Les chimpanzés de l'espace

Disclaimer: I have no particular interest in chimps. The first email I ever sent was to what was at the time my favorite pop radio station, complimenting the chimp they had obviously hired to come up with their short-lived strange music mix.

This turned out to be better than I expected. Sure, the humor was silly, but it was fun. The nerdy scientists had some of the best lines. And there were enjoyable jokes--if you're not expecting real quality, that is--from our heroes, the aliens, and the villain.

This was also an inspiring story, because our heroes had to accomplish so much on their own, unable to communicate with home base. And their counterparts back home proved quite intelligent, even if humans could only hear screeching noises from them. The original Ham provided a touching moment from the great beyond.

I don't recall any standout performances, but Kristin Chenoweth was so cute as a tiny alien creature with a beautiful operatic voice whose contribution proved valuable. Whenever she got scared or excited, she hit that high note so marvelously.

It had to be intentional that Luna looked like Cheryl Hines. I don't recall any other characters being drawn to look like the corresponding voice actor, but she was really good-looking for a chimp. I don't actually think the real Cheryl Hines has that pretty a face, but I can see how one might think she is pretty. And the resemblance adds so much to Luna, making her seem more human.

The G rating is a little surprising considering all the potty humor, but apparently more is considered acceptable these days. The "violence" of the villain freezing those who disagree isn't as bad as it looks.

It's a worthwhile film, but nothing ground-breaking.