Hannah Dodds Walt Disneys movie Mars and Beyond, released in 1957, is about how people viewed the

universe in the 1950s. It also portrays how they envisioned the future of space travel and exploration. This video is both entertaining and educational with the information presented in a style that keeps the viewers interested. Mars and Beyond is an animated educational film for both children and adults. One of the aspects portrayed in this video is how the human imagination envisioned extraterrestrial life on different planets. These abstract looking aliens opens ones imagination to fanciful and infinite possibilities. There are other aspects of the video that are clearly make-believe or pure speculation, such as UFOs and the idea of aliens living among us in disguise. The educational side of the video goes back to the beginning of time to illustrate mans fascination with the stars. In the beginning man believed the stars to be living beings. They were also seen as omens, each star constellation held a different meaning, such as when it was time to harvest or when famine was coming. It was also illustrated how the theory of the shape of the earth changed through the early years of civilization. The earth was originally thought to be flat, then square, and finally round. The video also discuses the early debate as to whether the universe was heliocentric or geocentric. It also discussed the possibility of there once being life on mars, and the idea that our galaxy mite not the be the only one capable of supporting life. In my opinion the video Mars and Beyond is a very entertaining and somewhat educational video that would be appropriate for any age group.