——-
Released 3rd October 2008
—–
———
3D expert Ben Stassen’s debut feature provides a comfortable journey into the 3D animated space, with the help of some cute little flies. In fact, the whole film is innocuous and cutesy for what it lacks in substance. Unlike recent animated hits, such as 2007’s Bee Movie, this film comes without the adult gags, double entendres and cheekiness of the former. The fact that the ‘mommy’ fly feels the need to repeat the same ‘humorous’ line in her moments of dismay, “Oh, my lord of the flies”, over and over again, is enough to yell, “Alright! We get it!” It’s clear that, perhaps, Stassen’s focus was on the technical aspects, to the detriment of the actual story. In fact, had Fly Me To The Moon not been shot in 3D, it would be fair to predict a ‘straight-to-DVD’ title. That said one obvious positive of seeing this film is for the IMAX experience, and to be entertained by the kiddies’ gleeful reactions to wearing oversized specs and squealing with terror as rocket parts loom towards them.
——–
Another plus point is the educational value. Whatever your feelings are about the little insect characters, any story about space and space travel lends itself brilliantly to the 3D format and, if nothing else, hopefully, will ignite the interest of younger viewers to explore more about man’s first Moon landing in 1969. But, as experienced, some youngsters may not know about whole USA-USSR space race history, and will need coaching about this before seeing the film, as there were a lot of questions afterwards about the significance of the ‘bad’ Russian flies out to sabotage the Apollo 11 mission. Also lost on the younger audience was the corny live action/3D-animated appearance of former astronaut Buzz Aldrin who, although introduced with a subtitle, appeared to create little impression with his closing words.
——-
Even though some dusk scenes between our hero, Nat McFly, and his Grandpa — a fly complete with quite disturbing facial hair, voiced by Christopher Lloyd of Back to the Future ‘Doc’ fame — play havoc with the eyes (and the stomach), the beginning motion scenes where ‘we’ move between the undergrowth with our newfound, little flying friends are pretty exhilarating, as the camera moves in all directions, including completely outside of the usual 3D window-box effect. Other memorable moments include the 2001: A Space Odyssey rendition where Nat and best pals, Scooter and IQ, float and bounce around in weightlessness to the famous score; the first steps on the Moon’s surface; and the match battle between good and bad flies, including the ever-adventurous Grandpa.
——
Relatively tame but compelling for its 3D technological significance of being created exclusively for the 3D experience, family-focused Fly Me To The Moon is entertaining enough, as much for some moments on screen, as the fun factor of participating in the audience’s reactions to it off screen.
—-
By Lisa Keddie
——–
Synopsis
———-
Exclusively in 3D animation, Fly Me To The Moon is the exciting tale of a brave young housefly, Nat and his two best friends, Scooter and IQ. Inspired by the heroic stories of his Grandpa (Christopher Lloyd) and their dreams of visiting outer space, the three astronauts embark on an amazing adventure after sneaking aboard the Apollo 11 spaceship mission to the moon. The film also features an appearance by Buzz Aldrin himself. Fly Me To The Moon is a truly immersive 3D experience that will literally take you out of this world!
——–
Film Facts
——-
Official UK site:
http://www.momentumpictures.co.uk/flash/in_cinemas/fly_me_to_the_moon
UK release date: 3rd October 2008
Director: Ben Stassen
Writer: Domonic Paris
Cast: Tim Curry (’Yegor’ (voice)), Christopher Lloyd (’Grandpa’ (voice)), Nicollette Sheridan (’Nadia’ (voice)), Adrienne Barbeau (’Scooters Mom’ (voice)), Buzz Aldrin (Himself), Trevor Gagnon (’Nat’ (voice)), Philip Bolden (’I.Q.’ (voice)), David Gore (’Scooter’ (voice))
UK Distributor: Momentum Pictures
Certificate: U
Run time: 89 mins
-
Video on Real.com
-
Trailer:
——–
———–
EXCLUSIVE CLIP:
——-
—–
Did you know…
——–
- In the early 1900s, the first 3D experiments were carried out by the Lumiere brothers; during the golden era of 3D cinema, 1952 to 1954, Hollywood released over fifty 3D titles; 3D made another resurgence in the late 1970s with films like Jaws 3-D and Amityville 3-D; huge success of 3S release of The Polar Express, which grossed $45 million in a mere 64 IMAX venue; recently, there have been the 3D successes of Chicken Little, Monster House and Meet the Robinsons
- Fly Me To The Moon is the first-ever computer animated film designed, created and produced from the first frame, exclusively for the 3D experience
- Fly Me To The Moon uses not just a normal persepctive but also ‘macro vision’ where you see things from a fly’s perspective
———-
