Just got back from watching this spectacular movie. It's a must see for any space nut or for that matter anyone in awe of things around them. The only criticism I have is that it is only 45 minutes in length. It left you clammering for much more.

Disney and JPL did a masterful job of combining actual photos with animations to give the viewer a sense of standing on Mars and watching the amazing sites around you. For those of you familiar with 3D animations, the technique seemed to consist of mapping textures for huge areas out of the actual high res color photos from the surface onto exactly rendered terrain and moving models of the rovers around on them. It was as if an IMAX camera was following the rover as it bounced to a landing and moved around the surface.

The first part of the movie consisted of extensive shots of the assembly of the rovers and was fascinating.

The liftoff and insertion into a Martian trajectory was a seamless combination of actual video and animations. The only lack of realism came when sounds of engines and wind continued up into space. I guess the general public has been spoiled by Star Wars and isn't ready for that level of realism.

Anyway, see it now and see it often.

Art