Fly Me to the Moon (2008)

19% of critics liked it
(81 reviews)
27% of users liked it
(6,478 ratings)

Christopher Lloyd, Kelly Ripa, Nicollette Sheridan, and Tim Curry lend their voices to director Ben Stassen's (Haunted Castle and Encounter in the Third Dimension) animatedchildren's fantasy about three preteen flies who hitch a ride into space on the Apollo 11 moon mission. The year is 1969, and… More Christopher Lloyd, Kelly Ripa, Nicollette Sheridan, and Tim Curry lend their voices to director Ben Stassen's (Haunted Castle and Encounter in the Third Dimension) animatedchildren's fantasy about three preteen flies who hitch a ride into space on the Apollo 11 moon mission. The year is 1969, and Americans all across the country are buzzing about the first manned mission to the moon. Even the insects aren't immune to the excitement, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of adolescent flies Nat (voice of Trevor Gagnon), IQ (voice of Philip Daniel Bolden), and Scooter (voice of David Gore). Over the years, Nat's grandpa (voice of Lloyd) has often recalled the time he hitched a ride on Amelia Earhart's airplane during the famed aviator's cross-Atlantic flight, and now Nat's dreams of recreating that feat on a much larger scale are finally set to come true. But while the three young flies only believe that they'll be gone for a few minutes, the fact is that they'll be drifting through space for almost an entire week. Just as they're about to sneak aboard the ship, the flies are spotted by a keen-eyed NASA ground control official and stored in a test tube for future study. Later in the flight, when the ship's engine malfunctions, the only ones capable of fixing the problem are the three tiny stowaways. But their mission isn't accomplished just yet, because grandpa's old flame Nadia (voice of Sheridan) has just arrived from Russia to warn him that a tiny fly-spy named Yegor (voice of Curry) has been assigned the task of traveling to Cape Canaveral and sabotaging the computer flight plans. Should Nat, IQ, and Scooter fail to act in time, Yegor's mission could spell disaster not only for the three thrill-seeking flies, but the entire U.S. space program. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Ben Stassen
Written By: Domonic Paris
Genres: Animation, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Aug 15, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Dec 2, 2008
Studio: Summit Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
It's clear that animators can now achieve levels of visual depth that were previously impossible.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
As for the space stuff, well, George Lucas need not lose any sleep.
Nathan Lee, New York Times
Fly Me to the Moon bills itself as the first animated feature created expressly for 3-D. Too bad it wasn't created expressly for, you know, pleasure or art.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
You can skip it in all three dimensions.
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
Adults used to animation that runs on two tracks -- the upfront stuff for the tykes and a witty subtext to entertain big people -- may grow bored with the kid-leaning sensibility of Fly Me to the Moon.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It's not accurate history and doesn't have enough funny lines or bits to hold most adults' interest.
James Luxford, The National
It is a family story meant for younger viewers, and passes by without too much effort.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Without much else beyond its 3-D design going for it, this adventure grows old very fast.
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses
sti molis 85lepti diarkeia tis, na einai peripoy misi ora poly megali ki allo toso aneyri, kai s' olo to ypoloipo tis na dikaiologei tin yparksi tis se aithoysa mono os oriaka asteia, haritomeni, i diaskedastiki entelos paidika kai meta bias aksiologi na
Paula Nechak, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Unfortunately, the flies aren't so compelling.
Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine
Fine family entertainment with a particularly strong message for the small fry.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
No amount of fiddling with funny glasses in the theatre will keep you from noticing a weak storyline.
Brent Simon, Screen International
One of the strangest misfires in recent animation history.
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
A tougher endurance test than anything NASA could cook up.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
G-rated, 3D animated adventure of three plucky young flies who hitch a ride on Apollo 11 plods rather than soars. And maggots with faces aren't cute.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Despite some astonishing visual sequences, a flimsy script and frankly awful character design ground this film before it can blast off.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Without the special effects, this would be a routine and occasionally dull adventure, but the 3D animation is simply astonishing and the film is worth seeing for that alone.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Michael E

Its not one of the worst animated movies ive seen but it was stupid
Leigh R

It was cute enough to watch once, but mostly kind of boring.
Nani V

Cute movie.
A.D. V

Abysmally dull "family" film not recommended for anyone over 5. And the 3D sucks too.
Barry L

I made the mistake of watching this and I have to say it was nothing special. The story line is weird, the plot odd and the poo references I could have done without...watchable to by no means Pixar.
RJ M

Billed as the first fully computer animated movie made in 3-D, it tells the story of three flies that stowaway on board Apollo 11's historic flight to the moon. That's the whole plot. If that were the whole focus of the movie, they couldv'e pulled off a fun little… More
Billed as the first fully computer animated movie made in 3-D, it tells the story of three flies that stowaway on board Apollo 11's historic flight to the moon. That's the whole plot. If that were the whole focus of the movie, they couldv'e pulled off a fun little movie. Unfortunately things get bogged down with too many extra characters and subplots involving Russian flies that try to sabotage the mission back at ground control on Earth. That gets in the way of a genuienly fun little adventure about the other flies and their journey to outer space. It's as if the filmmakers realized that the movie they made wasn't long enough for theatrical release, and went back and shot a bunch of filler material. There's a good 60 minute movie here, stretched out to 90 minutes. Of course the whole gimmick of the movie is the 3-D factor. The earthbound scenes contain the typical "comin' at ya" shots, including a flies point of view as he zips through fields, junkyards, etc. But I give the movie an extra half star because the 3-D scenes involving the space mission are quite remarkable, and provide a "you are there" feel that isn't possible in a 2-D feature. But since the movie was made for digital 3-D theaters, it's obvious it will be in 3-D on video. My advice...wait for it.
Jason S

Not as good as I thought it would be. Boring in spots but very cute in others. Not very funny though and really probably for little kids only. 3D was fun in spots.

Read all 7 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Christopher Lloyd as Grandpa

            Kelly Ripa as Nat's Mom

            Nicollette Sheridan as Nadia

            Tim Curry as Yegor

            Trevor Gagnon as Nat

            Philip Daniel Bolden as IQ

            David Gore as Scooter

            Ed Begley Jr as Poopchev

            Adrienne Barbeau as Scooter's Mom

            Robert Patrick as Louie

            Buzz Aldrin as Buzz Aldrin

            Sandy Simpson as Commander Armstrong

            Eddie Frierson as Commander Aldrin

            David Cowgill as Commander Collins

            Steve Kramer as Leonid

            Mimi Maynard as IQ's Mom

            Lloyd Scher as Mission Control 1969

            Phil Proctor as Senior Official

            Nicholas Guest as Fly Buddy #1

            Archie Hahn III as Fly Buddy #2

            Lyannanne Zager as Fly at Launch

            Manville Zager as Butch

            Scott Manville as Butch

            Cam Clarke as Ray

            Michael McConnahie as American Newscaster

            Doug Stone as Russian Newscaster

            Max Burkholder as Mom's Maggot

            Jessica Gee as Maggot #1

            Mona Marshall as Maggot #2

            Barbara Goodson as Maggot #3

            Toby Stone as Mosquito

            James Frederick as Horsefly #1

            Jeffrey Braer as Horsefly #2

            Greg Berger as Pale Russian Flies

            Sophie Simpson as Katie

            Lorraine Nicholson as Polly

            Auguste Paris as Kid Fly at the Party

            Michael Consuelos as "Party Mold" Kid Fly
See full cast