You wouldn’t necessarily expect a lightly dystopian undertone concerning the oppressive state of labor in a family-friendly science-fiction Disney film (released during the writers’ strike, no less), but “Crater” manages just that while maintaining the lighthearted fun of a children’s adventure.
The film, directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, takes place on a lunar mining colony, where miners agree to contracts with the promise that they and their families will earn a ticket to Omega, a distant, habitable planet. Legal loopholes, though, ensure that most don’t actually live to see that day arrive.
Yet, via a rule that allows descendants of deceased miners to automatically go to Omega, the film’s young protagonist, Caleb (Isaiah Russell-Bailey, and Hero Hunter in flashbacks), is scheduled to leave the colony after his father (Scott Mescudi, a.k.a. Kid Cudi) dies — only, he doesn’t want to leave his friends behind. Hoping to make the most of their limited time together, Caleb and his friends, with the help of a new girl from Earth (McKenna Grace), steal a lunar rover and embark on a road trip in search of a mysterious crater that Caleb’s father told him to find as a kind of dying wish.
It’s refreshing to see Disney invest a decent budget into an original sci-fi world for a live-action film (it’s also a movie that undoubtedly would have flailed at the box office, but may and should find an audience on streaming), and Alvarez makes good use of it. And while it might not have the indelible charm of other children’s classics, “Crater” does well not straining itself trying to please audiences beyond the family crowd. Most of all, the film is surprisingly nimble at incorporating an emotional core that makes its story more interesting than the adventure itself.
Crater
Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Watch on Disney+.
