Two swats for a hard-to-swallow fly flick

Flies are pests, gross, and they spread disease.

And now, they're on a rocket heading for space - and heading right at you, if you're wearing the 3-D glasses supplied at theaters where Fly Me to the Moon is showing.

A gimmicky tale of a trio of Florida insects who join Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins on their historic summer of '69 jaunt, Fly Me to the Moon claims to be the first-ever animated feature designed, created and produced entirely in 3-D.

The script, however, appears to have been designed, created and produced entirely in 1-D: a mishmash of kidcentric antics, follow-your-dream cliches, and innocuously icky humor.

And aside from the 3-D effects (objects in zero gravity "floating" toward your nose, the mega-follicles of a grandpa fly's stubbly beard) director Ben Stassen's 'toon is nothing special to look at. The movement of the characters - human and anthropomorphic housefly alike - is limited. And with its garbage-dump settings (where else are flies going to live?), its bespectacled larvae, its maggots and "mould fritters" (a delicacy), Fly Me to the Moon's Earthbound sequences are decidedly shabby and even off-putting.

As for the space stuff, well, George Lucas need not lose any sleep. The plot has young fly boys Nat (Trevor Gagnon), IQ (Philip Daniel Bolden) and Scooter (David Gore) saving the Apollo 11 mission from disaster, while back on Earth evil Soviet houseflies try to sabotage NASA's lunar operation. Yes, Fly Me to the Moon not only dredges up vintage hits (the Rascals, Canned Heat), it resurrects the Cold War, too.

Directed by Ben Stassen. With the voices of Philip Daniel Bolden, Trevor Gagnon, David Gore, Christopher Lloyd and Kelly Ripa. Distributed by Summit Entertainment. Running time: 1 hour, 29 mins.

Parent's guide: G (cartoon mayhem)

Playing at: Marquee Cinemas Orchard 10 (Toms River, N.J.)

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