Space Chimps (2008)

Monkey Whines

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Space Chimps on DVD

From the company that brought you the universally despised Happily N'Ever After (2006) comes this ho-hum G-rated computer animated "comedy." When a space probe is sucked into a dangerous wormhole, scientists send three chimps after it. Circus chimp Ham (voiced by Andy Samberg) is the reluctant hero recruited for the job, while Cheryl Hines and Patrick Warburton are wasted as the voices of the other two chimps. Space Chimps has a surprising lack of juveline burp/fart jokes, but the comedy instead lands in the hands of Samberg, who does an aggravatingly yappy Ben Stiller routine, based on extreme arrogance and neediness. Otherwise, the animation looks unfinished, with a kind of lifeless mechanical sheen replacing actual textures. Kirk De Micco directs and co-writes. Also available on Blu-Ray.

AskMen.com: Space Chimps

Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Kenan Thompson, Carlos Alazraqui, Zack Shada, Omid Abtahi, Patrick Breen, Jane Lynch, Kath Soucie, Stanley Tucci, Wally Wingert, Jessica Gee, Tom Kenny
Written by: Kirk De Micco, Robert Moreland
Directed by: Kirk De Micco
MPAA Rating: G
Running Time: 81 minutes
Date: July 18, 2008