There and Back Again

Inside Out

Distance covered: 15cm
Main mode of transport: Neurones (I’m guessing)

Inside Out is the new offering from Pixar Animation Studios (makers of Toy Story and Monsters Inc.) set to be released in 2015. The film is set in the mind of a young girl and follows the story of five of her emotions: Anger, Joy, Fear, Sadness and Disgust. An interesting concept, this film could be shaping up to be another big hit for the studios and with voice performances from actors like Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) I’m definitely looking forward to it!

Finding Nemo

Distance covered: 1721km
Main mode of transport: Swimming

The clownfish Marlin goes on an epic journey to find his son, Nemo, after he is taken by a diver. Along the way he meets new friends like Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), Bruce the shark and a big blue whale. Meanwhile, Nemo finds himself in a fish tank in the office of the dentist P. Sherman with a group of fish as desperate to get back to the ocean as he is. A well-loved family film from the ever more successful Pixar Animation Studios. Who would have thought the little clownfish travelled further than Frodo!

Little Miss Sunshine

Distance covered: 1087km
Main mode of transport: Bright Yellow Campervan

One of my personal favourites, Little Miss Sunshine, is a moving film about a young girl, Olive, who travels across America to a beauty pageant with her dysfunctional family. The film has so much depth and fantastic performances by the entire cast it’s a must see for any film fan. If you haven’t seen it, drop everything and watch it right now.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Distance covered: N/A
Main mode of transport: US Spacecraft

Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey opened to mixed reviews but soon gathered momentum building a huge fan following. Since then this film has reached new heights in critical acclaim and was briefly the highest grossing film in North America. This journey is epic in proportion. It begins with the dawn of man, leaps to the space age and ends in a surreal world.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Distance covered: Thousands of light-years
Main mode of transport: Spaceship

This story was first conceived as a radio show but has since spanned to a novel, TV series, video game and the 2005 film starring Martin Freeman. Following the story of very ordinary tea-drinking Arthur Dent as he discovers his best friend is an alien and begins a whirlwind adventure around the Universe, encountering numerous strange species, searching for the answer to life, the Universe and everything.

Back To The Future Trilogy

Distance covered: 130 years?
Main mode of transport: DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine

80s/90s cult classic is a favourite of many and highly regarded as an imaginative, quirky science fiction movie. The trilogy follows the adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown as they travel through time in a modified DeLorean, unsurprisingly coming into trouble which drives the adventure storyline. The distance covered in the trilogy is not linear and spans through both time and space, from back as far as 1885 to near future date – 2015.

Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

Distance covered: 1529km
Main mode of transport: Walking

Story successor to The Hobbit Trilogy, this movie franchise spans many fictional races, languages and locations. With such a diverse range of characters in the film there are some extensive journeys to the corners of Middle Earth. I’ve only included the distance from the Shire to Mount Doom to show where Frodo and Sam travelled, but if you added together all the secondary characters’ travels the number would be tenfold.

Around the World in 80 Days

Distance covered: 28, 000km
Main mode of transport: Various (including Hot Air Balloon, Train, Ship)

Based on the Jules Vernes novel of the same name, this film has been remade multiple times. The most recent starring Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Jim Broadbent, but not even the big names can make up for this dreary, badly put together film. It is a comedy film about a group of men who want to travel the world in eighty days by hot air balloon. It includes martial arts, a robbed bank, and a lot of very bad gags. Jackie Chan’s martial arts are perhaps the only saving grace.

Titanic

Distance covered: 4016km
Main mode of transport: Oceanliner

James Cameron’s film epic follows the story of two destined lovers, Jack and Rose. Although some argue the love story transcended time and space, the ship made it just over 4000km before it sank into the Atlantic Ocean.