When George Jetson gets a promotion, he moves to outer space with the entire family: Jane, Judy, Elroy, Rosie the Robot and Astro the family dog. But soon the family discovers that George's company is destroying the homes of the Grungies, the friendly underground creatures who live on the same asteroid...

Jetsons: The Movie (1990) revisits the characters of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the '60s (which was later revived in the '80s). The film features most of the original voice cast with only Elroy (Daws Butler sadly died in the late '80s) and Judy (Janet Waldo recorded the part for the film, but was replaced by pop star Tiffany as it was thought she'd appeal to the target audience) being voiced by different actors.

The story is fairly simple, with the Jetsons having to move into outer space when George is given a promotion. As far as his boss, Mr. Cosmo Spacely, is concerned the promotion is a way to get Jetson out of his sight and as far away as possible. What Jetson doesn't realise is that his new position, as vice president at the Orbiting-Ore Asteroid plant, has already seen four vice presidents come and go. The reason? The plant seems to be unstable. Mr. Spacely's insistence that everything runs as efficiently as possible isn't going as planned and the machinery keeps breaking down. But it appears that something, other than technical glitches, are to blame. Who are the mysterious shadowy creatures that roam around the plant at night? Jetson and his family soon turn detective in order to put a stop to the vandalism.

The animation, for the most part, is traditional hand drawn cell animation, as is typical of Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the '60s. However, the movie also introduces CGI elements for some of the space shots and the asteroid plant.

The movie is dedicated to both George O'Hanlon and Mel Blanc, who sadly died during the production of the film.

For those that grew up enjoying the Jetsons, as well as for young viewers who may never have seen the cartoon before, this is a fun, if rather predictable, movie..

7

Nick Smithson