Netflix's Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood Review: A Movie Out of This World

In Netflix's new animated film Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood, Stanley narrates to the viewer through his childhood. He is in 4th grade by the end of the 60s and goes through a life-changing space experience. When NASA accidentally builds a spacecraft too small, they recruit Stanley for astronaut training. In a secret mission called Apollo 10 ½, Stanley becomes the first person to go to the moon.

If you love the 60s and childhood stories, this could be the perfect movie for you! But this is no regular childhood story. This is the story of Stanley, a young astronaut living in Houston, Texas during the space race era.

Here is the scoop on what we love about Netflix's Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood!

Realistic Animation Style

Stan floats around in zero gravity.Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood — *Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood-* Netflix

The first thing that stands out as soon as you click the play button is the animation style of Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood. The style is incredibly realistic and makes you feel like you are right there as everything is happening. Furthermore, all of the characters look as if they could be real people. This is because the film uses rotoscope animation. Therefore, some scenes were first filmed in live action, then traced over to create a realistic 2D animation style. This can take so much longer to do compared to most other animation processes.

The hard work of the movie's animation team really shines through in the final product. Not only is it extremely smooth and gorgeous, but it's realisticness teleports viewers right into the movie.

Narration From Adult Stanley

Family TV night. — *Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood*-Netflix

Another thing that viewers will notice about the whole film is the narration. It almost feels like a 1960s documentary. An adult Stan narrates the film, not only educating us about the 60s but also telling us about his childhood. Not only do we get to learn the history of the 60s but we also get to learn about what it was like as a kid in Houston, Texas during that time. And not just any kid, a kid who got to train with NASA to be the first person on the moon.

In order to help the viewer understand what could cause a kid to dream so big back then, Stanley takes us through events in his life that happened before the Apollo 11 moon landing. Through Stanley's childhood stories, the viewer learns how he got to experience such a technological boom at such a young age. Due to the personal narration, the viewer can feel Stan's excitement as everything is being introduced. The narration style and focus on Stan helps the viewer understand how fast the development of new technologies felt and how easy it was to think that one day, everyone would be able to go to space.

American History in the 1960s

Apollo 10 ½ team — *Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood-*Netflix

Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood truly understands the 1960s. The film makes sure that it does not miss out on a single thing from the decade. While the main topic of the film is the space race the United States had with Russia during the Cold War, so much else is covered.

One huge focus is on the entertainment at the time. For example, Stan shows us the arcade he went to as a kid. Video games were a brand new thing then so it was all very exciting. Furthermore, Stan talks about how, as people were getting TVs in their homes, more channels and shows were being added. Stanley also captures the hype over getting a color TV as they were new at the time. Stan talks about 2001: A Space Odyssey. With its groundbreaking cinematic techniques, it captured the space craze of the 60s.

Another focus is on how rough the 60s were, reminding us that not everything was exciting back then. Pain is always around the corner for a kid back then. First, more people believe in hitting children as a punishment, even in schools. Second, they always play the most dangerous games and no one stops them until someone becomes injured. This space film offers a great history lesson on America in the 1960s.

A Tale From a Kid's View

A pyromaniac in the backyard. — *Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood-* Netflix

Another thing that Netflix's Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood understands is kids. The film accurately portrays how kids think and how they see the world. As Stanley makes it clear, living in the 1960s is different for a kid than an adult. Naturally, 4th graders do not have an interest in politics nor have the full capacity to truly comprehend them. Therefore, while adult Stan acknowledges all of the issues that were happening in America during the 60s, he does not spend much time on them. This is because he wants to tell his childhood stories exactly as how he remembers them.

Kids Stanley's age are always focused on what's fun. Thus, 60s kids would not be paying much attention to the Vietnam War, the Cold War, or protests. Instead, they would be more focused on what was going on over at NASA. Thus, with their bright and colorful imaginations, they would spend their time daydreaming about going to space someday. And with the advancing technology of the 60s, it was easy to believe that it would happen in the near future for them. In short, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood demonstrates the type of dreams a kid living in the 60s would have.

Hope that you enjoyed this review of Netflix's Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood. If you liked this post, make sure to check out these related articles:

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