Directed by Calin Cazan, Mircea Toia, Victor Antonescu
Starring Dan Condurache, Ion Chelaru, Marcel Iures, Mirela Gorea
Unrated
Runtime: 68 minutes
Special screenings and new Blu-Ray from Deaf Crocodile (disc for purchase at Vinegar Syndrome)

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

Animation holds a special place in my heart when it comes to cinema. A small army of people equipped with pencils, paper, ink, transparencies, and other mundane office supplies can create entire worlds while sitting behind a desk. It is a labor-intensive process, but the end result is something truly unique and special. Said another way, animation has to be pretty bad for me to not appreciate something about it. Delta Space Mission, though, is truly special.

Originally released in Romania in 1984, the film has been scanned in 4K by that country’s film archive, and finally released in the United States. It is a constant beacon of wonder and joy for its brief runtime. The plot involves a computer who falls in love, a space station, and an alien dog. After a certain point I just sort of let it wash over me, paying less attention to the subtitles and more to the images dancing across my screen.

The vivid color palette, combined with artwork that often features simple characters in detailed environments, creates a sense of warmth and spirit that is often lacking within the science fiction genre. Watching Delta Space Mission made me feel like a child, when segments of the shows I watched would be made up of snippets of old films and cartoons set to music. I would see some of these clips on a Shining Time Station or Sesame Street and have no idea what I was witnessing. Some of these ended up being my first exposure to Charlie Chaplin and others. Occasionally I’ll have a flashback when I see specific clips. (They were right about television reprogramming our brains.) Anyway, the closest comparison I can make to the film’s aesthetic is the French comics artist Moebius. Like the animation here, his art also balances clean lines, clarity, and small details to make the world feel like it exists beyond that which we can see. 

The other key ingredient to making Delta Space Mission such an engaging experience is the score by Calin Ioachimescu. Progressive rock style synthesizer music always evokes space for me, and focusing more on the music and imagery over the dialogue gives the story an operatic, concept album vibe. To invoke a slightly more recent time in my life, the film felt like looking at the booklet that came inside the CD of Rush’s album 2112, imagining what the Temples of Syrinx looked like. At every moment, Delta Space Mission delights and surprises, making this a worthy addition for anyone who loves classic animation or science fiction.