10 Best Space Race Movies To Watch After Fly Me To The Moon

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fly Me to the Moon.


Summary

  • Many movies like Fly Me to the Moon showcase different parts of the Space Race, highlighting key moments like the Apollo 11 moon landing.
  • Apollo 13 and The Right Stuff offer more serious takes on space exploration, contrasting with Fly Me to the Moon’s comedic tone.
  • Hidden Figures sheds light on the crucial role of Black women mathematicians in the Space Race, focusing on Mary Jackson, Katherine G. Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan


Many great movies like Fly Me to the Moon follow different parts of the Space Race, highlighting a historical moment from the 20th century. The Apple original movie is a comedic take on the marketing that sold the US public on the Apollo 11 landing and a fake NASA moon landing that never happened in Fly Me to the Moon‘s true story. The Apollo 11 moon landing is a defining moment in space exploration and scientific progress, but there are so many other memorable parts of the Space Race, which started in 1955 and continued for 20 years. Then, the world shifted to cooperative space exploration.

With such a broad period of time, it’s no surprise that numerous movies focus on this pivotal time in history. Popular moments include the Apollo 11 moon landing, John Glenn orbiting the Earth, and the Apollo 13 incident. With such a wide selection, there are multiple fictional and documentary films to watch after Fly Me to the Moon that will elicit the same feeling of excitement and nostalgia.


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10 Apollo 13 (1995)

A Biographical Thriller About The Near-Disaster Of The Apollo 13 Mission


The most famous mission in the space race, besides Apollo 11, is Apollo 13. During this mission, one of the oxygen tanks exploded while the rocket was on the way to the moon, causing two of the three fuel cells to fail and damaging the other oxygen tank. The 1995 movie Apollo 13 grippingly depicts this terrifying real-life story, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats until the very end.

Like the Fly Me to the Moon cast, Apollo 13 boasts a star-studded ensemble including big-name actors like Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon. This movie will undoubtedly appeal to viewers who enjoyed the parts of Fly Me to the Moon that focused on science and the launch. Apollo 13 also includes a more serious and fast-paced tone that counterbalances the comedic tone of the 2024 movie.

9 The Right Stuff (1983)

A Historical Drama About The Mercury Seven


After watching Fly Me to the Moon, viewers can check out the 1983 movie The Right Stuff, starring Sam Shepard and Ed Harris. While Apollo 13 answers questions about what happens after Fly Me to the Moon, The Right Stuff provides details about the period before. The movie covers the first 15 years of NASA’s space program, including John Glenn and Alan Shepard’s first trips into space.

Though the film bombed at the box office, The Right Stuff won four Oscars and is now considered a cornerstone of Space Race movies. This acclaim is partly because it highlights Project Mercury, a small section of time that isn’t covered often. Like Fly Me to the Moon, The Right Stuff features on some of the bureaucracy and barriers to success that plagued NASA throughout the entire Space Race.


8 Hidden Figures (2016)

A Biographical Dramedy About Mary Jackson, Katherine G. Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan

Of all the movies about the Space Race, Hidden Figures is perfect to watch after Fly Me to the Moon. Hidden Figures is a biographical dramedy that tells the story of three Black women mathematicians – Mary Jackson, Katherine G. Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan – who were crucial in getting John Glenn to space so that he could become the first man to orbit Earth. Fly Me to the Moon includes a small connection to Hidden Figures that wasn’t necessarily intended but enhances the viewing experience. Additionally, these two movies have comedic tones and powerful leading women, making them feel similar.


However, there are two significant distinctions between these two films. The characters in Fly Me to the Moon are mostly fictional; however, the main characters in Hidden Figures are fictionalized versions of real women who worked at NASA. Additionally, the 2016 film highlights the intersection of race and gender in relation to discrimination, whereas the 2024 rom-com only points out disparities in gender.

7 First Man (2018)

A Biopic About Neil Armstrong


Viewers who enjoyed seeing NASA land the first man on the moon in Fly Me to the Moon should check out the 2018 movie First Man. First Man is one of the most celebrated movies about the Apollo 11 landing. The biographical drama features Ryan Gosling as the titular astronaut Neil Armstrong. The story starts eight years before Armstrong’s historic first walk and continues until the astronauts quarantine after returning from the moon.

Like Fly Me to the Moon, First Man is a character-driven narrative despite including significant events that could overshadow the individual arcs. Unlike Fly Me to the Moon, First Man goes into deeper detail about the famous astronaut Neil Armstrong rather than the flight director and marketing team. The 2018 movie also takes fewer creative liberties, whereas Fly Me to the Moon changes big parts of the true story.


6 Apollo 11: First Steps On The Moon (2012)

A Documentary About The Apollo 11 Mission

astronaut on the Moon in the documentary Apollo 11

Fly Me to the Moon shows the months leading up to the Apollo 11 trip, a period also covered in Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon. The movie Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon is a thrilling but quick documentary about the moon landing that features the voices of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins – all three astronauts on the Apollo 11 Mission – as well as NASA employees who worked on the project leading up to the launch and people from the control room.

The inclusion of so many first-hand perspectives makes the documentary a more powerful watch than its predecessors and successors. The narrative approach gives the documentary a cinematic quality that makes it a must-watch for anyone wanting to know the true story of Apollo 11 after Fly Me to the Moon, especially those who usually don’t enjoy documentaries.


5 The Challenger Disaster (2019)

A Dramatization Of The Day Before The Challenger Explosion

NASA Employees sit at a table with a model of the Challenger space shuttle in The Challenger Disaster

The NASA space program is defined by a handful of significant successes and tragedies that live on in the public consciousness. While Fly Me to the Moon highlights a success, The Challenger Disaster tells a tragic story. By all accounts, the Space Race officially ended in 1975 after the Apollo 17 mission, which marked the last time that NASA landed on the moon. However, the NASA space program continued for decades after that mission. The movie The Challenger Disaster centers on the 24 hours before a US national tragedy – the Challenger space shuttle explosion on January 28, 1986.


While not explicitly part of the Space Race, the Challenger explosion strongly relates to the Apollo 1 mission mentioned in Fly Me to the Moon. An engineer named Allan McDonald tried to stop the Challenger launch, which the engineers failed to do with Apollo 1. Sadly, nobody listened. Still, McDonald exhibited the motto of “tough and competent,” implemented by the actual man who inspired Cole Davis in Fly Me to the Moon, even when others didn’t reach that standard.

Scarlett Johansson as Kelly in Fly Me to the Moon with music notes behind her

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4 The Spacewalker (2017)

A Russian Movie About Alexei Leonov


Most of the movies related to the Space Race focus on the US perspective and actions; however, The Spacewalker (also titled The Age of Pioneers) breaks the mold by showing an equally exciting moment in Russian space history – the first space walk by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. The story is not as cut and dry as portrayed in the history books, though, as Leonov and his fellow cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev faced unexpected issues that could have killed the pair. Unlike Fly Me to the Moon, which is comedic and highly embellished, The Spacewalker is extremely grounded in reality and tense because Leonov served as a consultant on the film. The movie’s events are also a testament to Cole Davis’ hesitation to include a camera on the Apollo 11 rocket in Fly Me to the Moon. Ultimately, The Spacewalker is just as crucial an addition to the Space Race genre as any Hollywood movie.


3 Apollo 10 1/2 (2022)

An Animated Fantasy-Memoir Fusion

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood

Release Date
April 1, 2022

Distributor(s)
Netflix

Cast
Jessica Brynn Cohen , Lee Eddy , Bill Wise , Sam Chipman , Milo Coy , Josh Wiggins , Danielle Guilbot with Zachary Levi and Glen Powell and Jack Black , Natalie L’Amoreaux

Runtime
97 minutes

Apollo 10 1/2 is an animated movie about the Space Race, but it’s just as compelling and exciting as any live-action film. The movie is loosely based on the childhood fantasies of director, writer, and producer Richard Linklater, who grew up in the 60s in Houston, Texas. The story tells the tale of a fourth grader selected for a secret mission to be the first man on the moon before Apollo 11 because NASA built the lunar module too small.


Like Fly Me to the Moon, the movie is a mix of fantasy and real life, but it’s grounded in the real experiences of the moon landing. The film thrives due to its blended genres and rotoscoped animation style. Like the newer movie, Apollo 10 1/2 boasts an all-star cast, featuring Glen Powell and Jack Black.

2 For All Mankind (1989)

A Documentary Spanning From Apollo 7 To Apollo 17

An astronaut in outerspace in For All Mankind Documentary

In addition to Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon, For All Mankind is one of the best documentary films about the Space Race. The movie spans four years, featuring footage from Apollo 7 all the way to Apollo 17. The director interviewed thirteen Apollo astronauts for this film and incorporated never-before-seen photographs and footage that NASA astronauts took in space. Understandably, the documentary gained a nomination for the 1990 Best Documentary Feature Oscar.


For All Mankind is a great addition to Fly Me to the Moon because the rom-com only covers a period of eight months, and even that period is heavily fictionalized. For All Mankind gives the actual details from first-hand sources while capturing the wonder and joy of the Space Race. Moreover, the public a glimpse into the experiences of the Apollo astronauts.

1 Space Dogs (2010)

An Animated Movie About Belka and Strelka

The Apollo 11 mission, shown in Fly Me to the Moon, is the best known moment of the Space Race. Space Dogs highlights a less discussed part of the Space Race – the time when the Russians sent dogs to outer space. Between 1951 and 1966, the USSR (now known as Russia) sent dogs into outer space 71 times. Of all these, the only one remembered is Laika, the first dog to orbit Earth and the first living creature to enter outer space. Tragically, Laika didn’t survive the mission.


Space Dogs is an animated movie about two stray dogs named Belka and Strelka, told from the perspective of the dogs themselves. They were the first animals to survive the trip to outer space, traveling aboard the Korabl-Sputnik 2, better known as Sputnik 5. The film is just as comedic as Fly Me to the Moon but caters slightly more to children. The story is just as enjoyable for all ages, though.

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