Space Dogs

Space Dogs (Белка и Стрелка. Звёздные собаки, 2010) is a Russian animated family adventure you can watch online on iFILM. When a circus stunt goes wrong, the performing dog Belka is flung onto the streets of Moscow, where she meets a streetwise stray named Strelka and a quick-witted rat called Venya.

That chance crash leads the trio into a cosmonaut training center. Overnight the two dogs go from scrappy outsiders to flight candidates, facing tests, drills and finally a rocket that carries the toughest of them off the planet. The plot is loosely sparked by the real 1960 flight of Belka and Strelka, but it plays as cheerful invention, not a history lesson.

Directed by Inna Evlannikova and Svyatoslav Ushakov, this was one of the first full-length Russian 3D animated features, with a voice cast that includes Yevgeny Mironov and Sergei Garmash. It's gentle, free of scary moments, with a few jokes aimed over the kids' heads — a solid pick for families with children around five and up. Stream Space Dogs (2010) online on iFILM.