Voyage Into Space

...yeah, that's right! This is one of the best movies, as far as I am concerned. Is it one of the best because of it's special effects? No! Is it one of the best because of the acting? No! Then why is it one of the best? Because if this movie made an impression on you as a kid, then it is the perfect kid film. Full of adventure and action. Many kids fantasize about being some sort of super hero or saving the world and "sticking" it to the bad guys. So what could be more appealing than a movie surrounding little Johnny Socko and his Giant Robot! For people (especial kids) who are full of imagination in the first place, things like special effects are not that important.

I notice everyone who commented had nothing but positive things to say about this film. That is because this sort of movie has a profound effect on those it appeals to. I, just like all the other commentators, have fond childhood memories that include this movie, among other things. As a kid, we used to play "Giant Robot" and virtually act out the entire movie. Very endearing.

Voyage Into Space is very entertaining, despite the fact that it (a) was cobbled together from episodes of a series, (b) has some of the most mediocre special effects that you've EVER seen, and (c) has a highly repetitive story arc. What it lacks in quality it makes up with in imagination, and in the friendship between "Giant Robot" and the young boy, Johnny Sokko. It's a classic good (Giant Robot, Unicorn) versus bad (Guillotine, Gargoyle Gang) plot. But there are twists and turns, and you're never quite sure who will come out on top.

I'm not a rabid Japanese movie fan, and I wasn't really big on the monster genre. But this one captured my attention so much that I saw it (literally) 20 times as a kid. I mean, what kid wouldn't want a practically indestructible giant robotic friend that followed your commands? It was fun.

A side note...Months after meeting my (now) wife, we discovered that we'd BOTH seen this movie a jillion times as kids. We also argued for years over the Unicorn salute. Finally, we managed to buy a copy of the movie. Darn it, she was right on the salute. But I'll tell you, it was really fun to see that movie again. This thing was not high budget, but it accomplished something that many sci-fi blockbusters can't do today - it was memorable.

The many websites for Giant Robot and Johnny Sokko let me know that there are others who, after all these years, still remember that crazy movie like I do.

If you can, see it.

Cobbled together from several episodes of JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT (made to compete with ULTRAMAN, only with a much smaller budget), VOYAGE INTO SPACE is one of the few such cut-and-paste movies that actually works. This used to run on New York city's 4:30 MOVIE show in the blessed pre-Oprah days of the late '70's and early '80's and many a kid in the tri-state area still recalls this one with great fondness.

The plot (?) follows the adventures of Johnny Sokko, a 10-year-old kid who becomes an agent of the top-secret agency UNICORN and incidentally happens to be the only person who can control Giant Robot, a 200-foot-tall engine of destruction who looks like a cross between the Tin Woodsman and a pharoah. They oppose hostile extra-terrestrial Emperor Guillotine from the planet Gargoyle (and his henchmen, the Gargoyle gang), who has at his disposal an endless variety of ass-kicking (and phony) giant monsters. One of these is the Nucleon, which looks like a bunch of traffic cones that have been hot-glued together and rolled into camera range. There's also a bargain basement sea monster, a silver-faced dude in a clown suit, and much, much more. If this ever comes on tv again, tape it immediately and show it to your friends who will be slack-jawed with astonishment. Fun for kids and drunks of all ages!

Ok so it didn't have the best special effects, plot, etc. But there is a lot to be said about a movie that can leave such a "great' impact on you as a kid like this film does. Back in the early 70's here in Los Angeles, TV station KTLA channel 5 (long before the WB buy out) use to show a week long series of sci fi movies. For example, if the movie of choice were "Godzilla vs Mothra," then you got a week of "Godzilla vs Mothra" and so on, it was great. Well I had the pleasure as kid to see "Voyage Into Space" many times this way. And that is mostly why I remember it so well; I too used to refer to it as the "Giant Robot" moive. I really dug the concept of a 100 foot flying robot with that "Egyptian" head piece. And who could ever forget the infamous "MEGGA PUNCH" that Giant Robot would deliver upon his foes. To me this film was no more laughable than say any of the "Godzilla" moives of the time period. And surely I enjoyed this much more than say...the "ULTRAMAN" TV series. And most of all this movie left an impact as a "feel good action kid movie," and really isn't that what it's all about? I became very lucky last year to obtain a "crude," yet "watchable" copy of the movie which I will of course cherish. And yes, I still feel the same excitement when I hear the theme and watch this film as I did when I was a kid (call me crazy). In my opinion, this movie ranks with the best of that gerne.

It has been the one movie that my brothers and I were allowed to stay up late to watch. It would sure be great to find a copy. The one movie from my childhood I enjoyed. Its nice to read that there are a lot of people who enjoyed it as much as we did. It would be cool to be able to invite my brothers and their kids over for dinner and this movie. Help me find it please!