Synopsis

When a $5 billion Space Agency probe disappears into an intergalactic wormhole, the agency recruits Ham III, grandson of the first chimpanzee in space, to help retrieve the wayward craft. But Ham is a free-spirited circus performer more interested in zero gravity high jinks than living up to his illustrious heritage. The simian slacker becomes a reluctant hero and learns the true meaning of courage as he and his crewmates, the plucky Lieutenant Luna and their by-the-book commander, Titan, risk everything in an effort to save the peaceful inhabitants of a distant planet from an evil dictator.

The Right Stuff meets the wrong stuff in this witty, out-of-this-world adventure. State-of-the-art CGI animation from Vanguard Animation, makers of the avian charmer Valiant, take this tale of a reluctant astronaut into another dimension. The film is directed by Kirk DeMicco, whose screenwriting credits include Quest for Camelot and Racing Stripes. It is written by Kirk DeMicco and Rob Moreland, from a story by Kirk DeMicco.

Space Chimps features the voices of Andy Samberg ("Saturday Night Live"), Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), Patrick Warburton ("Rules of Engagement"), Kristin Chenoweth ("The West Wing"), Stanley Tucci (Robots), Kenan Thompson (Snakes on a Plane), Jane Lynch (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Carlos Alazraqui (Happy Feet), Zach Shada (Ice Age: The Meltdown), Patrick Breen ("Boston Legal"), Kath Soucie ("The Replacements") and Omid Abtahi ("Sleeper Cell").

The film is produced by John H. Williams (the Shrek trilogy) and Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black), the latter also serving as creative consultant. Tom Jacomb is associate producer and Curtis Augspurger is the film's co-producer. Executive producers are Neil Braun, Eric M. Bennett, John W. Hyde, Jerry Davis, Steve Brown and Morris Berger. Music is by Chris Bacon and the Blue Man Group. A Vanguard Animation film, Space Chimps is presented by Starz Animation. It will be distributed by Odyssey Entertainment internationally and by Twentieth Century Fox in North America.

Ham (Andy Samberg), the grandson of the first chimp in outer space, has been happily eking out a living as a chimp cannonball in a third-rate circus when the Space Agency makes him an offer he can't refuse. A wormhole has transported the Infinity Space Probe into the farthest reaches of the universe. As a political PR stunt, Ham is recruited to join a team of specially trained ape astronauts assigned to rescue the lost vessel.

His love of flashy acrobatics and aerial maneuvers make Ham a successful high-flyer, but his irreverent antics and goofball humor quickly alienate his professional astro-chimp colleagues. Ham spends most of his time tweaking the ship's pompous commander, Titan (Patrick Warburton), or flirting with Luna (Cheryl Hines), his fetching lieutenant, but as the only one immune to the effects of the wormhole, he is indispensable to the mission.

After a crash landing on the planet Malgor, Titan is taken prisoner by Zartog (Jeff Daniels), a megalomaniacal alien who has commandeered the Infinity and enslaved the other Malgoreans. In exchange for her help navigating the dreaded Valley of Really Bad Things to rescue their commander, Ham and Luna promise a desperate alien named Kilowatt (Kristin Chenoweth) they will free her people.

Titan is about to be turned into a statue in Zartog's growing gallery--made up of uncooperative minions dipped in molten lava and displayed as a reminder of his omnipotence--when his companions stage a heroic rescue and retake their ship. As they prepare for takeoff, Ham is reminded of his vow to Kilowatt and must decide whether to return home or take a giant step for chimp-kind and live up to his grandfather's legacy.