Richard Linklater’s “Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood” depicts the life of Stan – who is loosely based on young Linklater – and his friends and family as they navigate the space mania of Houston in 1969.

The film is narrated by adult Stan, who is voiced by Jack Black. Black gives a surprisingly passive performance; one that is antithetical to his expressiveness in “Kung Fu Panda” or “School of Rock.”

Stan is recruited by NASA to be the first person to walk on the moon in the Apollo 10½ mission after the rocket’s lunar module is mistakenly made too small to fit an adult. But it’s questionable whether this trip actually occurs. Narrator Stan admits to fibbing when he recounts the time he aggrandized his father’s job at NASA, and Stan’s “trip to the moon” has no real impact on his family, the story or Stan himself.

In fact, Linklater neglects the opportunity to pose Stan’s trip to the moon as symbolic for his coming-of-age, as viewers are deprived of any introspection from the boy. Black’s narration dissipates in the last quarter of the film, and when Stan witnesses the (actual) moon landing he falls asleep.

Netflix labels “Apollo 10½” as a “coming-of-age adventure,” but there is no coming-of-age or adventure whatsoever. The characters are static and the narrator’s recounting of the moon landing is inconsequential and unreliable.

The bulk of the movie is like a visual depiction of grandpa’s reminiscence; viewers are treated to a series of realistic, charming but boring stories. There are small familial conflicts in each – like the physical battle for control of the three-channeled television – but there is no central conflict that ties the memories together.

Animators used rotoscoping for “Apollo 10½,” which is a technique that traces over live-action footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic animation. The result is a retro moving painting that looks similar to Saturday Morning Cartoons.

Stan and his family are often shown watching classic movies and television and viewers get to enjoy clips from “The Sound of Music,” “2001: A Space Odyssey” and others through the lens of the rotoscope. The technique helps match form to content and encourages the sensation of youth and nostalgia throughout.

The film relies heavily on its nostalgic allure, which extends beyond those who participated in the late 1960s. “Apollo 10½” invokes anemoia: the feeling of nostalgia for a time one did not experience themselves. Although there were cultural crises and ugly wars in that era (which the film illustrates in passing), the majority of the film sticks to the perception of a happy, active child with lots of friends and a nice family.

Young people who are struggling with higher rates of anxiety, depression and isolation because of the calamities of the 2020s will feel yearning for the simple, innocent belonging of the free-range childhood depicted by the film.

“Apollo 10½” is for those seeking a grandparent’s chattering of the “good ol’ days,” or for those who wish to look back on the American space craze of 1969, without being asked to think critically about themes of childhood or the cultural issues of the time.

Kelsey Percival is the editorial assistant for The Durango Herald and an avowed cinephile. Reach her at kpercival@durangoherald.com.