Film

Space Chimps

Space Chimps is a cheerful, lightweight animated adventure about three astronaut chimps on a rescue mission through a wormhole. It's got bright colours, fizzy action, and a cast of voice actors having obvious fun, all aimed squarely at younger kids who like their sci-fi silly and their heroes furry. Perfect for a family afternoon when nobody wants to think too hard.

TMDb rating2.5

If you liked this

Planet of the Apes1968

The original sci-fi classic that made thinking apes cinematic gold. It has genuine intelligence behind the spectacle, building to a twist that still lands. A real movie, not just a kids' cartoon.

But It's earnest in a way Space Chimps never attempts, and moves at a deliberate 70s pace. The social commentary can feel heavy-handed now.

Planet of the Apes poster

Curious George2006

Another DreamWorks-era animated ape adventure with similar warmth and antic energy. Chris Pine voicing the Man in the Yellow Hat is charming, and it's genuinely funny for both kids and adults.

But If you find cute primates grating rather than endearing, this will test your patience. The plot is simple even by kids' movie standards.

Curious George poster

Madagascar2005

Wild animals on an accidental adventure with sharp jokes and real heart. Ben Stiller and Chris Rock have chemistry that makes the whole thing sing, and the animation is inventive and fun.

But The humour skews very broad; some jokes land with a thud. The sequels decline sharply, which might taint your memory of the original.

Madagascar poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Space Chimps

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Fantastic Planet1973

Both send protagonists into colorful alien worlds to navigate strange societies—but where Space Chimps goes for laughs, Fantastic Planet goes for genuine otherworldliness and existential strangeness. Same premise, completely different register.

A wildly imaginative 1973 Czech animation about strange creatures on an alien world, built from stop-motion and hand-drawn brilliance. It's utterly unlike anything else—genuinely alien, genuinely beautiful, genuinely weird in the best way.

But It's slow, hypnotic, and makes no attempt to be cute or funny. The pacing is meditative; some will find it dull rather than meditative.

Fantastic Planet poster
More like this (8)

The Lego Movie2014

Rapid-fire jokes, genuine emotional weight, and animation that feels alive. It respects your intelligence while entertaining kids completely, and manages to be touching without being maudlin.

But The relentless pacing and colour saturation exhaust some viewers. If you dislike meta-humour or corporate product placement disguised as comedy, steer clear.

The Lego Movie poster

Ratchet & Clank2016

A video-game adaptation that actually understands what makes games fun. Fast-moving, visually inventive, with decent voice work and action sequences that snap along at the right tempo.

But If you've never played the games, the plot is thin and the character moments feel unearned. The humour is very YouTube-era video-game comedy.

Ratchet & Clank poster

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command2000

A Pixar-adjacent Saturday morning show that understands adventure and charm. It's got genuine affection for space-opera tropes and better writing than you'd expect from something on cable TV.

But It's a TV movie, so the animation is lower-budget and occasionally stiff. Some of the voice performances are thin, and the plot is straightforward even for 2000.

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command poster

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius2001

A Nickelodeon space adventure with real energy and a kid protagonist who actually solves problems with intelligence. The voice cast is solid and there's genuine warmth beneath the hijinks.

But The animation shows its early-CG age badly, and the humour is aggressively 2002. Some sequences move stiffly between jokes and plot beats.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius poster

Monsters vs Aliens2009

DreamWorks at their best: colour, energy, and genuine affection for sci-fi B-movies. The voice cast is stellar and the action sequences are genuinely exciting.

But The emotional core is thinner than the film pretends. Some jokes feel focus-grouped, and the plot is very predictable.

Monsters vs Aliens poster

Escape from Planet Earth2013

A space adventure with real visual style and a decent voice cast. It's got heart and genuine attempts at both comedy and action that mostly land.

But It feels overstuffed and occasionally loses focus between its various plot threads. Some animation shortcuts are visible, and the pacing can feel lumpy.

Escape from Planet Earth poster

Battle for Terra2007

Both are animated space adventures with ensemble casts, but Terra treats its conflict seriously, making it a moral question rather than a romp. Same basic template, opposite emotional temperature.

An animated sci-fi adventure in 3D about aliens defending their world, made with surprising visual ambition and emotional sincerity. It has real stakes and real consequences in a way most family films avoid.

But The earnestness can feel heavy, and the animation—while ambitious—occasionally shows its limits. Some scenes drag, and the voice acting is uneven.

Battle for Terra poster

Zathura: A Space Adventure2005

Both are family-friendly space adventures with high colour saturation and genre-film energy, but Zathura uses live-action and practical craft to create texture that animation alone can't match. Same joy in different medium.

Jon Favreau's live-action space adventure film has the same colour and visual invention as Space Chimps, but genuine danger lurking underneath. It's a kids' film that earns its thrills through real filmmaking craft, not just animation.

But It's slower and more grounded than you might expect. Some of the effects look early-2000s now, and younger kids might find the cosmic horror elements genuinely scary.

Zathura: A Space Adventure poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Production

Recommended by