Recently, filmmakers have abused 3D like a child who discovers a new toy and refuses to play with anything else. Either filming movies in 3D that shouldn’t be, “Drive Angry,” or converting movies into 3D that don’t need to be, “Clash of the Titans,” have ended up catastrophes.

Disney’s newest 3D venture, “Mars Needs Moms,” is a shining example of 3D done right. Using the same motion-capture animation as “Avatar” and “Polar Express,” “Mars Needs Moms” has a more life-like and epic feel that allows audiences to become part of the experience.

Sadly, the special effects are the shining point of this film.  “Mars Needs Moms” tells the story of Milo, played by Seth Green and voiced by Seth Robert Dusky, who can’t seem to understand why his mom constantly berates everything he does.

When aliens from Mars kidnap Milo’s mom, played and voiced by Joan Cusack, he goes to the ends of the earth and beyond to get her back.

To film the movie, actors had to wear body suits filled with sensors, including on their faces, and 124 cameras surrounded the sound stage capturing everything down to the smallest movement. This type of filming creates a life-like version of the actors.  Think Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

After trying to get over the awkwardness of seeing a miniature version of Seth Green with the voice of a child, I find the story lacks the one thing that cartoons of late have been able to offer beautifully: emotion.

The potential is there; the society on Mars is very dystopian with constant marching and propaganda being shown on giant televisions in a cold, metal environment. The subject matter is dark, with characters dealing with loss of loved ones and loss of freedoms, but the film never quite hit the heartstrings.

The biggest problem with this movie is the comic relief sidekick character Gribble, played and voiced by Dan Fogler. His character, an adult who never grew up, would have been more comfortable in a Judd Apatow movie rather than a heart-warming Disney movie.

From his first introduction he stuck out like a sore thumb. As the movie goes on, his character seems to grow and reveal more depth but, sadly, the more he is on screen, the more annoying he becomes.

The movie is borderline heartfelt and if his character never existed in this movie, it would be more enjoyable and emotional.

“Mars Needs Moms” has a great message about respecting and being grateful for parents and about being true to yourself, but with so many missteps, the message becomes muddled. The ending, as is standard with Disney, is happy and happily, as the credits roll, this movie is only 90 minutes long.

“Mars Needs Moms” is currently in theaters.