Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood trailer: Richard Linklater’s animated feature is a blast from the past

Richard Linklater’s unique method of storytelling has attracted fans for many years now. The filmmaker returns to the animated genre with his upcoming Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood.

The film’s makers released a trailer yesterday, which reveals a film set in Texas in the late 60’s. A young boy in Houston is approached by NASA to fly to the moon, after they accidentally build a module too small for an adult. 

Linklater takes the child protagonist to the moon in the wake of the space race, letting him live his dream. The trailer also hints at the coming of age film being a social commentary on the constantly changing world. With people wearing different clothes and living different lives, they are united by space rockets that blast off to space. 

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood stars Milo Coy, Lee Eddy, Bill Wise, Natalie L'Amoreaux, Josh Wiggins, Sam Chipman, Jessica Brynn Cohen, Danielle Guilbot, Zachary Levi, Glen Powell and Jack Black. 

The film, which has Linklater as writer, director and producer, was acquired by Netflix in 2020. The film will start streaming on the popular platform on April 1, after its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. 

The five time Oscar nominated filmmaker returns to the animation genre after Waking Life, in 2001. He then used the interpolated rotoscope technique to adapt Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly starring Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr.. The film went on to be a cult classic among the filmmaker’s fans.