History Film / RocketMan

[[redirect:Film/DisneysRocketMan]]

'''''[=RocketMan=]''''' is a 1997 Walt Disney-produced comic science-fiction film, directed by Stuart Gillard, and starred Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler and Jeffery [=DeMunn=].

Williams stars as an eccentric NASA programmer named Fred Z Randall, who is given the chance to go travel on an eight-month journey to UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} -- manned by the mission commander William Overbeck (Sadler) -- as a replacement computer specialist, despite having no experience as an astronaut. When the crew is put to [[HumanPopsicle hypersleep]] to shorten the journey, a [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys chimp named Ulysses]] switches pods with the reluctant Fred, disrupting his sleep months earlier than everyone else during the journey.

With the crew asleep, Fred has no choice but to amuse himself with data studies of Mars and creating a Sistine Chapel-style painting on the ceiling with the supplies provided. Meanwhile on Earth, the crew discover weather reports of a sandstorm on the planet and become concerned over the astronauts’ safety, but the flight director Paul Wick ([=DeMunn=]) is adamant to continue the mission.

With no usable supplies and a sandstorm on the way, HilarityEnsues as the flight crew eventually reach their destination.

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!!The film provides examples of the following tropes:

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: The film isn't trying to be on the hard end of the scale, mostly focusing on the comedy. For example, there doesn't appear to be a communications lag between mission control back on Earth and the astronauts on Mars, despite the fact that Mars is about 3 light minutes away (that's the closest distance ever recorded between the two planets). This means that any conversation would require the crew to wait 3 minutes for their message to get to Earth, mission control to reply, and then wait 3 more minutes for the reply to get to Mars.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: When talking to the President, he starts singing "I've Got The Whole World in My Hand". Everyone, including the President, picks up the song. Then Fred switches to other languages, and we're shown people all over the world singing along with him, despite what he's singing not being even remotely close to the original meaning, just a bunch of foreign words thrown together.
* CentrifugalGravity: Supposedly achieved by spinning the craft, but the craft is only shown to be barely spinning, while everyone is walking around as if they were on Earth.
* ChekhovsGun: Bud's commemorative coin ends up saving the day.
** The re-wiring test, which Fred fails spectacularly, comes back to bite him, when he has to do it for real in even worse conditions (the lander is falling and spinning wildly). Thanks to Bud talking to him, he manages to do it in under 2 minutes.
* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: The trained chimp Ulysses ends forcing Fred to spend 8 months alone instead of in [[HumanPopsicle hyper-sleep]]... twice.
* GoMadFromTheIsolation: As expected, when Fred is trying out for the position of the mission's computer specialist, he has to undergo a number of physical and mental tests. He is also placed in a sensory deprivation tank for 24 hours with his competition, an actual astronaut named Gordon Peacock, in a tank next to his. The two tanks are not actually isolated from one another, just the outside world, which results in Peacock going crazy from Fred's unending singing, ball bouncing, and sock puppet theater. When the tanks are opened after 24 hours, Peacock is shown sitting with his pants tied around his head, while Fred asks for more time to finish the play. This serves him well, when he gets stuck having to spend 8 months alone aboard the ''Aries''. He does appear to temporarily go crazy (dressed like a caveman), but he quickly regains his sanity.
* HumanPopsicle: To conserve supplies and shorten the journey, the crew is put into hyper-sleep pods. There are three human-sized pods and one chimp-sized. The monkey Ulysses ends up taking Fred's pod, resulting in Fred staying awake all this time. All NASA had to do was put four identical pods in the ''Aries'', and none of this wouldn't have happened.
* ImplausibleDeniability: One of the {{Running Gag}}s is Fred's constant "It wasn't me!" whenever he screws something up. Thanks to him slipping and falling to the Martian surface before Overbeck can take the first step, they end up being the first words spoken on Mars.
* JustInTime: Fred manages to restart the lander's engines moments before it hits the Martian surface, allowing Overbeck to pilot the lander into orbit.
* LoveInterest: Astronaut Julie Ford to Fred, although she gets very little screen time due to being in hypersleep. She thinks Fred is a moron at first, but he earns her respect by the end, and they end up dancing in zero-g shortly before the credits roll.
* MamaBear: When Overbeck is trapped under a flipped rover, Fred tries to get him out, only for Overbeck to tell him to leave him behind. Fred demands that Overbeck call him "Mommy", supposedly to jump-start Fred's maternal instincts and giving him the extra strength to lift the rover. It seems to work.
* [[invoked]] OldShame: Bud has been disgraced ever since he's been blamed for ''Apollo 13''.
* TheStinger: [[spoiler:A Martian is shown stealing Fred's American flag underwear and wearing it.]]
* ToiletHumor: Several times.
** When first using the toilet aboard the ''Aries'', Fred ends up nearly flushing Bud's commemorative coin. He nearly gets sucked into vacuum himself and comes out looking very blue (thanks to the blue toilet water)... right as the crew is talking to the President on national TV.
** On Mars, Fred and Overbeck are walking on the red planet, connected by a hose, since Overbeck's air supply is damaged. Fred ends up farting, resulting in his trademark "[[ImplausibleDeniability It wasn't me!]]", causing Overbeck to flip out and yell that there isn't another person for millions of miles (except Julie, the third crew-member who is aboard the lander). Naturally, Fred then blames Julie (Lundy).
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'''''[=RocketMan=]''''' is a 1997 Walt Disney-produced comic science-fiction film, directed by Stuart Gillard, and starred Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler and Jeffery [=DeMunn=]

Williams stars as an eccentric NASA programmer named Fred Z Randall, who is given the chance to go travel on an eight-month journey to UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} -- manned by the mission commander (William Overbeck) -- as a replacement computer specialist, despite having no experience as an astronaut. When the crew is put to [[HumanPopsicle hypersleep]] to shorten the journey, a [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys chimp named Ulysses]] switches pods with the reluctant Fred, disrupting his sleep months earlier than everyone else during the journey.

With the crew asleep, Fred has no choice but to amuse himself with data studies of Mars and creating a Sistine Chapel-style painting on the ceiling with the supplies provided. Meanwhile on Earth, the crew discover weather reports of a sandstorm on the planet and become concerned over the astronauts’ safety, but the flight director Paul Wick is adamant to continue the mission.

* ToiletHumor: Several times. When first using the toilet aboard the ''Aries'', Fred ends up nearly flushing Bud's commemorative coin. He nearly gets sucked into vacuum himself and comes out looking very blue (thanks to the blue toilet water)... right as the crew is talking to the President on national TV. Later, on Mars, Fred and Overbeck are walking on the red planet, connected by a hose, since Overbeck's air supply is damaged. Fred ends up farting, resulting in his trademark "[[ImplausibleDeniability It wasn't me!]]", causing Overbeck to flip out and yell that there isn't another person for millions of miles (except Julie, the third crew-member who is aboard the lander). Naturally, Fred then blames Julie.

'''''[=RocketMan=]''''' is a 1997 comic science-fiction film, directed by Stuart Gillard, with Harland Williams in the lead role.

Williams plays an eccentric NASA programmer Fred Z. Randall, who has always dreamed of going into space. A freak chance gives him the opportunity to replace the computer specialist on the upcoming manned mission to UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}, despite him having no astronaut training. Since the trip is supposed to take eight months, the crew is put into [[HumanPopsicle hypersleep]] to subjectively shorten the journey and conserve the supplies. Unfortunately for Fred, a chimp named Ulysses takes his sleeping pod, forcing Fred to take the monkey's smaller pod. He ends up sleeping for only 13 minutes and is forced to spend the rest of the trip alone. While going crazy and learning to paint and dance, he also studies the latest data from Mars and learns that the mission may be endangered by a sandstorm. Bud Nesbitt, Fred's mentor, disgraced after the ''Apollo 13'' disaster, takes this information to flight director Paul Wick, who refuses to cancel the mission.

After waking up, William Overbeck, the mission commander, chews him out for wasting most of their food on an amazing Sistine Chapel-style painting on the ceiling. The lander successfully sets down on mars, but Fred ends up slipping on the ladder and accidentally steps on Mars before Overbeck, ruining his great moment. Later, when planting a flag on a Martian cliff, Fred ends up dropping the flag into a canyon and replaces it with his American flag underwear. The sandstorm Fred forecasted hits and nearly kills Overbeck and Ulysses, but Fred manages to rescue them. As the lander is taking off, a rock damages the craft, causing it to start falling. Fred has to rewire and reboot the system in under 2 minutes and manages to do it with 20 seconds to spare, although he nearly fails, since he needs a metal object to complete the circuit. He ends up using a commemorative coin given to him by Bud just before the launch. The lander makes it into orbit, docks with the ''Aries'', and the crew prepares to head home with Fred having earned respect in Overbeck's eyes and Bud wiping his slate clean by stepping in to direct the flight, after Wick goes into HeroicBSOD. Naturally, Ulysses ends up once again taking Fred's pod, resulting in a BigNo from Fred.

TheStinger reveals that a Martian has stolen Fred's underwear from the flagpole.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: The trained chimp Ulysses ends forcing Fred to spend 8 months alone instead of in [[HumanPopsicle hypersleep]]... twice.

* HumanPopsicle: To conserve supplies and shorten the journey, the crew is put into hypersleep pods. There are three human-sized pods and one chimp-sized. The monkey Ulysses ends up taking Fred's pod, resulting in Fred staying awake all this time. All NASA had to do was put four identical pods in the ''Aries'', and none of this wouldn't have happened.

* OldShame: Bud has been disgraced ever since he's been blamed for ''Apollo 13''.
* TheStinger: A Martian is shown stealing Fred's American flag underwear and wearing it.
* ToiletHumor: Several times. When first using the toilet aboard the ''Aries'', Fred ends up nearly flushing Bud's commemorative coin. He nearly gets sucked into vacuum himself and comes out looking very blue (thanks to the blue toilet water)... right as the crew is talking to the President on national TV. Later, on Mars, Fred and Overbeck are walking on the red planet, connected by a hose, since Overbeck's air supply is damaged. Fred ends up farting, resulting in his trademark "[[ImplausibleDeniability It wasn't me!]]", causing Overbeck to flip out and yell that there isn't another person for millions of miles (except Julie, the third crewmember who is aboard the lander). Naturally, Fred then blames Julie.

''[=RocketMan=]'' is a 1997 comic science-fiction film, directed by Stuart Gillard, with Harland Williams in the lead role.

The film provides examples of the following tropes: