Mutant Aliens

Renowned cartoonist Bill Plympton's typically bizarre, occasionally inspired animated feature (his fourth since 1992's THE TUNE) starts as astronaut Earl Jansen (voice of Dan McComas), a national hero, is zipped into his spacesuit, escorted to his rocket, and launched into space with only a photo of his little daughter, Josie, for companionship. But as soon as Jansen's capsule reaches orbit, something terrible happens: Someone at mission control flips a switch and dumps Jansen's entire fuel supply, marooning him in space with no chance of rescue. Little Josie is blamed for the "accident," but something's fishy: The capsule contains a prepared farewell statement for E...