Fly Me to the Moon

Of course there are flaws with it, but it is not as bad as people say it is, but it could have been much better. It is dull in comparison to works by Pixar and Dreamworks, but I did actually enjoy it. There are better animated films out there, namely Beauty and the Beast but there have been a lot worse animated films as well, like the sequel to the Secret of Nimh. The script has its ups and downs, but I did actually laugh at a bit of the humour that was attempted. I do agree though that the female flies fainting act was overdone quite badly. The animation, in its 2D and 3D form is actually nicely done, in fact a vast majority of it was amazing. The main flaw with the film is the story. A bit slow and predictable, but the voice talents did well to redeem themselves in the slower bits. Another problem was the ending, Buzz Aldrin telling us that this wasn't a true story was unnecessary, we know that already. About the pace, although the film is relatively short, it just feels longer. But believe me, there has been a lot worse 3D films like Spy Kids 3, (with little sense of wonder, predictable story lines and an embarrassing cameo from Sylvester Stallone) The voice talents were very good. Christopher Lloyd made a good effort with Grandpa, and the three child flies were well done. Nicollette Sheridan also did well as his love interest, Nadia. Tim Curry, Russian accent and all, a little reminiscent of Von Talon in Valiant, also does well, despite his character being in the film for about 10 minutes, and his questionably meagre material. Most impressed me most was the soundtrack, with "Fly me To The Moon" and Strauss's Blue Danube waltz, which is one of my favourite pieces of classical music. All in all, a good film, that suffered because of the story, but I will say it was very dull at times. Whether you want to watch it is up to you. 7/10. Bethany Cox

No big action scenes, no adult humor that the kids don't understand, this is just a nice calm cartoon that you can watch with your kids before bedtime. It won't rev them up or get them to jump up and down. Thy might even like flys after watching this flick.

Postitives, The color palette of the movie, reminds me of a bygone era. The scenery is pleasant. Music is calm.

Parental guide, The flies use the word Crap a few times and one of the flies refers to the others as idiots.

Plot is slow but it does tell a good story about the space launch that put a man on the moon. It is not a Pixar or Disney high end animated feature that we are so programmed to expect in animation nowadays. It just a slow nicely done movie for young kids...it probably not for you if you are an adult and watching it without kids.

The 3D animated film is certainly not a new idea, and while the extent of applying real 3D through the use of glasses dates back to before Toy Story graced our screens, the technology has been somewhat underused. This is no coincidence however, as most will agree that with 3D glasses, along comes gimmick at the expense of story or narration. Fly me to the Moon certainly doesn't do much to shun away such allegations, as the experience is essentially a lame excuse to try out some really nice looking 3D effects and animation, but it is this impressive aesthetic that gives the film life that it would never have had before. Through this extra dimension the movie achieves a sense of compulsion with the viewer, engaging on a level only touched on by the greatest of cinematographers; Fly me to the Moon certainly feels like a trip into outer space, and on this basis alone should you decide whether or not to give this one a try.

Outside of the obvious sensory appeals of the film, the remainder of the much more standard and straight forward elements of film-making are dull and uninteresting in comparison. The story, which follows a trio of youngster fleas as they go on a brave adventure into space through means of hitchhiking in astronauts helmets, has its wonderful moments which will be sure to resonate with anyone interested in space travel. Although once again, without the punctuation of the wonderfully animated environments and smooth, crisp character designs, such moments would probably be fruitless; a little like watching a grainy, black and white version of 2001 with the sound switched off on the ten inch display. Nevertheless, the characters, although extremely standard fare for children's movies, provide adequate motive for the film to move forward and keep exploring all the images of space that lie ahead. The adventure is nonsensical, overly contrived and more than predictable, but for children at least, it will provide some entertainment. For the adults, it's all really just a timid excuse to watch all the glitter fly around on screen.

Where the film begins to lag behind however lies in the tacked on subplot involving some seedy Russian antagonists out to blow the moon-mission out of sheer jealousy. Although the depictions of Russia at the time is a little distasteful, lacking the needed comical edge to win over the audience in regards to their obviously caricature nature, this isn't the major flaw inherent to the development. Instead rather it is simply that it lacks any real coherency and fails to establish any sense of relevant link to the much more engaging main plot. Plus, taking place largely inside the brown hues of wherever these fleas live, and lacking any real amusing characters outside of ex-adventurer Grandpa, the segments which are spliced in between all the adventure and action feel perfunctory for the sake of maintaining standard structure expected of the genre and all the more uninteresting as a result.

In the end, whether or not you will enjoy Fly Me to the Moon depends on two factors: what age you are and what your disposition is in regards to 3D movies. While it would help to be under your teens and be fond of the three-dimensional gimmick, there are nevertheless other areas in which the movie can please. The main focus being that of space exploration and living out your dreams at the cost of risking your normal, everyday life is always playing out in the subtext of the film, but its presence is palpable enough to warrant engagement with all that is going on behind the fancy effects. Sure enough with such films as Space Chimps and big-shot WALL-E not long behind cinema goer's minds, it would be hard to justify another trip into space without having some serious backing from other elements within the film. In this respect, Fly Me to the Moon too often fails. With an overly formulaic script, flat character development and some spotty plotting, the feature does little to convince you that it is anything but a treat for the eyes. So unless you really enjoy your animated-children's-3D-space movies, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, but there is still fun to be had here for those who are.

• A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)

1st the good news. The 3-D is spectacularly well done, and they don't go for the gotcha gimmicks. The film is based on the true story of the high point in human history, and even features one of the actual participants in that story: Buzz Aldrin.

And now the meat of the matter: It's about FLIES, for krissakes! Flies with big, googy human eyes, true, but flies nonetheless. Remember when I likened the "Underworld" movies to rats vs. cockroaches? That wasn't intended as praise, and I never dreamed anyone would take it literally. This one's got even less empathy going for it. Baby maggots? Ugh. In one of those odd confluences of Hollywood groupthink, this flik was evidently on the drawing boards at the same time as "Space Chimps", also about critters in space.

Go rent "Apollo 13" and see a 9-rated movie about the REAL space program (RIP).

The movie is fine; and fun for kids who are in the bug stage. I never took cartoons at face value even as a kid and I am not seeing my daughter do it either. If the flies not being perfect are what you are worrying about as opposed to the idea that flies talk than this movie is not for you. I have never met a child who could not point out a fly or an ant, or a potato bug, etc...

As to the patriotism - a bit here and there doesn't hurt - we have lost our way a bit and maybe some good patriotism can help us find some pride in the good we have done, either way I doubt this movie will affect anyone all that much. Saying that note that patriotism is not nationalism, though I know the universities tell you that.