Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood

PG-13

2022

1 hr. 30 min.

Drama

Adventure

Animation

Comedy

History

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List

91%

143 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood tells the story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 from two interwoven perspectives -- the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and through the eyes of a kid growing up in Houston, Texas who has intergalactic dreams of his own. Taking inspiration from Academy Award-nominated® filmmaker Richard Linklater's own life, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood 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.

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Critics Consensus

The sweetly nostalgic Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood finds Richard Linklater reusing visual and thematic ingredients in a deeply personal, freshly inspired way.

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Alec B

It may not progress beyond Linklater's personal nostalgic musings but it is undeniably delightful.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/24

Full Review

Daisy J

I never tire of Linklater when he provides us with a slice of his life. This movie is so specifically him, and that made me love it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

juno

As a non-American, I couldn't really enjoy this film. As someone born in the 2000s, it was interesting but all I heard was "Houston, Houston, Houston" and "Family, family, family". It's clearly for an audience that isn't me. I watched it after seeing a few clips on my socials and it kept popping up over and over on my netflix. The first half of the movie drones on and on and on about things that almost had me falling asleep. There was 0 plot to it. When the narrator mentioned that he would talk about the time there, I expected it to be 10 minutes. 20 minutes at the absolute most. Not 40~ minutes with no semblance with one thing leading into another. It felt like filler. I completely lost interest by the 30 minute mark, and skipped ahead of many more minutes of filler before finally seeing another glimpse of anything Space-related (ignoring all brief mentions of NASA or Space or Astronaut themed programmes the narrator mentions), or related to the opening. I tried to watch further but it had completely bored me at that point, and I had lost interest in the original plot immediately. If you like very slow paced movies, a lot of detail and are a suburban American born in 1960s Texas, this is a good movie for you. If you like Colm from Derry Girls' stories, this is a good movie for you. 2 Stars because the animation was refreshing from what you usually see. It does remind me of filters, though.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/13/23

Full Review

Denny M

Sometimes I've wondered what it would be like to watch a movie with no real conflict or plot. This movie has finally answered that question. Sure, it was fun to watch along the way, but I was waiting for something actually significant to happen since it pretty much lays everything out immediately. Nope, it's just a kid getting recruited to go on a secret pre-Apollo mission and nothing at all happens because of it. The animation and acting were great, but in the end, the movie is just "what if a kid did Apollo 11 before adults did? Also look at all these things people did in 1969. Wowee, this is so craaaaaaaazy." The whole thing is literally Linklater telling us pointless (albeit kinda interesting) details about his childhood, but asking the audience: "What if I also went to space? That would've been so sick, right?"

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/23

Full Review

Mikey H

Linklater can do sos much better than this. I was thoroughly bored.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/23/23

Full Review

J o

I didn't absolutely hate it, but I would have loved if there was an actual plot. It's very much like a boomer telling you "how things used to be". There's some charm to it, with one ramble blending into the next, but it's hard to sit through the hard thing. Watched about an hour and couldn't go on.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/21/23

Full Review

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Richard Linklater

Director

Jack Black

Grown Up Stan

Bill Wise

Dad

Lee Eddy

Mom

Milo Coy

Stan

Natalie L'Amoreaux

Vicky

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Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood: Trailer 1

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Leah Greenblatt

Entertainment Weekly

It's all lulling and immersive and surprisingly lovely, a sweetly unhurried ode to a bygone world.

Rated: A-

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

The film is all backdrop, a boomer nostalgia trip with little in the way of actual story.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

David Jenkins

Little White Lies

A beautiful, moving family portrait set against the epic backdrop of history.

Rated: 5/5

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

Lee Zumpe

Tampa Bay Newspapers

[“Apollo 10½”] is a poetic time capsule and a melancholy tribute to an age of unbridled imagination.

Oct 31, 2023

Full Review

Nuha Hassan

Nuha Hassan

Apollo 10½ has vivid and colourful images of the suburbs and sometimes provides montages and photographs of the family.

Sep 4, 2023

Full Review

Hector A. Gonzalez

The Movie Buff

Linklater’s latest venture into animation, “Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood,” is probably his most personal story yet. However, it contains wearisome and bland narration as well as a sense of detachment.

Rated: C

Jul 29, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood tells the story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 from two interwoven perspectives -- the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and through the eyes of a kid growing up in Houston, Texas who has intergalactic dreams of his own. Taking inspiration from Academy Award-nominated® filmmaker Richard Linklater's own life, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood 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.

Director: Richard Linklater
Executive Producer: John Sloss, Melissa Cobb
Screenwriter: Richard Linklater
Production Co: Netflix Animation, Minnow Mountain, Detour Filmproduction, Submarine, Soundcrafter
Rating: PG-13 (Injury Images|Some Suggestive Material|Smoking)
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2022

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