Movies / Features
Netflix Originals: This Is One Of The Best Films From Netflix Itself
Renowned director Richard Linklater created a remarkable animated film in 2022 that stands out on Netflix.
Netflix has released a large number of original film productions. Below, you can read about one of the best animated films on the streaming platform: Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood by Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Dazed and Confused).
The story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 is depicted from two intertwined perspectives. It captures both the viewpoint of the astronaut and the flight control, as well as the perspective of an enthusiastic child living near NASA, who mostly watches it on TV, just like hundreds of millions of others. Ultimately, it serves as both an accurate reconstruction of this remarkable moment in history and the fantasy of a child who is pulled out of his ordinary suburban life to secretly train for a mission to the moon.
The film is partly based on Linklater's own childhood and is created using similar animation techniques as Linklater's A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life. The idea for the film emerged back in 2004. Initially, he planned to make the film in live-action but instead chose to work with an animation style influenced by Saturday morning cartoons, due to the playful nature of animation.
Glen Powell and Jack Black, two actors who often collaborate with Linklater, lend their voices to two of the main characters.
Apollo 10½ flew under the radar upon release but is absolutely worth watching. The film even boasts a solid score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus states: "In the nostalgic Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, Richard Linklater repurposes visual and thematic ingredients in a very personal and fresh way."
The story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 is depicted from two intertwined perspectives. It captures both the viewpoint of the astronaut and the flight control, as well as the perspective of an enthusiastic child living near NASA, who mostly watches it on TV, just like hundreds of millions of others. Ultimately, it serves as both an accurate reconstruction of this remarkable moment in history and the fantasy of a child who is pulled out of his ordinary suburban life to secretly train for a mission to the moon.
Long In The Making
The film is partly based on Linklater's own childhood and is created using similar animation techniques as Linklater's A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life. The idea for the film emerged back in 2004. Initially, he planned to make the film in live-action but instead chose to work with an animation style influenced by Saturday morning cartoons, due to the playful nature of animation.
Glen Powell and Jack Black, two actors who often collaborate with Linklater, lend their voices to two of the main characters.
High Scores
Apollo 10½ flew under the radar upon release but is absolutely worth watching. The film even boasts a solid score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus states: "In the nostalgic Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, Richard Linklater repurposes visual and thematic ingredients in a very personal and fresh way."
