MIFF 2025 – Film #2
I’ll start off by saying that I’m not exactly the target audience for Space Cadet, but I can definitely see this working wonderfully for younger kids. This whimsical and charming tale of a young astronaut and her GuardianBot is based off Kid Koala’s 2011 graphic novel of the same name, and here he makes a pretty solid directorial debut. It’s an entirely dialogue-free space fable that touches upon themes of optimism, grief, loss, and love.
The animation is super cute and charming, with nice details like Celeste’s space suit gradually wearing down — however, the environments themselves often felt a bit too empty. The soundtrack — also by Kid Koala — is another highlight, bringing a lot of warmth and personality, though a few needle drops landed awkwardly.
This film is definitely reminiscent, in some ways, of Robot Dreams (one of my favourite films of all time), but without the same seamless flow. Additionally, the pacing and editing could have used more polish, which unfortunately makes the film feel messier and longer than it actually is. That said, it’s no easy task to create a feature-length film absent of dialogue, and this one almost pulls it off.
Space Cadet is definitely one to show the kids, but it unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to its Robot Dreams comparisons.
MIFF 2025 – Film #2
I’ll start off by saying that I’m not exactly the target audience for Space Cadet, but I can definitely see this working wonderfully for younger kids. This whimsical and charming tale of a young astronaut and her GuardianBot is based off Kid Koala’s 2011 graphic novel of the same name, and here he makes a pretty solid directorial debut. It’s an entirely dialogue-free space fable that touches upon themes of optimism, grief, loss, and love.
The animation is super cute and charming, with nice details like Celeste’s space suit gradually wearing down — however, the environments themselves often felt a bit too empty. The soundtrack — also by Kid Koala — is another highlight, bringing a lot of warmth and personality, though a few needle drops landed awkwardly.
This film is definitely reminiscent, in some ways, of Robot Dreams (one of my favourite films of all time), but without the same seamless flow. Additionally, the pacing and editing could have used more polish, which unfortunately makes the film feel messier and longer than it actually is. That said, it’s no easy task to create a feature-length film absent of dialogue, and this one almost pulls it off.
Space Cadet is definitely one to show the kids, but it unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to its Robot Dreams comparisons.
