Voyage Into Space

Cobbled together from several episodes of JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT (made to compete with ULTRAMAN, only with a much smaller budget), VOYAGE INTO SPACE is one of the few such cut-and-paste movies that actually works. This used to run on New York city's 4:30 MOVIE show in the blessed pre-Oprah days of the late '70's and early '80's and many a kid in the tri-state area still recalls this one with great fondness.

The plot (?) follows the adventures of Johnny Sokko, a 10-year-old kid who becomes an agent of the top-secret agency UNICORN and incidentally happens to be the only person who can control Giant Robot, a 200-foot-tall engine of destruction who looks like a cross between the Tin Woodsman and a pharoah. They oppose hostile extra-terrestrial Emperor Guillotine from the planet Gargoyle (and his henchmen, the Gargoyle gang), who has at his disposal an endless variety of ass-kicking (and phony) giant monsters. One of these is the Nucleon, which looks like a bunch of traffic cones that have been hot-glued together and rolled into camera range. There's also a bargain basement sea monster, a silver-faced dude in a clown suit, and much, much more. If this ever comes on tv again, tape it immediately and show it to your friends who will be slack-jawed with astonishment. Fun for kids and drunks of all ages!

This is a cherished movie from my childhood!! I can still hum the theme song at the drop of a hat!! I remember getting to stay up late to watch this movie with my father, usually two to three times a year. We always referred to it as "Giant Robot". Although the effects in this movie are crude compared to today's standards, they were perfect for this movie's genre. I am also a BIG fan of the Japanese "Monster" movies, so this movie fell right in to place with the others. It's been years since I've seen this movie & would love to get my hands on a copy of it to share with my 8 year old daughter.

Ok so it didn't have the best special effects, plot, etc. But there is a lot to be said about a movie that can leave such a "great' impact on you as a kid like this film does. Back in the early 70's here in Los Angeles, TV station KTLA channel 5 (long before the WB buy out) use to show a week long series of sci fi movies. For example, if the movie of choice were "Godzilla vs Mothra," then you got a week of "Godzilla vs Mothra" and so on, it was great. Well I had the pleasure as kid to see "Voyage Into Space" many times this way. And that is mostly why I remember it so well; I too used to refer to it as the "Giant Robot" moive. I really dug the concept of a 100 foot flying robot with that "Egyptian" head piece. And who could ever forget the infamous "MEGGA PUNCH" that Giant Robot would deliver upon his foes. To me this film was no more laughable than say any of the "Godzilla" moives of the time period. And surely I enjoyed this much more than say...the "ULTRAMAN" TV series. And most of all this movie left an impact as a "feel good action kid movie," and really isn't that what it's all about? I became very lucky last year to obtain a "crude," yet "watchable" copy of the movie which I will of course cherish. And yes, I still feel the same excitement when I hear the theme and watch this film as I did when I was a kid (call me crazy). In my opinion, this movie ranks with the best of that gerne.

Voyage Into Space is very entertaining, despite the fact that it (a) was cobbled together from episodes of a series, (b) has some of the most mediocre special effects that you've EVER seen, and (c) has a highly repetitive story arc. What it lacks in quality it makes up with in imagination, and in the friendship between "Giant Robot" and the young boy, Johnny Sokko. It's a classic good (Giant Robot, Unicorn) versus bad (Guillotine, Gargoyle Gang) plot. But there are twists and turns, and you're never quite sure who will come out on top.

I'm not a rabid Japanese movie fan, and I wasn't really big on the monster genre. But this one captured my attention so much that I saw it (literally) 20 times as a kid. I mean, what kid wouldn't want a practically indestructible giant robotic friend that followed your commands? It was fun.

A side note...Months after meeting my (now) wife, we discovered that we'd BOTH seen this movie a jillion times as kids. We also argued for years over the Unicorn salute. Finally, we managed to buy a copy of the movie. Darn it, she was right on the salute. But I'll tell you, it was really fun to see that movie again. This thing was not high budget, but it accomplished something that many sci-fi blockbusters can't do today - it was memorable.

The many websites for Giant Robot and Johnny Sokko let me know that there are others who, after all these years, still remember that crazy movie like I do.

If you can, see it.

I have not seen this film in more than 25 years but I loved it as a child, and saw it at least a half dozen times. I would like to find a copy to view for nostalgia reasons, and yes, I have also never forgotten the tune of the theme music.