Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? Do you remember what adventures you fantasized about having? While some of us may not recall the answers to these questions, Richard Linklater (“Boyhood“) has used his childhood fantasy to create his new film “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood.”
While the space race reached its peak with the launch of NASA’s Apollo Program (1968-1972), the wonder of those years carries on. The most prominent event was the launch of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon. This is where Linklater’s ‘Apollo 10 ½’ begins.
Told from two interwoven perspectives, ‘Apollo 10 ½’ is a “snapshot of American life in the 1960s that is part coming-of-age, part societal commentary, and part out-of-this-world adventure…literally.
Capturing what it would have been like growing up in Houston in 1969, the story follows Stanley, a 10-year-old boy, who is approached by two NASA officials (Zachary Levi and Glen Powell) for his own Apollo mission as a test run before the official launch of Apollo 11. We don’t know anyone who would say no to Zachary Levi in any context, let alone if it involves a space mission.
Alongside Levi and Powell is another Linklater regular, Jack Black, as older Stanley. The animated film also stars Milo Coy, Bill Wise, Natalie L’Amoureaux, Lee Eddy, Josh Wiggins, Sam Chipman, Jessica Brynne Cohen, and Danielle Guilbot.
You can catch “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood” on Netflix this Friday, April 1, 2022. In the meantime, please enjoy this exclusive clip below.