In Tim Burton’s 1996 film Mars Attacks!, what inspired the aliens’ design?
Answer
1960s trading cards
The aliens in Tim Burton’s 1996 film Mars Attacks! were inspired by 1960s trading cards.
The movie takes its visual cue from Topps’ 1962 Mars Attacks trading-card series, which depicted lurid science-fiction scenes of an invasion from Mars. The cards were known for their colorful artwork, exaggerated violence, and pulpy captions, all qualities echoed by Burton’s film.
The movie presents an ensemble cast responding to an extraterrestrial invasion with deliberately exaggerated science-fiction satire. Jack Nicholson plays President James Dale and also a separate Las Vegas casino character, while Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Glenn Close are among the other stars.
The trading-card inspiration is different from the film’s plot source: Jonathan Gems wrote the screenplay, and the movie uses the cards’ imagery and tone rather than adapting a conventional novel.