I'm scared. I've never been to space before.
No one has ever been to space.
You were able to scavenge and survive the streets of Kirov.
We need dogs like you to go into space...
Tasha, I just want to tell you...
Tashenka, I just want to tell you that... that I...
Natalya, I...
Tashenka, hi.
It's early. The children are still asleep.
I know. I purposefully... I just wanted to...
tell you something.
Listen, I’ve been thinking... and it’s important that I tell you
that when I came back after Mom died, I know I promised to stay,
but instead, I sent you to Kazan and took off.
I want you to know that I loved you then. That I still love you--
You shouldn’t.
Tasha, let me finish. This isn’t easy for me.
I know I’ve done wrong by you...
but on the other hand,
the country needed astronauts, you know?
The motherland.
The motherland, yes. The motherland.
Papa, papa.
Time has not stood still.
I'm not that hurt little girl anymore.
God bless you on your journey, but Uncle Lev and Aunt Masha raised me.
They became my parents, and you...
you forgot about me a long time ago.
And I forgot about you too.
Tasha, I understand that you’re still angry,
and you have every right to be.
What choice did I have? The situation was different.
I really have to go. The kids will be up soon, and I need to be there.
Merry Christmas, Papa.
Yes, merry Christmas.
Wow...
You've really improved!
He's grown up, the little thing.
Show her the other one.
Do you have more?
Wow.
Bring it closer so I can see it.
Closer, closer.
Too close! Too close!
I can see it.
I miss you so much.
-Mom is thinking about you. -I love you.
Boys should be strong.
Yeah, be strong.
Keep drawing.
If you stay,
you will grow tired of begging for scraps and shaming your mother.
In space, you will be a great dog, respected by the motherland.
Understood, Comrade Rocket Scientist!
Sashenka, I must fly away. I must.
For you.
For our country. For humanity.
Papa, don't go. Papa, don’t fly away.
When Tishka went into space,
the world started to dream again.
If they were sad or scared
or alone, they would look up to the sky and see Tishka,
and be reminded of everything that is possible.
And in his footsteps, people went to space too.
He had never dreamed of going to space.
But fate intervened.
And once he got there, he could not go back.
He left a puppy on Earth,
his beloved Sashenka.
Now...
Tishka circles the Moon.
He’s looking out the porthole, thinking...
"Everything would have been so much easier
if I had been someone else,
if I could be an Earth dog."
But what could Tishka do?
Tishka is not an Earth dog.
Tishka...
is a space dog.
Let’s hear it for Grandpa! He did so well!
Aw, my beauties, my loves!
See you soon.
-Bye. -Bye-bye, Grandpa.
-Bye-bye. -Okay, good night.
Kisses, kisses.
Okay, hurry up, y'all. Time for bed! Brush your teeth!
Tasha, wait, I...
You were right.
You were absolutely right. It wasn’t for our country.
It wasn’t for the motherland. All that...
It’s all a lie.
When I returned home after Mom died,
everything was different,
alien, someone else’s.
And...
I would drop you off at school...
and then I would go get a bottle of vodka...
and drink...
and think about ways to die.
In the end, I understood.
You would be better off with Aunt Masha in Kazan.
And I... I would be better off up here.
So, there you have it.
I’m sorry, my little star.
I’m sorry for ruining everything.
I ruined everything.
Forgive me.
I don’t know how.
I'm glad you found your home.
Forgive me.
I don’t know how to forgive you.
I don’t know how...
Goodbye, Papa.
Goodbye.
To our health!
Oh, it went down good!
Astronauts!
Cheers!