Mars Attacks Site

It bombed at the box office. But on VHS and DVD, found its audience. College students embraced the nihilistic humor. Sci-fi fans loved the retro-futuristic design (the saucers look like chrome lampshades). The meme culture of the early internet adopted the "Ack Ack" sound as a universal sign of chaos.

Released in 1962, the 55-card series told a linear story of a Martian invasion. The artwork was lurid, visceral, and unapologetically violent. In one card, a giant insect terrorizes a highway; in another, a skeleton beams a human into oblivion. The Martians themselves were hideous: skeletal, brain-exposed beings with bulging eyes and toothy grimaces, clad in space suits that looked like a twisted version of Roman armor. Mars Attacks

Burton, a director known for his love of the macabre, the Gothic, and the kitschy, was the perfect fit to revive the property. He optioned the rights with the intention of creating a "B-movie" on an A-movie budget. Released in 1996, Mars Attacks! was a stark contrast to the serious tone of other blockbusters. It was a chaotic, star-studded farce that treated the source material with the exact level of irony it required. It bombed at the box office

Rendered in CGI that was intentionally slightly stilted to mimic the feel of stop-motion animation (a tribute to Ray Harryhausen), the Martians were gleeful agents of destruction. The film’s tagline, "Nice Planet. We'll take it," set the tone. They didn't have a complex motivation; they simply enjoyed destruction. The film subverted every trope of the genre. When the President attempts a peaceful dove-releasing ceremony, the Martians shoot the dove and incinerate the welcoming committee. Sci-fi fans loved the retro-futuristic design (the saucers

When you hear the words two distinct images likely spring to mind. For some, it is the visceral shock of a 1962 Topps trading card featuring a ray-gun toting Martian incinerating the Eiffel Tower. For others, it is the star-studded, gloriously absurd 1996 film by Tim Burton, where a slimy alien brain gleefully screams, "Ack ack ACK!"

This is the story of Mars Attacks —a franchise that began as a bubblegum card trading series, evolved into a cinematic cult classic, and became a defining symbol of retro-futurist satire.