Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie

Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie is a 2003 American direct-to-video animated science fiction comedy film based on the Butt-Ugly Martians franchise. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars the voices of Charlie Schlatter, Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Kath Soucie, Ogie Banks and S. Scott Bullock.

The plot follows B-Bop (Charlie Schlatter), 2T (Rob Paulsen) and Do Wah Diddy (Jess Harnell) as they are sent to Earth to capture three humans for Emperor Bog's collection. However, when they arrive on Earth they find that it is not what they expected it to be like and decide to help their human friends Mike Ellis (Ogie Banks), Angela Young (Kath Soucie) and Cedric Cyles save the world from Dr. Damage's latest invention: a giant robot called Gorgon which plans to destroy all life on Earth so that he can rule over it himself!

Can the Butt Ugly Martians stop Gorgon before it's too late? And will Emperor Bog ever get his hands on those pesky humans? Find out in this action packed adventure that'll leave you laughing all the way home!

Plot
The film begins on the planet Mars where Emperor Bog (S. Scott Bullock) is watching a television show called "Stoat Muldoon: Alien Hunter" which features Stoat Muldoon (Robert Stack), an alien hunter who is hunting for aliens on Earth. Meanwhile, B-Bop (Charlie Schlatter), 2T (Rob Paulsen) and Do Wah Diddy (Jess Harnell) are playing a game of "Toget" (a Martian version of chess) when they are suddenly called to Emperor Bog's throne room.

Bog tells the Butt-Ugly Martians that he wants them to go to Earth and capture three humans for his collection. The Butt-Uglies agree and set off for Earth in their ship, the BKM Express. When they arrive on Earth, they find that it is not what they expected it to be like. They soon meet Mike Ellis (Ogie Banks), Angela Young (Kath Soucie) and Cedric Cyles (also voiced by Ogie Banks), three human kids who show them around town.

The Butt-Uglies quickly become friends with the kids and decide to help them save the world from Dr. Damage's (S. Scott Bullock) latest invention: a giant robot called Gorgon which plans to destroy all life on Earth so that he can rule over it himself!

Can the Butt-Ugly Martians stop Gorgon before it's too late? And will Emperor Bog ever get his hands on those pesky humans? Find out in this action packed adventure that'll leave you laughing all the way home!

Distributed:
The film was distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on VHS and DVD on July 4, 2003.

Soundtrack:
The film's soundtrack was released on June 24, 2003, by Atlantic Records. It featured songs performed by various artists including B2K, Bowling for Soup, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan.

Animation:
Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie is a mix of traditional 2D cel animation and computer generated 3D imagery provided by ReelFX Creative Studios (now known as Reel FX). This would be the last time that traditional cel animation would be used in a Butt-Ugly Martians production before the franchise switched to using solely CGI for its subsequent projects.

Trailers:
The film's trailer was attached to the theatrical releases of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and Rugrats Go Wild in 2003.

Production:
Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie began production in 2001, shortly after the series' cancellation. It was originally going to be released theatrically by Paramount Pictures, but due to poor test screenings it was instead released direct-to-video on July 4, 2003.

Development:
In 2000, Mike Young Productions announced that they were working on a feature length Butt Ugly Martians movie with Robert Zemeckis set to direct. The film would have been a mix of traditional 2D cel animation and computer generated 3D imagery provided by ReelFX Creative Studios (then known as Reel FX). However, due to poor test screenings the film was instead released direct-to-video on July 4, 2003.

Casting:
Charlie Schlatter as B-Bop A-Luna

Rob Paulsen as 2T Fru-T and Mike Ellis

Jess Harnell as Do Wah Diddy

Kath Soucie as Angela Young and Shaboom Shabooma

Ogie Banks as Cedric Cyles

S. Scott Bullock as Emperor Bog and Dr. Damage

Robert Stack as Stoat Muldoon

Release:
Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie was released direct-to-video on VHS and DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on July 4, 2003. It was later released on Blu-ray by Shout! Factory on May 7, 2013, as part of their "Shout Select" line of releases.

Screening:
The film was screened at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 10, 2003.

Home media:
Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie was released direct-to-video on VHS and DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on July 4, 2003. It was later released on Blu-ray by Shout! Factory on May 7, 2013, as part of their "Shout Select" line of releases.

Reception:
Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 50% based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 5/10.

Box office:
The film was not released in theaters and thus did not earn any box office revenue. However, it sold over 1 million copies on DVD and VHS combined.

Accolades:
Butt-Ugly Martians: The Movie was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Home Entertainment Production at the 31st Annie Awards.

Legacy:
The film's release on Blu-ray by Shout! Factory in 2013 led to a resurgence in popularity for the Butt Ugly Martians franchise and paved the way for a new animated series entitled B.U.M.S.: Bureau of Unidentified Martian Species which premiered on Netflix in 2016.

Categories:
Butt-Ugly Martians

2000s animated films

2003 direct-to-video films

American children's animated comedy films