While the audience may be rooting for Nat and his pals to ultimately reach space, there's not much that happens once they actually do. Sure, we get to see how proud Nat's grandpa is because he never made it to the moon himself. And like worrisome mothers often do, there are numerous declarations of fear (and unexpected fainting spells) once they realize their boys are going to be away from home for a week. But that's seriously about it. Simply put, the movie runs out of steam before it's even a third of the way through, making Fly Me to the Moon crash and burn way too quickly because there isn't a compelling-enough storytelling angle in the first place.

And the lack of ingenuity with the screenplay really shows—especially with a silly, tacked-on third act that has the Russians trying to sabotage the U.S. mission with humorless characters like Yegor (Tim Curry) doing anything it takes to make sure the Americans don't get the headlines. Even worse is the film's epilogue where real-life astronaut Buzz Aldrin is wheeled out to remind families that the film is a work of pure fiction (ya think?), and the space program would never allow "contaminates" (i.e. Nat and his friends) onboard one of their ships.

So while the cool 3-D vibe makes Fly Me to the Moon a touch more interesting of a venture in kiddie movie fare, the flat script ensures it won't exactly be a giant step forward either.

CAUTIONS:

• Drugs/Alcohol:  A fly gets stuck in an ashtray filled with cigarette butts.
• Language/Profanity:  None, but there are a few instances of scatological humor.
• Sex/Nudity:  Aside from Nadia's (Nicollette Sheridan) sultry voice and low-cut outfit, there isn't any.
• Violence:  There are a few potentially scary moments for kids (including a fight, complete with kicking, punching and the like) when the Russians try to derail the Americans' plans to be first to walk on the moon.

Christa Banister is a full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and interviews and is the author of two novels,

For more information, including her upcoming book signings and sample chapters of her novels, check out her Website.