Mars Express (film)

Mars Express is a 2023 French animated neo-noir science fiction film co-written and directed by Jérémie Périn.

Synopsis
In 2200, Aline Ruby, a private detective, and Carlos Rivera, an android replica of her partner who died five years earlier, are sent to Earth to capture Roberta Williams, a robot-hacking criminal. However, back on Mars, Roberta's arrest warrant has disappeared and she is released.

A new investigation is then entrusted to the duo: to track down Jun Chow, a cybernetics student known for illegally jailbreaking androids who, like her roommate, has gone missing. Aline and Carlos will have to venture to the depths of Noctis, the main terrestrial establishment of Mars created thanks to the progress of robotics, and where humans and various forms of androids seem to coexist in harmony.

However, the city hides dark secrets, such as trafficking and clandestine computer labs. Meanwhile, activists try to free the robots from the security constraints that bind them to humans.

Production
The film is an Everybody on Deck production. It had a €9 million budget.

Release
The film premiered in the Cinéma de la Plage section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2023. It also made it to the competitive slate of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It was released theatrically in France on 22 November 2023 by Gebeka Films. GKIDS acquired the film's North American rights and released it on 3 May 2024 with both its original French language and an English dub.

Home media
The film is set to be released by GKIDS in North America on both digital and Blu-ray formats on 18 June 2024.

Critical response
Rafael Motamayor of /Film rated the film 8 out of 10 points, writing it "works because even its most outlandish and complex sci-fi concept is grounded in human drama".

Wendy Ide of Screen Daily deemed the film to be "striking and timely animation".