ROY FROM SPACE

Roy is an astronaut on a mission to Mars. He quickly uncovers a scheme to invade Earth from an evil space empire and, with his girlfriend and his spaceship’s doctor, he must put a stop to the villainous plot before time runs out.

ROY FROM SPACE was released in 1983 to a somewhat confused reaction. Directed by Héctor López Carmona with a very small budget and a small team of animators, many of whom had never professionally animated previously, there definitely are some rough edges. The film was heavily criticized for its jerky animations and a plot that seemed to float from event to event with little connective tissue. Roy and his fellow spacefarers populate a colorful, hyperpop world that operates on the logic of a B-movie 1960s space opera. While perhaps not hard sci-fi, there is a certain science-fiction/fantasy enthusiasm that infects every frame. ROY FROM SPACE plays like a three-episode arc of a Saturday morning Space Race cartoon, at least in this programmer’s opinion.

Originally the film contained a section lifted from a Japanese sci-fi film that someone… forgot… to get the rights to, and the animators had also traced over sections of the original 1936 FLASH GORDON serial. For 43 years, the film was abandoned to the halls of cinema obscurity. No longer. Featuring a newly animated section to replace the Japanese footage, and with a blessing from the daughter of the film’s original producer, Deaf Crocodile has restored this gem of Mexican cinema to be enjoyed in all its glorious retro-futurist wonder. ROY FROM SPACE is perfect for you if you love ‘60s STAR TREK or Spaceman Spiff. (AUSTIN KING)

*Paired with the short LIL GIBBOS | HOT DROP dir. Arius Ziaee

When a perennially lazy sack of shit decides to try hot yoga, the sentient microorganisms living on his body experience the marvels of sweat for the very first time.