The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Produced in Spanish and dubbed in English, there is plenty to like about this space-bound animated adventure, which, although, not exactly groundbreaking in terms of story or technical achievements, it still has enough charm and will to keep its intended audience target engaged and entertained.

The story is centred on Mike Goldwing (Calvell); an inquisitive and a spirited twelve-year-old boy who comes from two generations of NASA astronauts, his astronaut-in-training father, Scott (Mora) and Grandpa Frank (Garcia), a legendary astronaut known for mysteriously walking away from the Apollo XI mission years ago.

See, Frank – a man who prefers to live a life of solitude – has never fully explained why he left the mission; something that created a significant rift between him and the rest of his family.

So, when billionaire and oil tycoon, Richard Carson (Rovira), announces that the moon landing was faked –  cue the not-so-subtle nod towards Stanley Kubrick – and that he plans to claim the ‘land’ for himself by launching his own privately funded mission, NASA is quick to react by nstigating a relaunch of the Apollo space program andthe help of veteran astronauts – including Frank himself – is soon called upon.

However, after a sly move from team Carson, the Apollo XI is accidentally launched into space with a few uninvited guests, including Frank, Mike,  his best-friend Amy (Jenner) and Igor the lizard (voiced by Tarrago).

Written by a legion of writers and directed by Enrique Gato, the story is relatively appealing and while the screenplay – targeted strictly to anyone under twelve years of age – has its flaws, the director is able to sustain enough control to keep things moving on a refreshingly high beat throughout the minutes.

In terms of visuals, Capture the Flag is no Inside Out or Up – expecting the same kind of ingenuity will only result in disappointment. However, even though the technical limitations could pose a problem to some, in the end, they won’t really matter to those who the movie is trying to reach out to.

The voice-over is decent and the dialogue, as well as the characters speaking it, are fittingly drawn up for the targeted audience, with an additional fun fact or two about the Apollo mission thrown in for good measure.

With enough power to reach out to the little kiddies in the crowd and even to a handful of adults who will appreciate its first-man-on-the-moon-conspiracy-theory storytelling efforts, Capture the Flag is uncomplicated and engaging and although not entirely memorable.