Space Dogs by Phase 4 Films
Genre: Family, Animated
Run Time: 88 minutes
Rating: G
Suggested Retail Price for DVD: $24.99 USD, $19.99 CAD
Will also be available on demand and digital outlets
Language: English
Special Features: Downloadable Activity Kit, Stills Gallery, Trailer
Street Date: April 3, 2012
Summary: The exciting animated tale based on the true story of Belka and Strelka; two Russian dogs sent to space in 1960. A circus dog and a stray dog embark on an out-of-this-world adventure to become the world’s most famous canine cosmonauts.
Review: I was not very familiar with the true story, but from what I gathered about Belka (“Squirrel”) and Strelka (“Little Arrow”), they were launched into space on board Sputnik 5 on August 19, 1960. They were accompanied by 42 mice, a gray rabbit, two rats, flies and a number of plants and fungi. I was aware of their mission being of the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive after spending a day in orbit.
Strelka gave birth to a litter of six healthy puppies with a male dog, Pushok, who participated in many ground based experiments. One of the puppies was given to President Kennedy as a gift for his daughter, Caroline, in 1961.
Space Dogs takes on some of the historical facts and gives this animated family movie a colorful twist. The movie starts of with a puppy given as a gift to the President, who then tells all the other Kennedy pets about the exciting story of his mom and her adventure into outer space.
Strelka is portrayed as a stray running the streets and Belka is a circus dog who has to ride a rocket for part of the circus act suddenly because Vova, the pig, is no longer trim enough to fit into the rocket. Belka loses control of the rocket and flies away from the circus. She then meets Strelka and her friend, who is a rat, Venya.
The two dogs and rat are caught by a man who puts them on a train to a Soviet space program training center. The rat gets first place in program testing and Belka and Strelka come in second and third. The crew has a bit of misadventure during the orbit, but safely make it back to Earth. At the end, real archived footage of the real space dogs and Soviet Space Program are shown with the credits.
Even though this movie doesn’t completely follow the true story, it still has great morals and shows what can be accomplished with the strength of friendship. It also shows how you can succeed with hard work and determination.
Space Dogs has been a hit with my daughters, who are currently three and five. They love watching Belka and Strelka take on the adventure of exploring outer space and learn new personal strengths.
This DVD also comes with bonus activity sheets for kids to work on that are in PDF. They range from a word scrabble to instructions on how to build your own solar space mobile.
Website: www.phase4films.com
Facebook: www,facebook.com/phase4films
Twitter: www.twitter.com/phase4films
Disclosure: I received a copy of Space Dogs for review. The thoughts and feelings expressed are my own. No other compensation has been received for this review.
