There’s nothing like a good hangout movie and nobody does them better than Richard Linklater (“School of Rock,” “Dazed and Confused”). While he’s absolutely tackled a fair number of plot driven features, the Austin born directors most well known features are those that follow the loosest of overall plots. Most of the time, the movies are just an excuse to hang out, lounge around, and talk about the good times, man.
So it makes sense that his latest film, another rotoscoped animated film, follows his previous forays into the technology with “Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darkly”, is another one of his hangout films. However, whether because of the concept, marketing, or how the film is structured, “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood” feels far more unwieldy than his previous features and less satisfying as a result.
Set during the summer of 1969 in Austin, Texas, the film follows Stanley, voiced by Milo Coy, in his film debut, a grade school kid who’s secretly recruited by two NASA workers, voiced by Glen Powell (“Everybody Wants Some!,” “Scream Queens”) and Zachary Levi (“Shazam!,” “Tangled”), to be the actual first person to travel to the moon after NASA accidentally builds the lunar module too small for a grown astronaut. Sprinkled throughout are anecdotes and stories about Stan’s childhood growing up in the 60s, narrated by a grown Stan, voiced by Jack Black (“School of Rock,” “Kung-Fu Panda”).
The film’s largest problem is one that can only partly be blamed on marketing. While the trailer heavily leans into the “kid goes to space” aspect, as does the poster and title, the actual traveling to space idea only really takes up about a third of the film. It’s fun to watch, with the animation effectively blending the live based actors and the fully animated backdrops and sets, and it's undoubtedly the film’s emotional and tonal highlight.
Otherwise though, the rest of the film is merely older Stanley narrating his childhood growing up in Austin. What feels like it should be a five or ten minute diversion, a “we’ll get back to this later” type of detour, ends up taking up almost an hour of the 98 minute film. That’s not to say it isn’t enjoyable, and it often feels like sitting back and catching up with a friend or an uncle as they tell stories. But the feeling can be fleeting by the time all is over.
The gorgeous animation is a major saving grace for the film as a whole, invoking a unique style to tell this story that blends real life and imagination and not just in the space parts. Thick chunky lines and bold colors all wash over this world to create a kind of idealized state that would seem garish if done in live action. It’s also just a technical feat, and a major step up from the last time Linklater employed this kind of style with “A Scanner Darkly.”
It’s a fun ride to be sure, and it's over and done with before it even has a chance to overstay its welcome. Yet this might be the first time where Linklater’s two competing styles clash in a way that seems to be a negative to both. The hangout vibes are sabotaged by the grand scale of the “kind going to the moon” plot and the overarching “kid going to the moon plot” is kneecapped by a film that seems uninterested in spending its time on it.
But it’s still gorgeous to look at and fun to spend time with. It's effective in its evocative goals, and Jack Black has a surprisingly soothing voice when he isn’t screaming about rock or kung-fu. It’s arguably a perfect film for Netflix to distribute: not without merit, but lacking in any real long term memorability. It’s still worth watching, but likely won’t have any long term staying power like previous Linklater lounging hits. 3.5/5
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