All the Dot films are worth watching, with the best being 'Dot and the Smugglers', 'Dot and the Whale' and 'Dot and the Kangaroo'. While it is in no way a bad film, just one of those not much special ones, the weakest of the films is this 'Dot in Space'.
Most of the Dot films have very little wrong with them, the best of them next to nothing and the couple of flaws they had were pretty minor. 'Dot in Space' has things certainly that are good, but it does have some big problems in my opinion. The biggest issue is that the story tries to do too much and feels too muddled tonally, the Dot films work better when they have a balance of humour, sentiment and messaging but 'Dot in Space' compared to the previous Dot films has a couple of things that are a little darker than one would expect. This does make the film feel rushed, especially with it being so short, it could have been 10-15 minutes longer easily.
The other Dot films had a better balance of humour, sentiment and messaging as well. Some of 'Dot in Space' is heart-warming and sweet and there are some amusing moments, but occasionally the cutesiness is a bit much and the messaging while admirable is laid on quite a bit thicker than the previous Dot films. Usually the voice acting is fine in the Dot films, here it was uneven, with some of the voices fine but others not really fitting with the character.
However, the animation is not bad at all. Not one of the best-looking Dot films but not the worst-looking either, some character designs lack finesse but most of it is colourful and smooth with as ever meticulously detailed backgrounds.
The music is pleasant if on the forgettable side. Dot is very likable as a protagonist and the animals are adorable, also liked what was done with the space setting. The villain didn't do much for me however, somewhat bland. There is some heart and charm and there are amusing moments.
So definitely not a waste of time, just pretty disappointing for a Dot film. 5/10 Bethany Cox
