“Space Chimps” (Adventure/Science-Fiction: 1 hour, 21 minutes); Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, and Stanley Tucci; Director: Kirk De Micco; Rated: G (Violence and intense moments)

Movie Review: Ham III (Samberg), Luna (Hines) and Titan (Warburton) are three chimps sent into outer space to find a missing probe. The billion-dollar space shuttle carrying the simians is swept into a vortex that transports the shuttle across vast distances of space to a deserted planet. There, the space chimps encounter something unexpected, life.

Animated flicks have a great way setting up a story by giving audiences a sub-story, which is only a way of helping viewers get to know the characters and to set up a plausible world for the main story. Such is the case with “Space Chimps,” an animated adventure ably directed by first-time director De Micco. Second, “Space Chimps” provides a plausible concept of how these simians can operate human equipment. The chimps are more intelligent than known; just humans cannot understand their language.

Although an animated photoplay, this production nicely provides unique characters and places them in a unique story. Each character provides plenty of humor and action without the plot losing focus. Samberg, Hines, Warburton, Chenoweth and Daniels provide nice voices for the characters. The voices fit, especially Samberg as Ham III, a circus stunt monkey who is the grandson of the first chimp astronaut Ham, and Chenoweth as Kilowatt. Ham III has an intriguing relationship with fellow astronauts which works. Relationships serve as the basis for getting to know these characters and why they are in the predicaments in which they exist. “Space Chimps” provides plenty of entertainment for the entire family.

Grade: B (Space the enjoyable frontier)