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SPACE CHIMPS 2: ZARTOG STRIKES BACK follows Comet, the young tech-whiz chimp who longs to be taken seriously as a full-fledged space chimp. Comet journeys to the fantastical Planet Malgor and bonds with the adorable alien Kilowatt, living out his ultimate fantasy. However, when the feared alien ruler Zartog takes over Mission Control, Comet must show he has the right stuff and join fellow chimps Ham, Luna, and Titan to save the day.
WHO'S WHO
HAM is an irrepressible chimp who refuses to take life too seriously. He is entertaining and a bit snarky, but with a good heart. Ham can come up with goofy ideas at times, but in the end his bravery and likeability always shine through. Ham has many gifts. He never lets you get bored. If Ham isn't telling jokes, then he's busy doing magic tricks, getting shot out of a circus cannon, or saving the world. Ham is really good at air guitar. He's a natural showman with a short attention span and a big heart. A problem is that Ham starts out with his head too big from his recent celebrity (of the first movie). Ham has been busy doing television interviews and shooting "hoops" with the President. Ham is the spokeschimp for several major brands. His head is a bit filled with his own fame, causing him slightly to neglect his friend and fellow (junior) space chimp, COMET.
LIEUTENANT LUNA is Ham's right-hand chimp. Luna is intellectual, logical, and idealistic. She is very by the book, and her keen scientific mind really comes in handy. Luna lives in her head but she also has a good heart. She is a cute chimp version of Dr. Spock. Luna gets very annoyed by Ham but underneath it all she adores him. She is all about the mission: attack the problem and find a solution.
COMMANDER TITAN isn't really the commander, but Titan thinks he is. No one has the heart to Titan that he's not the boss. Titan is vain, chiseled and muscular. He's also a bit loopy and goofy, but at the same time Commander Titan is fearless. His clueless nature lead him to make mistakes, such as giving the alien Zartog a weapon with the power to destroy the world. Oops.
COMET is the junior member of the space chimps. He's the resident tech genius. Comet can rig anything, out of anything. He's got a lot of energy and a "can do" attitude. He's also got a teenager side, and sometimes Comet takes on more than he can handle solo. If Ham takes himself too seriously, Comet's issue is that he wants to be taken seriously. Comet's great dream is to be a real member of the space chimps team, and he's willing to go the distance to prove that he's got the Right Stuff. Comet wants nothing more than to explore outer space and meet his best friend Kilowatt, the cute alien with whom Comet has been video-chatting. Comet wants his chance.
HOUSTON is the old pro on the chimp team. He's been around since the early days of the space program. Houston's job is to impart the young generation with wisdom, but at the same time he also learns a lot from them. Houston is very "right stuff" in his voice and aspect. The old but he's aerodynamic. He sometimes gets confused by modern technology, but he's got a lot of gusto and positive spirit.
KILOWATT is a lovable, cute alien. She's the favorite character of many kids that have seen the movie. Kilowatt forms a special relationship with Comet on Planet Malgor and shows him the sights. TKilowatt's head lights up whenever she's scared. Kilowatt is empathetic. She's thrilled to be with Comet although many times her fear overcomes her, and she must fight against it. She is loyal, positive, and adorable. As the story opens, Comet has been doing videochats with Kilowatt. They're best friends forever, and their friendship gets put to the ultimate test. Kilowatt accompanies Comet back to Earth, as his brave copilot.
DR. BOB, DR. POOLE and DR. JAGU are the three hilarious human scientists. Their job is to guide the chimps from Mission Control. The scientists also get distracted into their arcane concerns, such as their inter-geek crushes and their beloved ice cream sundae machine. They also must deal with an alien that takes over Mission Control. Dr. Jagu is a great dancer. He does both ballet and hip hop.
ZARTOG is a megalomaniacal alien from Planet Zartog. Zartog was once the ruler of the planet, until the heroic space chimps overthrew him. He next went to Earth and spent some time as a lawn ornament. Once he becomes free, Zartog's obsessive mission is: to get revenge on Ham and to take over the Earth. Zartog is always scheming against the space chimps, especially his nemesis, Ham. Zartog thinks himself to be brilliant. His energy is boundless. His ego also has no limits. Zartog has never been on Earth before, so his reactions to seemingly mundane things are always fresh and funny. For instance, when Zartog sees a speeding car, he assumes it's a metal beast and tries to capture it -- only to get run over at high speed. Don't even ask what happens when Zartog attempts to "subdue" some exercise equipment such a metal treadmill. Ouch.
THE SENATOR is first and foremost a politician. The Senator is all about furthering how own career through photo ops and grand speeches. The Senator is less interested in scientific discovery than using the space chimps' discoveries to make useful things, like weapons. Therefore, the Senator has the scientists applying wormhole technology to create a de-particle-izer capable of making anything disappear. The problem is, the first thing to disappear, is the Senator!
Director/Producer John H. Williams
John H. Williams founded Vanguard Films in 1981 in New York. After producing several theater productions, including Steppenwolf Theater's True West with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, the company then went on to produce commercials through a joint venture production company with Virgin Records. Vanguard produced several documentaries before segueing into the feature film business. Williams was the first producer to get an overall first-look deal with DreamWorks SKG. Vanguard produced the feature films, Seven Years in Tibet starring Brad Pitt, and the action-comedy The Tuxedo starring Jackie Chan.
Mr. Williams identified, acquired, developed, cast and worked continuously as producer of Shrek, which was released by DreamWorks in May 2001 and won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Shrek has grossed over $478 million in worldwide theatrical box office and generated more than $400 million in home video sales. Mr. Williams later produced Shrek 2, which has grossed over $920 million in worldwide theatrical box office. The Shrek franchise has additionally garnered several highly lucrative licensing arrangements with videogame publishers and merchandise manufacturers. Mr. Williams was also the Executive Producer of Shrek the Third. In total, Mr. Williams' produced films have grossed more than $1.7 billion in worldwide theatrical box office to date.
Mr. Williams produced Valiant, which was released by Disney in 2005 and was the first independently financed Shrek-quality animated feature with a 2 year production schedule and a budget of less than $40 million dollars, half the cost of most CG animated movies. Featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor (Star Wars prequels) and Ricky Gervais (BBC's The Office), the film was released domestically by Disney and grossed over $60 million worldwide. Mr. Williams then produced Happily N'Ever After, written by Rob Moreland and released by Lionsgate in January of 2006. Produced in Berlin in association with the Berliner Film Company, the film features a stellar ensemble cast of voices including Sigourney Weaver, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, George Carlin and Andy Dick.
Williams then went on to produce Space Chimps in a studio Vanguard built in Vancouver, Canada. This irreverent comedy, set primarily on a fantastical alien planet, was directed by Kirk DeMicco (Racing Stripes). Barry Sonnenfeld (Men In Black) served as a Creative Consultant. To make the film, Vanguard assembled an elite team of artists and animators and built a state-of-the-art animation studio. The film grossed approximately $65 million in worldwide gross box office receipts.
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