Rocketboy: A Short Film Worth Seeing

Many people don't watch short films. These are films that are under 45 minutes long and don't usually appear on the "silver screen" unless they are at a film festival. These films tell a story in a short amount of time. HBO and Showtime often run short films between their movies and shows, especially if one doesn't take up the full time allotted on the programming schedule. People will see awards given out for the short film category, but never really know what it is about because they never had the opportunity to see the film.

Rocketboy is one of these short films. You may be thinking to yourself, "Why in the world is a short film getting a review in a teen magazine?" Well, Rocketboy deserves a review for many different reasons. Viewers of all ages can relate to the message. The cast is outstanding. It's a quick, sweet movie that leaves you wanting more. And, quite frankly, if readers weren't encouraged to either buy the DVD or go to a screening at a film festival, they probably would never have the opportunity to see it.

Roger Lange (Robert Picardo) is an accountant at NASA that is too involved in his work to even enjoy his own birthday. He lives alone and, quite frankly, just isn't a very happy man. Then, something extraordinary happens. The NASA astronauts return from their latest mission to the moon and bring something back with them: a teenage boy (Hunter Gomez). The astronauts found this boy on the moon, where he crashed his homemade rocketship.

Roger is told that this mysterious boy knows him, and is requested to conduct an interrogation with him. What Roger learns about the boy, specifically who he is, is unbelievable. Roger wants nothing to do with the boy nor with whatever project he is working on. Rocketboy insists that he needs to get back into space and make it to Hyperion, one of Saturn's 48 moons. He wants Roger's help to build a rocketship to get there.

Only, Roger isn't an astronaut. The strange boy reminds Roger of his hopes and dreams when he was a child and a teenager, which were all dashed by his practical father. The boy makes Roger realize what he is capable of, and that dreams can most definitely come true.