Destination Earth

For the European Commission project, see Destination Earth (European Union)

Destination Earth
Directed byCarl Urbano
Written byMichael Amestoy
George Gordon
Produced byJohn Sutherland
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byGeneral Electric Company
Release date
  • 1956 (1956)
Running time
14 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Destination Earth is a 1956 promotional cartoon created by John Sutherland and funded by the American Petroleum Institute.[1] The short explains the fundamentals of the petroleum industry and how petroleum products enrich everyday life in the United States of America, as well as the benefits of a free market economy.

Synopsis

Destination Earth begins on the planet Mars, where the emperor Ogg (reminiscent of Stalin) is addressing an arena of his subjects. During the speech, Ogg dictates his audience's reactions, through a remote-controlled teleprompt. He then welcomes a bumbling subordinate Martian, Captain Cosmic, onto the stage to share his discoveries from a mission to Earth.

In a flashback scene, Cosmic exalts Ogg's ingenious discoveries, such as Ogg-Energy (a Martian powered treadmill). However, Ogg's method of powering his royal limousine with Ogg-Stick dynamite proves faulty; thus, he orders Captain Cosmic into space to find out other planets' energy sources. The Martian sets off and lands in the United States. He ventures into a nearby city and becomes awestruck when he sees average citizens with "powerful and reliable automobiles" that make their daily lives easier. The Martian then enters a library and researches the "secrets" of the remarkable power source. The Martian triumphantly returns to Mars with stolen library books on the oil industry. After reading from them, the population of Mars deserts Ogg and sets up their own oil companies. The short ends with the slogan "destination unlimited" written across the screen.

References
  1. "Destination Earth". Internet Archive. Retrieved 29 January 2021.


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