This 91%-Rated Coming-of-Age Dramedy Is Netflix's Most Underrated Original Project

In 2022, Netflix released Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, an animated movie by Richard Linklater that unfortunately went almost unnoticed.

The project is a nostalgic journey into the director's childhood – it was created using the rotoscoping technique, which transforms his memories into a warm, witty, and incredibly life-affirming work.

What Is 'Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood' About?

Stan is a fourth-grader from Houston who is growing up in a large family, getting average grades in school, and leading an unremarkable life.

Everything changes when two NASA specialists approach him for help at the height of the 1969 space race. They want him to become the first person on the moon, beating the Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong to the lunar surface.

Stan accepts the offer, and the mission is dubbed Apollo 10½ – the ½ was added to the name because of the rocket's limited capacity.

'Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood' Is a Nostalgic Look Back at the 1960s and a Window Into the Past

For Apollo 10½, Linklater chose the rotoscoping technique, which he had previously employed in his philosophical film Waking Life. In this process, artists trace over live-action footage frame by frame to create a shimmering, surreal reality that perfectly captures the nature of childhood memories.

The animation style draws inspiration from 1960s animated series, adding a nostalgic depth to the movie.

Apollo 10½ is filled with references to the era, spanning television and cinema – from The Twilight Zone to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which Stan attempts to recount to a classmate.

Music also plays a significant role in the movie, ranging from boy bands with songs featuring endless female names to The Beatles, Janis Joplin, and Leonard Cohen.

In 'Apollo 10½', Childhood Is Portrayed as an Eternal Journey and the Ultimate Form of Escapism

Apollo 10½ is a profound exploration of how we preserve our childhoods within ourselves. For Linklater, whose work is defined by the central topic of a lost yet constantly reborn childhood, the film illustrates how 1969 marked the end of childhood for his generation.

Stan reminisces about trips to AstroWorld, being punished at school, inhaling chemical sprays, and getting seriously injured during innocent childhood games. Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, protests, and the rivalry with the Soviet Union, he falls asleep in the backseat of the car, and his parents carry him to bed.

This is life's ironic awakening: at a pivotal moment for humanity, one can fall asleep without missing a thing. Stan has already lived through it all, having flown to the moon just days before Armstrong.

The movie leaves it to us to decide whether that mission actually took place. This allows us, even on the most unbearable days, to hold onto the idea of childhood and the possibility of miracles and gaze up at the stars.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood'?

• Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood has 91% from critics and 81% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 7.2/10.

• On Letterboxd, Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood scored 3.6/5.0.