Belka and Strelka, inspired by the first two animals to survive space travel, take on aliens to defend planet Earth in a confusingly weird adventure
In 1960, as part of the Soviet space programme, a pair of dogs named Belka and Strelka became the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive. This, clearly, was a story destined to be retold as a cute kids’ animation; especially if you leave out all the distressing animal abuse detailed in a documentary, also called Space Dogs, released earlier this year. So it’s no surprise that Russian animation studio Kinoatis made Space Dogs back in 2010, nor that they’re continuing the series with this, a third instalment.
Now, after a successful mission to Saturn, the canine cosmonauts are homeward bound when they stumble on an alien spacecraft hovering above the Atlantic Ocean and apparently stealing all the Earth’s water. It’s up to Belka and newly promoted Captain Strelka to come to the planet’s rescue, with the help of their inventive rat pal Lenny.