameo! Okay, this just made my list for the summer. Too bad it comes out the same day as Dark Knight, it's gonna totally be buried.

Post by **Meg** » April 6th, 2008, 8:54 pm

But Patrick Warburton is in EVERYTHING...

Post by **eddievalient** » April 7th, 2008, 10:47 am

So? What's your point? He's a funny guy and every time he pops up it's a nice surprise, especially when he plays one of the main characters, which doesn't happen often (correct me if I'm incorrect but I think his last semi-lead role was The Wolf in Hoodwinked). They use him in EVERYTHING because he's good. If you recall, back in the 90s Jim Cummings and Rob Paulson were in almost every cartoon you saw (later on Tom Kenny joined them in that). Going even further back you had June Foray and Paul Frees (and to a lesser extent Howard Morris). So, this isn't exactly a new thing. Anyhoo, I still say this movie looks funny.

Post by **Meg** » April 7th, 2008, 11:02 am

I don't know. I used to really like him but now that he's in almost EVERY animated film out, it's much less of a nice surprise for me than it is a predictable casting choice. I like to hear new voices now and again too!

Post by **Ben** » April 8th, 2008, 6:50 am

Patrick Warburton is in it and the title they pick to represent his career to the targeted audience is..."Rules of Engagement"...???

Yep, used to be a big fan - and no doubt he still amuses greatly - but he's always "Patrick Warburton"...no change, no nuance. It's obvious they want that type of voice, but it's always the same voice...

I liked Valiant - I liked Vanguard's style on that one...much better than it gets credit for, considering this was an independent film that got lucky in being picked up for wider distribution. Looking back, it's still got more craftmanship in it than some big, major studio CG pictures.

Happy N'Ever After - not so much.

Actually, the two films were made by different crews (Valiant in Ealing, London, and N'Ever After in Germany by a new and unexperienced crew), which accounts for the different levels of quality. I think Happily only gets the Vanguard name on it because John H Williams was a producer on it, not that it was actually made/animated by them.

Space Chimps - wow those sites are slow to load. I gave up trying to find the trailer, it only says "trailer coming soon". I couldn't find the Starz featurette either, but they do have a trailer there...again super slow to load that I eventually gave up. Looks like they're going for the Incredibles/Monsters Vs Aliens approach...a retro-styled futuristic adventure comedy. I'm interested to see more, but in a genuine large format clip...one can't judge anything properly in a three inch, choppy video window.

Still, this looks "different", and it seems Vanguard have gotten the drop on the other such influenced films about to come out like this. Shame it is going to be battered by Bats.

Post by **numbattery** » April 8th, 2008, 8:14 am

It is funny how Patrick Warburton never changes his schtick, yet depending on his animated character, I either find him hilarious or irritating.
I enjoyed his roles in The Emperors new groove, Family Guy, The Venture Bros but found his cameo roles like in Open Season and Chicken Little to be dull and cheap.

I thought Valiant was a charming film. The animation is a lot better than what most people make it out to be and the whole movie never seems over ambitious.

Hellboy II and The Dark Knight are getting a same day release in New Zealand. And I've got high expectations for both Batsy and Big Red.

Post by **Ben** » April 8th, 2008, 2:03 pm

Yay - another Valiant supporter!

Post by **Whippet Angel** » April 8th, 2008, 2:22 pm

I couldn't get either of those sites to load either.

But if you want to see the entire trailer, there are some lower-quality versions of it on youtube.

Post by **Dacey** » April 8th, 2008, 4:38 pm

Here's a decent version of the trailer that I just found on Youtube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SVe1_CThZYA

I hate to say it, but this movie really doesn't look very good. At all.

Post by **Ben** » April 8th, 2008, 5:49 pm

Um...it's just UNFUNNY...!?

"That's gotta hurt" - HOW many times has this line popped up in recent animated features. And roughly half of those are said by Warburton!

What's happened here is that they KNOW they have a stinker, so they programmed it against Batman. If it works - unlikely - they can claim counter-programming. When it doesn't work - highly likely - they can say "well nothing could go up against Batman".

Starz and Fox know they have a stinker, and they've done all they can to make sure it's buried. Would be interesting to note the number of screens this is set to play in on opening weekend against Batman's - you can bet the two figures - and each film's eventual box office - are going to be wildly different.

Post by **Macaluso** » April 8th, 2008, 7:00 pm

The worst part of the trailer for me was when they were on the treadmills and Warburton Monkey says a rhyme and then Regular Monkey goes "No one wants to hear your song" and throws a banana at him making him slip.

Just... holy god it's so bad.

Also the girl in the trailer who I assume is in charge of the monkeys is HORRIBLY designed.

This is the kind of movie that gives CG movies a bad name.

edit: i also love the joke they just straight up stole from south park

Post by **Ben** » April 9th, 2008, 6:47 am

Warburton Monkey.

There's a character in that name...