Disney's 2011 family adventure Mars Needs Moms wasn't just a box office disappointment; it was a box office disaster, one of the worst in movie history. Mars producer Robert Zemeckis, appearing at the Philadelphia Film Fest with his latest Oscar-hopeful, Flight, prefers to remember Mars Needs Moms another way: "It's the best 3-D movie since Avatar."
Zemeckis's bold answer matched the bold question that prompted his trip down memory lane during Flight's post-screening Q&A session on Saturday night. Following a string of massive career hits ranging from the Back to the Future franchise to Oscar juggernaut Forrest Gump, the Zemeckis-produced Mars Needs Moms opened last year as the filmmaker's most high profile critical and commercial failure.
ImageMovers Digital, the Zemeckis-founded CG house that produced Mars as well as his own films The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol, was shut down after completing Mars, while plans to embark on a Yellow Submarine pic with Disney were also scrapped; needless to say, it's probably not Zemeckis's favorite topic of conversation. (For what it's worth, Flight, Zemeckis's Denzel Washington-starring return to live-action film, played well with the Philly crowd.)
But one Philadelphia Film Fest attendee was eager for answers. Film critic Martin Schneider penned a reasonably questioning if snarky review of Mars Needs Moms at the time of release, criticizing the film for a slew of offenses ranging from its animation to character development, with particular scrutiny of the film's "anti-gay," anti-progressive gender messaging. He seized the opportunity during the Philadelphia Film Fest closing night film event to share how offended he was by the film, asking Zemeckis to explain: What happened?
For his part, Zemeckis didn't flinch. Prior…
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