ANIMATION

A 3D film describing man’s first trip to the moon is a lively sounding prospect, and moments in Ben Stassen’s animation offer a genuine wow-factor, depicting a space-rocket blasting into the atmosphere, or the view from above the lunar-lander as it touches down on the moon’s white soil. But such moments of poetry are fleeting; Domonic Paris’ script is insanely focused on the uninteresting plight of three house-flies who stow away onboard Apollo 11 in an attempt to replicate the barnstorming feats of their aviation pioneer Grampa (Christopher Lloyd).

With occasionally striking but generally patchy 3D animation, it’s the charmlessness of the bug-eyed insect designs which firmly grounds Fly Me To The Moon, while the xenophobic portrayal of Russians , added to the sexist attitude toward the female characters, will repel any parents attracted to the idea of an educational space flick.

Fly Me To The Moon’s uncertain juvenilia is topped off by an ill-advised cameo from Buzz Aldrin, who appears in the final scenes to assure us that the events depicted are ‘scientific impossibility’ and generously dedicates the film to those who worked on the NASA space programme. It’s hard to imagine that a lame kiddies flick about talking insects is what the boys at Cape Canaveral wanted, but thanks all the same, Buzz.

On general release from Oct 3.