Monkey business grounds silly 'Space Chimps'

Kids might appreciate this movie on some level, but adults who wander in might feel that they've fallen into feature cartoon hell.

In animation that looks as if it were designed by those famous chimpanzees who are eventually going to write the complete works of Shakespeare, "Space Chimps" gives us the outer-space adventures and antics of Ham III (voiced by "SNL" and "Lonely Island" star Andy Samberg). Ham III is an arrogant legend-in-his-own-mind "star" who does a carnival chimp cannonball act exploiting the memory of his famous astronaut chimp-grandpa, Ham. Ham III gets picked as one of three chimps set to be shot through a space wormhole to recover a lost space probe.

It's a "do or die" expedition, considering that a venal fool of a senator (who seems to wield more power here than a presidential fool) wants to shut down NASA's space program and turn it into an arts-and-crafts program.

At first, Ham III, who inexplicably forgets that this space shot will make him a superstar and save him from his career in the sticks, insufferably swaggers around, pooh-poohs the program and teams up with two other chimps: fetching leading lady Luna (Cheryl Hines) and uptight military simian Titan (Patrick Warburton). They head to a wormhole-distant planet, where the previous U.S. probe has been commandeered by the mad tyrant Zartog (Jeff Daniels), and used to enslave the querulous populace.

Separated from Titan, Ham III and Luna start a cross-planet trek, helped by adorable little twinkle-alien Kilowatt (Kristin Chenoweth), back to a showdown with the evil Zyrtec, uh, Zartog - who's gone crazy with plans for a casino complex.

Early on, Luna reacts to the exasperatingly posturing of Ham III by calling him "kinda funny, in an unbelievably annoying way." That might also describe the movie, although "kinda funny" is pushing it. There are also three comical space scientists. Ham keeps acting like a jerk, Luna keeps reproving him, Titan keeps doing a poor John Wayne impression, the senator keeps blustering, Kilowatt keeps twinkling, and Zartog keeps raving, dunking his citizens into silver glop and turning them into statues.

The script, by Kirk De Micco ("Quest for Camelot") and Robert Moreland ("Happily N'Ever After"), isn't too swift. It has lines like "chimp off the old block," "chimpathize," and other chimp-cracks that keep chimping away at our patience. But the direction (by De Micco) drags it down further. The voice performances are coy, smart-alecky or lackluster, and the visuals suggest early TV puppet animation, without the pizazz.

"Space Chimps" is recommended only for actual chimpanzees. It's one of those flabbergasting oh-no-they're-not-going-to-do-that movies, which starts off badly and gets worse.

Parts of it are cute and twinkly, but most of it is just chimp change.

"Space Chimps"

Starring (voices): Andy Samberg, Patrick Warburton, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels.

Directed by: Kirk De Micco.

Other: A 20th Century Fox release. Rated G. 81 minutes.