Destination Earth (1956)A Martian explorer discovers the secrets behind the USA's prosperity: oil and free enterprise! Director:Carl Urbano |
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Title: Destination Earth (1956)
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The American Petroleum Institute presents "Destination Earth"... The cartoon begins by establishing the planet Mars, ruled by a dictator named Ogg. The Martians are small green guys with big noses and space helmets. The poor guys are herded by soldiers into a space-age coliseum where Ogg forces them to applaud as they hear his criticisms of problems with martian ground transportation - no good fuel and too much friction. A single Martian is sent to Earth to find a solution. The intrepid Martian crashes his saucer into a farm, sets forth into the city, learns about the glorious benefits of petroleum AND capitalist competition, steals a few library books, and heads back to Mars. He excitedly reveals the truths he's learned to the crowd in the coliseum. The crowd is fueled by the spirit of capitalism and the dictatorship breaks down instantly, to be replaced by the Oil Pioneers, the Oil Explorers, and new management. And we learn that a future with oil and competition is Destination ... Written by JasonC
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Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
1956 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Objetivo - La tierra See more »Company Credits
Production Co:
American Petroleum Institute, Film Counselors Inc., John Sutherland Productions See more »
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Aesthetically speaking, this is a rather poorly animated film--much like a UPA short like Gerald McBoing-Boing or Mr. Magoo. The backgrounds are very simple and the characters are very simple. As for the story, it's all a lot of propaganda expounding on the wonders of petroleum--just the sort of preachy film kids hated back in the good old days.
It begins on Mars where there is a leader much like Big Brother from "1984". At a huge lecture where everyone is forced to attend, he has one of the planet's astronauts talk about his recent trip to Earth. The green guy talks about the joy of automobiles, oil and gas. Some of the stuff in the film is a bit cute...but most of it comes off as preachy and an obvious advertisement for the oil industry the longer the film progresses. It's incredibly weird when you see it today. Kids back in the 50s must have absolutely dreaded when their teachers showed them this sort of crap.