2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 52 votes, average: 4.50 out of 52 votes, average: 4.50 out of 52 votes, average: 4.50 out of 52 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5 (2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5, rated)
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Review of Reviews: Fly Me to the Moon a so-so historical kiddie flick

Three young houseflies stow away aboard the Apollo 11 flight to the moon in this animated 3-D tale with Buzz Aldrin playing himself.

The Good

  • Child-friendly film
  • Sunning 3-D effects
  • Educational in historic re-creation

The Bad

  • Story does not work on multiple levels for adults and children. It's just a kiddie flick.
  • This ain't Disney/Pixar and it shows - in the creepy-looking, slightly disturbing character designs.

Full Review

OPENS: August 15, 2008
RATING: G (Mild gross-out humor)
GENRE: Space, Children's Film, Animation, Fantasy, 3-D, Historical Fiction

Almost 40 years ago, the first human walked on the Moon. The new film, Fly Me to the Moon, memorializes this event with an animated 3-D children's movie.

Reviews have been mixed and split rather evenly down the line with "serious" film critics panning the film for being a bore for grownups and for its less-than state of the art in animation techniques and slightly creepy human character design.

More "fannish"-type critics are noting the limited appeal of this film for children - not adults. Also, they point out the film is a technological breakthrough in its effective use of 3-D technology.

Additionally, the movie contains historically accurate (minus the flies) sounds and dialogue from the actual Apollo 11 mission. And the movie creators use the animated flies as a window to allow young children a window into history.

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Rating (out of 10)

Newsday

"That premise is the first of countless problems in this 3-D animated movie aimed at very young children." - Rafer Guzman

1

Space.com

"At its heart, the new film Fly Me to the Moon offers immersive 3-D effects that will likely entertain kids with visions of America's first lunar landing of even if its story falls flat with parents." - Tariq Malik

6

San Diego Union-Tribune

"Fly Me to the Moon is slow and really silly in parts, but it is a kids movie. And any letdowns are more than made up for by the best part of the film – the story of three men making it to the moon." - Jane Clifford

7

Toronto Star

"The movie used NASA blueprints for the animation and capsule transcripts for the astronauts' dialogue. Aldrin lends his own voice and there are real sound clips from the lunar landing, including Armstrong's historic words upon standing on the moon's surface." - Linda Barnard

7

Boston Globe

"A crummy movie for kids, yet it still holds out the prospect of past wonders and future marvels. It's one small step for a housefly, one giant leap for 3-D." - Ty Burr

6

San Francisco Chronicle

"while the script, by Domonic Paris, will probably pass muster with very young viewers, their parents may grit their teeth at its saccharine quality. " - Walter Addiego

6

Total

5.5

Popularity: 8% [?]

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About the Author

David Speakman

David Speakman - known in fannish circles as Davodd - is recovering from almost 20 years as a professional writer and journalist in mainstream print and broadcasting. He recently "retired" from journalism, citing that too many mega-mergers caused news focus to shift from serving the public interest to serving up eyeballs to advertisers. Currently he works full time as a paralegal while attending night law school. A member of N3F on and off since 1984, David's fannish activities in recent days have been curtailed due to time and budget constraints of being a law school student; although he does manage to squeeze in episodes of Battlestar Galactica, issues of Weird Tales magazine and an odd superhero movie "now and then."

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