We use cookies to help us understand how you use our site, and make your experience better. To find out more read our privacy policy.
Play

00:00

/

00:00

Full screen
Video quality

Low 0 MB

High 0 MB

HD 0 MB

Captions
Volume
Volume
Hero image for Space Flight

Space Flight

Short Film (Full Length) – 1962

Galaxies away from images of tar-addled lungs on cigarette packets, this film offers an unusual public health message about smoking. Set to rhyming couplets, the plasticine hero tries out to see if he has the right stuff to fly a rocket to Venus. There he battles the demon Nicotine, and (long before Avatar’) convinces Venusians to destroy their tobacco trees. Shot in 35mm by pioneering animator Fred O’Neill, Space Flight was made for theatrical release. For reasons unknown the Health Department, who commissioned it, didn't want the film to go on general release.

Dive upward like inverted gannet / To settle on some other planet.
– From the narration

Music

Music composed by David Farquhar and played by members of the National Orchestra (later renamed the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra) 

More from The Sci-fi Collection...

Thumbnail image for The Quiet Earth

The Quiet Earth

In director Geoff Murphy's cult sci-fi feature, a...

Thumbnail image for Under the Mountain - The Alien World Below (Episode Four)

Under the Mountain - The Alien World Below (Episode Four)

Classic sci-fi series Under the Mountain...

Thumbnail image for The Boy from Andromeda - The Guardian

The Boy from Andromeda - The Guardian

On a holiday to Mt Tarawera, teenager Jenny (Katrina...

Thumbnail image for The Tem Show - Star Wars (Episode)

The Tem Show - Star Wars (Episode)

In The Tem Show Temuera Morrison interviews...

Thumbnail image for Battletruck

Battletruck

In a lawless fuel wars future, marauders roam the...

Thumbnail image for Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game

Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game

Armed with his trusty ray gun and protected by his...

Thumbnail image for Night of the Red Hunter - Telefeature

Night of the Red Hunter - Telefeature

This sci-fi telefeature for kids follows the...

Thumbnail image for Vostok Station

Vostok Station

In this visually arresting short film, Matthew...

Thumbnail image for The Games Affair - The Porcelain Runner (Episode Two)

The Games Affair - The Porcelain Runner (Episode Two)

Set during the 1974 Commonwealth Games,...

Thumbnail image for Event 16

Event 16

Masterminded by director and fx whizz Derek Pearson,...

Thumbnail image for Infection

Infection

In James Cunningham’s award-winning short a...

Thumbnail image for An Awful Silence

An Awful Silence

This quirky sci-fi tale about a mysterious group of...

Thumbnail image for Space Knights - The Golden Knight (First Episode)

Space Knights - The Golden Knight (First Episode)

Ambitious kids' sci fi series Space Knights...

Thumbnail image for Children of the Dog Star - Power Stop

Children of the Dog Star - Power Stop

After adapting Maurice Gee classic Under the...

Thumbnail image for Mis-drop

Mis-drop

A helmet cam records the claustrophobic reactions of a...

Thumbnail image for No Ordinary Sun

No Ordinary Sun

Set in Antarctica (and partly shot there), the science...

Thumbnail image for Typhon's People

Typhon's People

This 90-minute telemovie (there was also a longer...

Thumbnail image for Planet Man

Planet Man

 "It was the beginning of the end of the...

Thumbnail image for The Dominant Species

The Dominant Species

The Dominant Species is a loopy look at the...

Thumbnail image for Under the Mountain

Under the Mountain

Maurice Gee's classic novel about aliens running amok...

Thumbnail image for This Giant Papier Mâché Boulder is Actually Really Heavy

This Giant Papier Mâché Boulder is Actually Really Heavy

This sci-fi comedy became...

Thumbnail image for Eternity

Eternity

Shot in Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Hong Kong,...

Thumbnail image for Over the Moon

Over the Moon

In 1957 Connie Radar became the first woman on the...

Thumbnail image for First Contact

First Contact

This live-action CGI short attempts to find the answer...

Thumbnail image for LOVE.EXE

LOVE.EXE

As humans, we strive for love and happiness. But for...

Thumbnail image for (Time) Travel Centre

(Time) Travel Centre

It's a tough day for the phone reps at the Time Travel...

Thumbnail image for Letters about the Weather

Letters about the Weather

Director Peter Salmon's sci-fi short is set in a...

Thumbnail image for Delf

Delf

Two tadpole-like creatures with enormous eyes chase...

Thumbnail image for The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey

A young boy is afflicted by apocalyptic visions in...

Thumbnail image for Papa People

Papa People

The original concept for this video involved a girl in...

Thumbnail image for Bad Taste

Bad Taste

After concocting all manner of outlandish images on...

Thumbnail image for Perfect Creature

Perfect Creature

Perfect Creature is set in an immaculately...

Thumbnail image for Black Sheep

Black Sheep

A mutant lamb escapes after genetic experiments, and...

Thumbnail image for An Afternoon on the Moon

An Afternoon on the Moon

The song title is literally animated in this Ned...

Thumbnail image for Space Flight

Space Flight

Galaxies away from images of tar-addled lungs on...

Thumbnail image for Hitchcock

Hitchcock

From The Phoenix Foundation’s second album...

Thumbnail image for Lenny Minute One

Lenny Minute One

Off his own bat, Ilam art student Glenn Standring got...

Thumbnail image for Nutcase

Nutcase

In this children's sci-fi caper, an all-singing...

Thumbnail image for Bright Grey

Bright Grey

Taika Waititi's 80s extravaganza wouldn't have been...

Thumbnail image for Alien Addiction

Alien Addiction

Internet comedy sensations Jimi Jackson and Tom...

Thumbnail image for Night Freaks

Night Freaks

This science fiction send-up follows Lucy...