Five Weeks in a Balloon is a 1962 American adventure film loosely based on the 1863 novel of the same name by Jules Verne filmed in CinemaScope. It was produced and directed by Irwin Allen; his last feature film in the 1960s before moving to producing several science fiction television series. Although set in Africa, it was filmed in California. Balloonist Don Piccard acted as the film's technical advisor. For visual effects, a model of the balloon was used as well as a full-sized unicorn gondola hung from a crane. A novelisation of the screenplay was written by Gardner Fox.