Come Fly With Me

It's 1969, and the world twitters with anticipation for the Apollo 11 mission, which will put the first human beings on the moon. Not exempt from the excitement are a trio of flies, Nat, Scooter and IQ, who are constructing their own rocket just across the way from Cape Canaveral. But being young, they get a little over-excited, and the next thing you know all three have stowed away aboard the real rocket and are on their way to the moon. And just like in the real world, the Soviet flies — headed by Poopchev and his deadly strongman, Yegor — are jealous of this American achievement and plot to sabotage the mission. Fly Me to the Moon, an animated feature produced by nWave Pictures and directed by Ben Stassen, is an adventure film for kids with a generous dose of silliness, obviously, but it also glamorizes the space program with a generous dose of hero worship — and considering recent NASA setbacks and scandals, that's a good thing . And it features the voice talents of Christopher Lloyd and Tim Curry (who seems to make every film a little brighter with his presence), as well as a cameo by actual Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Fly Me to the Moon screens daily through Thursday, July 2, at the Saint Louis Science Center's OMNIMAX Theater (5050 Oakland Avenue; 314-289-4400 or www.slsc.org). Tickets are $7 to $8.

PHOTO COURTESY OF nWAVE PICTURES
March 10-Oct. 29, 2009