Flight to the Moon

A young boy accidently stows away on a rocket flying to the Moon on a rescue mission. The short film, directed by sisters Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg is a well-done, pleasant children's fantasy that attempts to be realistic and scientifically accurate (weightlessness in the rocket, diminished gravity on the moon, the effect of vacuum on the blackness of shadows, lunar weather (or lack of it), and the impact of meteorites on the satellite's surface are all addressed). The animation is excellent and the characters interesting and well voiced (I watched a somewhat garbled subtitled version, which somehow added to the charm). The film reminded me of the great Russian silent space-epic 'Cosmic Journey' (1936), which also featured kids obsessed with astronomy and space travel, a child stowaway, and light-hearted of scenes of the effects of diminished gravity onboard the ship in freefall and on the lunar surface (as well as concerns about going into space without one's boots). Both films also make reference to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the revered father of Russian rocketry. The film seems apolitical but interestingly one of the stowaway's space-obsessed friends is a young black boy from America (the other friend is Ukrainian). I can't imagine a similar cartoon made in the U. S. in the mid-fifties featuring a prominent black or Soviet character. Also of note, one of the two cosmonauts on the rescue rocket is a woman. All in all, ' Flight to the Moon' is a charming animated science-fiction adventure and an interesting look at the fine animation that was being done behind 'The Iron Curtain' during the 'cold war' era.

'Flight to the Moon' is interesting for, apparently, being the first Soviet science-fiction animation, and does stand out among Soyuzmultfilm's vast and consistently high standard filmography. It's not one of their masterpieces but it is one of their more fascinating, with it not being an adaptation of pre-existing source material (whether fairy/folk tales like 'The Snow Queen' and the work of Nikolai Gogol), animations based around classical music, like 'The Nutcracker', 'Seasons', etc.) and a more mature story subject.

It is yet another winner from the Brumberg sisters Valentina and Zinaida, some of their best work (like 'The Night Before Christmas' and 'The Lost Letter', both adaptations of stories by Gogol) being among Soyuzmultfilm's best. It is not quite as good as those, the more magical and surreal kind of animations that capture the spirit of Gogol beautifully, and it is not one of my favourites from Soyuzmultfilm, not moving me in the same extent that 'The Snow Maiden' and 'The Ugly Duckling' do. That is not disparaging 'Flight to the Moon', it is exceptionally well made and has historical interest but not just that.

The animation, reminding me a little of early-mid-30s Fleischer (a good thing), is a massive asset, so good that one cannot believe that it's from 1953. The attention to detail is extraordinary and the characters move so fluidly and expressively, the colours vivid and atmospheric. As always for Soyuzmultfilm the backgrounds are rich in detail and quite stunning. The 50s saw some heavy use of rotoscoping from the studio, rotoscoping that has held up well and doesn't jar and while it is used a lot it is not abused, here with the exterior spaceship models and in general. The music is rousing and characterful without dominating, also lush in orchestration and with an air of mystery when necessary without being at odds with anything.

Writing is thoughtful and also educated me quite a bit, treating the viewer with respect and not resorting to anything over-complicated that it goes over younger viewers' heads. The charming and informative story avoids heavy-handedness and is handled with maturity but accessibly too. The characters engage and the voice acting is not at odds with them.

Overall, great quality and fascinating. 9/10