No one really makes a coming-of-age movie like Richard Linklater — come on, the dude made Boyhood — and Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, coming to Netflix on April 1 after a SXSW premiere this month, looks as terrific as the rest. The crucial difference? This time it's animated, the first time the filmmaker has tackled the medium since 2006's A Scanner Darkly — with both movies having a similar, live-action-esque style. A new trailer shows off the gorgeous aesthetic, as well as giving us a new look at the story.
It's set in the summer of 1969, as you might've gleaned from the Apollo of it all. Based partially on Linklater's own childhood memories, it evokes his fascination with the space race, which saw the United States competing with the Soviet Union to put the first man on the moon. In this story — and the kid protagonist, presumably a stand-in for Linklater, probably isn't a reliable narrator — said kid takes a fantastical trip of his own to the moon, owing to NASA accidentally making the lunar module too big for grown-ups to fit inside.
Back on Earth, the world is changing: people are wearing bell-bottoms, American culture and politics are shifting in unprecedented ways, but all the while, the country is unified under the glare of a space rocket.
On the film's evocative, fantastical style, Linklater had this to say:
"The look of the film was primarily inspired by the time that the story takes place. The challenge was to take an entirely digital process and imbue it with the analog influence of that era. The beautiful look of Kodachrome film is where we started. We decided to animate on 2's to give it a retro feel and chose handmade animation over digital effects. We thought of new ways to show the different textures and designs to mirror the analog world and subjective and creative memory of Stan. Classic animated films of the past and Saturday morning cartoons of the '60s were a big inspiration as well. We also invited our animators to leave their fingerprints on the film and celebrate the collective creativity of our artists and feel their impressions all over the film."
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood comes to Netflix on April 1. Linklater directs, writers, and produces. The cast of voice actors includes Milo Coy, Lee Eddy, Bill Wise, Natalie L'Amoreaux, Josh Wiggins, Sam Chipman, Jessica Brynn Cohen, Danielle Guilbot, Zachary Levi, Glen Powell, and Jack Black. Check out the trailer below:
Here's the official synopsis for Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood:
"Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood tells the story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 from two interwoven perspectives – the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and through the eyes of a kid growing up in Houston, Texas who has intergalactic dreams of his own. Taking inspiration from Academy Award-nominated® filmmaker Richard Linklater’s own life, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is a snapshot of American life in the 1960s that is part coming of age, part societal commentary, and part out-of-this-world adventure."