Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
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Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 6/30/2008 1:53:00 PM
Monkeying Around in Outer Space
Space Chimps (G), a computer-animated motion picture produced by Vanguard Animation and Starz Media, makes a landing in theaters on July 18, 2008. When the Infinity probe disappears through a wormhole, Space Agency scientists are determined to retrieve it, a mission deemed too dangerous for human astronauts. Two Simian Space Program chimpanzees get the job, but officials want a crewmember with more razzmatazz—a primate guaranteed to grab the media’s attention—and forcibly recruit Ham III (voiced by Andy Samberg), the grandson of the first chimp in space. However, Ham, a fun-loving circus performer and consummate slacker, would rather clown around than try to fill his grandfather’s space boots.
Meanwhile, on faraway Malgor, the evil dictator Zartog (Jeff Daniels) uses the Infinity to enslave the planet’s peace-loving inhabitants. The unwilling Ham soon finds himself—along with chimponauts Luna (Cheryl Hines) and Titan (Patrick Warburton)—hurtling through space toward Malgor and his destiny. Will he have “the right stuff” to be a hero? Kids can find out more at the official movie Web site (be forewarned: the site has blatant product placement).
The Real Space Chimp
This movie might arouse curiosity about the real Ham, the first chimpanzee launched into outer space, and the role of animals in the space program. Born in present-day Cameroon in 1957, the chimp was brought to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico in 1959 (Ham’s name is an acronym for Holloman Aerospace Medical Center where he underwent pre-flight training). On January 31, 1961, strapped into a Project Mercury capsule, Ham made a groundbreaking journey, reaching an altitude of 157 miles during a 16.5 minute flight and blazing the way for the successful launch of America’s first human astronaut, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., four months later.
Encourage exploration of cyberspace and send interested readers to NASA’s Web site to check out “A Brief History of Animals in Space.” Photos of Ham from the NASA Life Sciences Data Archive can be viewed here. More information about the travels of dogs (including the Soviet Union’s famed Laika), monkeys, and other species can be found at Space Today Online.
David Cassidy and Kristin Davy have recently produced a documentary entitled “One Small Step: The Story of Space Chimps” (2008), and their Web site provides an overview of the NASA space chimp program and includes archival photos and eyewitness videos. Also treated are topics such as the chimps’ legacy, the fate of the chimp colony, and the rescue efforts of Dr. Carole Noon of the Save the Chimps organization.
Movie Tie-in Books
Price Stern Sloan offers several movie tie-in titles based on Kirk De Micco’s screenplay, with covers featuring the chimponauts positioned against starry backdrops in self-assured, action-ready poses. With large print, brief chapters, and small rectangular film photos throughout, Blast Off! recaps the plot for newly independent readers as well as the read-aloud crowd (K–Gr 3). Mission to Malgor, a junior novelization, provides a more fleshed-out retelling supercharged with fast-paced action and funny one-liners. Eight pages of captioned photos appear at the center (Gr 2–6).
The Movie Photobook, a staple-bound volume that comes with a removable poster, retells the story with numerous action-packed photos and text printed in bright hues (K–Gr 4). Finally, a flip-it-over book, also colorfully illustrated with photos, mixes fun with fact. The Simian Space Manual supplies the basic rules and regs for “the few, the proud, the Space Chimps” (the text’s grandiose tone is amusingly mocked by Ham’s handwritten notes) and readers can flip over to The Chimp’s Guide to the Galaxy to find out more about the universe and space travel (Gr 2–4).
Pub Info
ALEXANDER, Lauren, adapt. Mission to Malgor. pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3268-7.
McCARTHY, Rebecca & Kate Ritchey, adapts. The Simian Space Manual/The Chimp’s Guide to the Galaxy. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3227-4.
MASON, Eva, adapt. The Movie Photobook. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3223-6.
WEST, Tracey, adapt. Blast Off! pap. $3.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3224-3.
ea vol: (Space Chimps Series). Penguin/Price Stern Sloan. 2008.
