Today's anniversary of the 1969 Apollo 11 landing on the moon is all over the news today, which has sparked a few thoughts of how we can mark the occasion with our leisure time. Some things I've liked and loved over the years:
A Grand Day Out: Twenty years after the landing, Nick Park brushed aside the geological evidence, and showed that the moon, indeed, is full of cheese. At least, that's why Wallace and Gromit built a rocket to go there. Still my favourite of the W&G shorts.
This is the Way to the Moon: Miroslav Sasek wrote this children's book in the early years of the New Frontier. I understand it has been reissued to coincide with the 40th anniversary.
The Simpsons Movie: Just for the Itchy and Scratchy opening.
Moon Palace: I read Paul Auster's 1969-set novel, in which the moon landing is in the air, in 1989, when the buzz was about the 20th anniversary. Might dig it out; I recall it made for good reading in those summer nights.
Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon: I read these Tintin books well after the moon landing, but don't recall being troubled in the least by the fact the books are set well before the NASA era.
There are plenty of others that come to mind, because they're about space travels, astronauts, etc., from Silent Running to Terms of Endearment to, of course, Apollo 13, which made a captivating drama out of an event where we knew everyone survived.
Got any to add?
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