Synopsis

A worldwide invasion begins when a fleet of flying saucers arrives from Mars. As the aliens unleash chaotic destruction, the United States government struggles to respond, balancing diplomacy, military force, political ambition, and public panic. Amid the carnage, an eccentric collection of civilians and officials discovers that humanity's survival may depend on the most unlikely source.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was inspired by Topps' 1962 Mars Attacks! trading-card series, which presented a lurid, illustrated story of Martian conquest. The original cards were controversial because of their graphic violence and were withdrawn from the market.

• The screenplay's Martians were initially given the repeated dialogue "Ack! Ack! Ack!" rather than conventional lines. The sound became one of the film's defining comic ideas.

• The flying saucers, Martian characters, and many large-scale destruction scenes were created with computer-generated imagery and digital compositing. The production became one of the early major studio films to use CG characters extensively.

• The red and green skeletons produced by the Martians' weapons echo Tim Burton's earlier visual style and were also practical for a planned Christmas-season release.

• The film's visual language deliberately evokes colorful 1950s and 1960s science-fiction movies, while its broad ensemble satire and intentionally chaotic tone set it apart from more earnest alien-invasion blockbusters of the same period.

• Real animals were used under American Humane Society monitoring for selected scenes. The burning cows were filmed without real fire, and a fake dove was used for the shooting gag.