Escape Velocity

A space adventure. An astronaut finds himself on an alien planet and must find a way to escape.

 

A spaceman awakens after having crash-landed on a foreign planet. He is by himself and must rely on his technological equipment in order to locate his spaceship and return to space. As he navigates the strange landscapes, he encounters aliens, one of which is very hostile and dangerous and it is not long before it goes after the hero.

 

Made at Budapest National University, this short animated film is a science fiction story that has a narrative that is quite common and straightforward: a human being (or many of them) arriving at an uncharted place, where they encounter danger and must find a way to escape. In this case, there are two protagonists: one is the space traveller and the other is the peculiar creature that is after him and the script alternates between them until their paths finally cross. Although initially, things appear clear: that the plot is about the protagonist trying to reach his spacecraft and avoid a monster, there is a surprising and emotional twist at the end about a broken friendship.

 

Many commendations go to all the individuals who worked on the animation. The cel animation looks wonderful, with beautiful colours and the characters and environments look great.

 

The mise-en-scene contains many elements that are often seen in sci-fi films. The hero wears a space suit and a helmet and utilises futuristic gadgets that include a gun-shaped device that he uses as a climbing tool and as a torch and a device on his wrist that operates kind of like a map. Then there is of course the spaceship and also the aliens, which have a variety of forms, some resembling eels and others looking like crabs. The alien that stands out the most is the one that pursues the astronaut, as it is the only one that proves to be menacing, having a cat-dog-like appearance, sharp teeth, moving like a panther and possessing a long tongue that it uses as a weapon. It also has a symbol on its forehead that turns out to be significant. Regarding the planet, it is filled with bizarrely-shaped rocks, strange liquid running through waterfalls and gases being released into the atmosphere.

 

The filmmakers make effective use of split screen techniques and praise goes to Gabor Erdelyi Jr. for the work on the music which is atmospheric, tense and melancholic and for the sound effects.

 

This is an animated sci-fi adventure that has no spoken words and contains exploration, imagination, danger, a tense chase and a moving ending. Thanks to the animation, the music and the intriguing plot, this short offers an interesting, thrilling and emotional experience.