Mars Needs Moms failure kills Zemeckis' Yellow Submarine remake

[Roy Mustang]

Mars Needs Moms failure kills Zemeckis' Yellow Submarine remake

If you've ever seen the 1968 movie Yellow Submarine, you know it's a psychedelic animated film starring the Beatles, who battle the invading Blue Meanies with their music. And if you were looking forward to a modern update brought to you by Robert Zemeckis—director of Back to the Future, Contact and Beowulf—well, we have bad news for you. Disney has scuttled the ship.

Zemeckis' newest movie, Mars Needs Moms, earned a depressingly low $6.9 million on its opening weekend, especially when you consider it took $150 million to send those moms to Mars.

A year and a half after the initial announcement, and with the cast and crew already hired, Disney has just cut Yellow Submarine loose. It's officially adrift at sea as Zemeckis decides whether to submit it to another studio or to start a new project altogether.

But according to Reuters and Hollywood Reporter, the financial cataclysm that is Mars Needs Moms wasn't the only reason Disney didn't set Yellow Submarine on its course:

... in the wake of the box-office disappointment of 2009's "Christmas Carol," and with other animated movies pushing the envelope in terms of aesthetics, there were also concerns within Disney about the look of motion capture, especially the way human characters are depicted. ("Creepy" is the word often used.) Those same concerns, insiders say, led to Disney shutting down Zemeckis' ImageMovers studio in May 2010.

Not every studio feels that way about motion-capture technology. Take DreamWorks. Steven Spielberg is currently directing The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn using the same techniques used on the set of another film that relied on motion capture: Avatar.

[Cognitive Gear]

This is fantastic news. There is absolutely no need, or desire for, a Yellow Submarine remake, especially with Zemeckis' creepy motion capture tech.

[bigsleepj]

Hopefully, this means that the original Yellow Submarine will go onto DVD again. I really liked A Christmas Carol and would not mind owning it on DVD. I'm less pleased with Beowulf and Polar Express.

I think "Mars needs Moms" failed because the concept sounded stupid. Never mind motion capture uncanny valley, never mind people cooling towards 3D (which is another thing they blame). The truth that no one wants to admit is that the idea, no matter how well or inventive it is executed, sounds stupid. But that's just me.

[rocklobster]

I saw the original version of Yellow Submarine. I thought it sucked, and this is a Beatles fan talking. If Zemeckis were to make a remake, I'd want only one thing: drugs to make it better.
Zemeckis, please go back to making live-action movies!

[TWWK]

I had no idea that Zemekis did Mars Needs Moms - the movie seems like, as one reviewer called it, an extended Saturday morning cartoon episode. And the publicity for it was really, really poorly done.

As for his other motion capture films - I guess I'm in the minority that doesn't think the whole uncanney valley thing isn't creepy with his movies. I thought The Polar Express was amazing - particularly on IMAX 3-D, but even on home video. My son loves it also. A Christmas Carol was also very good for the most part.

On another note, I find it strange that whoever wrote the article mentioned Contact in his list of films, rather than say...Forrest Gump? I enjoyed Contact, but it made less than $100 million, won no Oscars (might have gotten a nomination or two?) and is largely forgotten, while Gump is one of the highest grossing films of all time, won a number of Oscars, and will always be remembered for its story, characters, and performances. Not a biggie, just sayin'...

[bigsleepj]

Zemeckis was the producer, it seems, but not the director. Still...

[Radical Dreamer]

I think that's good news all around. XD I agree that the concept for Mars Needs Moms sounds incredibly stupid, and I'm glad to hear it bombed at the box office. XD But seriously, a remake of Yellow Submarine? Why? And was he intending to remake it with that awful motion-capture animation style? Because that would just be the worst. XD It IS creepy-looking, and I think fewer animated movies need to incorporate that into their style, for sure. XD

[Htom Sirveaux]

Mars Needs Moms failed because the concept was already done and done better.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mom and Dad Save the World.

[Maledicte]

Yay! Keep your hands off Yellow Submarine! I love it in all its bizarre wacky glory.

"I've got a hole in me pocket."

[Tarnish]

Am I a bad person 'cause I actually considered seeing this?

....

I really, REAALLLY like Berkely Breathed.

[shooraijin]

ImageMovers has done a lot of harm to motion capture, which done right looks normal and done wrong falls straight into the bottomless uncanny valley.

Props to Zemeckis trying, but the tech needs to go back into R&D for a couple years.

I, too, like Berkeley Breathed. Gorbachev sings turnips: tractors! buttocks! (Mithrandir will get it.)