Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
    Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Reveal promotional image

    Battlefield 6 Classes, Maps, And More: Everything You Need To Know

    07/31/2025
    A glimpse at all the upcoming Star Wars stories coming to the galaxy

    Star Wars Stories: What We Learned At SDCC 2025

    07/25/2025
    Blindspot episode still

    It’s been 5 years since ‘Blindspot’ ended. Why haven’t you watched it yet?

    07/24/2025
    Strange Scaffold

    Strange Scaffold Summer Showcase Delivers Bizarre And Brilliant Games

    07/22/2025
  • Fantasia Festival
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood’ is Pure Nostalgia

REVIEW: ‘Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood’ is Pure Nostalgia

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez04/01/20223 Mins Read
Apollo 10 1/2 - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Apollo 10 1/2 - But Why Tho

Richard Linklater is a Texas icon. A writer-director known for his experimental and auteur style, Linklater has turned his eye to rotoscoped animation again with the Netflix Original Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood. Written and directed by Linklater and stars  Zachary Levi, Jack Black, Glen Powell, Lee Eddy, Josh Wiggins, Milo Coy, and Mona Lee Fultz.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

In Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, audiences see 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  Richard Linklater’s own life, the film 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.

We see the film through memories of childhood. One where drinking and driving were legal, teachers hit students, kids inhale who knows how many chemicals, and somehow all these moments don’t feel terrible to watch. Instead, they feel like a string of memories that sound horrible when you say them aloud but also feel extremely special to you.

They’re the things that bring you joy, but others don’t need to hear them all. In this way, there is an absolute sweetness to the film that radiates from its core. The humor, the Wonder Years-style voice-over, the little moments between characters, all of it work to make a stellar film.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is unique not because of its rotoscoped animation but rather because of how personal it feels. The film is a snapshot of time and life sure to resonate with those who grew up in that time period. That’s the true demographic, those who can tap into the deep-running nostalgia that the film is entirely focused on.

Narratively, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood feels almost like a journal entry or a story told to your kids about the time you were a kid. The film doesn’t feel too structured or buttoned up. Instead, it’s about the imagination and magic that comes from memory, especially in a time when as romanticized as the Space Race.

A crisp 97 minutes, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is an animated film that brings the 60s to life. While it’s about the awe-inspiring nature of space and NASA, the film is a love letter to Houston, to the Johnson Space Center, and to people growing up in that time. The banal becomes wonderous. This isn’t a film about space, it’s a film about how it affected kids at the time, the families built around it, and it all becomes a wholesome lens to look back on the 1960s through.

While I’m most certainly not the film’s demographic (white middle-class 60-somethings), the caliber of animation and storytelling in Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood still makes it a fantastic watch.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is streaming now exclusively on Netflix.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
  • 9/10
    Rating - 9/10
9/10

TL;DR

While I’m most certainly not the film’s demographic (white middle-class 60-somethings), the caliber of animation and storytelling in Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood still makes it a fantastic watch.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleThe DC Super Heroes Racing Season for Hot Wheels Unleashed is Available Now from Mattel and Milestone
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Kaiju No. 8,’ Volume 2
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

08/02/2025
Brandon Routh and co in Ick
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Ick’ Is A Near Perfect Horror-Comedy

07/29/2025
Bad Bunny and Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2
5.0

REVIEW: ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Earns More Shrugs Than Laughs

07/29/2025
Hi-Five
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Hi-Five’ Introduces A Scrappy, Superpowered Team Up

07/28/2025
Still from Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo
5.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo’ Gets A Little Lost In The Weeds

07/26/2025
Dakota Gorman in HELLCAT
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘HELLCAT’ Runs High In Tension But Loses Steam

07/25/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Wildgate promotional key art
9.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Wildgate’ Is Co-Op Space Mayhem Done Right

By Adrian Ruiz07/25/2025Updated:07/30/2025

Built for friends and tuned for competition, Wildgate is messy in the best way: smart, surprising, and bursting with room to grow.

Glass Heart
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Glass Heart’ Offers Messy, Musical Catharsis

By Allyson Johnson07/22/2025

The musical drama series ‘Glass Heart’ soars when it focuses on the epic performances of it’s fictional band, TENBLANK.

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

By Jason Flatt08/02/2025

An Honest Life is an overly severe misfire about a law student who falls in with anarchist burglars that can’t decide who it resents more.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here