'Over the Moon' Review
PG: Some thematic elements and mild action
Runtime: 1 Hr and 35 Minutes
Production Companies: Netflix Animation, Pearl Studio, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Distributor: Netflix
Directors: Glen Keane, John Kahrs
Writer: Audrey Wells
Cast: Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Margaret Cho, Sandra Oh
Release Date: October 23, 2020
Fueled with determination and a passion for science, a bright young girl builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. She ends up on an unexpected quest and discovers a whimsical land of fantastical creatures.
After years of serving as one of the most iconic lead animators during the Disney renaissance, Academy Award winner Glen Keane has finally taken a seat on the director’s chair. For animation nerds, it feels a bit off that Keane — one of the best traditional 2D artists in animation history — decided to helm a CGI project for his directorial debut, especially right after winning an Academy Award for his incredible 2D animated short Dear Basketball, which he collaborated with the late Kobe Bryant on. Though I was a bit hesitant to watch it at first, Over the Moon is a stellar, yet faulty debut.
Set in modern China, Over the Moon is a musical adventure that centers on Fei Fei (Cathy Ang), a smart girl with a passion for engineering and mooncakes. She’s having a hard time moving on after the passing of her mother. Four years after the tragic loss, Fei Fei’s father (John Cho) gets engaged to a new woman, Mrs. Zhong (Sandra Oh), who has an 8-year-old child, Chin (Robert G. Chiu). Fei Fei believes love is forever and correlates it to the legend of Chang’e (Phillipa Soo), the Moon Goddess who is stuck on the moon waiting to reunite with her one true love, a story that her Ba Ba and Ma Ma used to tell her when she was young. Passionately detesting her father for moving on with his life, believing that Mrs. Zhong will replace her beloved mother, Fei Fei plans to build a rocket to the moon to prove Chang’e’s existence and show her father that love is forever. Once Fei Fei and Chin (who was a stowaway on her ship) get to the moon, they are enlisted by Chang’e to find an amulet piece that will reunite her with her love. In exchange, they would receive photographic evidence of the Moon Goddess.
Animated movies with a central theme of grief have become a major cliche. A vast amount of animated movies feature central characters with a deceased parent or relative. Is there an animation screenwriting handbook with a rule that states, “You can’t have a good set-up without a deceased parent”? As far as movies that focus on processing grief and loss go, Over the Moon is the one that genuinely understands the weight and gravity of the theme and never loses sight of it. After all, this was the final screenplay by the late Audrey Wells, who passed away from cancer in 2018. Wells's script, alongside Keane’s direction, does a great job tying Chinese mythology to a contemporary setting to tell a timely tale of loss.
It’s truly heartbreaking knowing that this was Wells’s final love letter to her daughter before passing away and you feel that passion in every single emotional beat of the film, especially during the musical numbers. There’s a song performed by Ken Jeong’s character Gobi, a green dog/squid-like creature that Fei Fei befriends on her adventure, that made me tear up. The fact that a movie that stars Ken Jeong can make me cry is a strong feat.
The film’s animation is absolutely breathtaking. Whether it’s China or the fantastical world of Lunaria, the animation is such a visual feast for the eyes. This might be the first (predominantly) Western-based CGI feature that provides unique designs that nail the look of its Chinese characters. Usually, CGI films set in China made by Western animation studios give their Chinese characters such big, stylized eyes to appeal to a wider audience. In Over the Moon, the Chinese characters actually look Chinese. When you get to Lunaria, it feels as if you’ve been transported to a world that mixes the realms of China and the Super Mario Galaxy video game. The celestial setting features bright, neon-colored art direction from both the landscapes and the creatures that inhabit the world. Don’t worry, animation fans. Keane incorporates his 2D hand-drawn animation throughout the film and it’s integrated well. Granted, it leaves you wanting so much more, but it adds weight and style to those scenes.
As enjoyable as Over the Moon is, there are several plot elements that are undercooked. While Fei Fei’s motivation to get to the moon is clear, the plan that she hatches is far-fetched. To prevent her dad from getting married, Fei Fei decides to go to the moon to meet Chang'e, get photographic evidence of her existence, and use that to convince him to break up with his fiancée. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. By the time Fei Fei goes to the moon, the messy plot becomes even more convoluted. It’s one of those movies that keeps opening tabs as it lays out a variety of subplots, introducing many other characters who don’t advance the plot and have their own side stories to pad out the runtime.
The narrative structure follows the familiar Disney musical adventure formula that even stifles Disney Animation itself today, the most recent case being Frozen II, which is such an undercooked and unnecessarily convoluted movie. Over the Moon has that Disney formula in its DNA, and while it’s worthy of criticism, I felt emotionally invested in that nostalgia. The story has such an irresistible, down-to-earth ‘90s feel with its storytelling. I felt the same way towards Moana and Kubo, which had classic animated feature DNA, but Over the Moon focused on overcoming loss, grief, and self-identity so strongly that it stands out with vigor and charm. Reader, I cried. The climax, provided by the incredible voice talents of Broadway stars Cathy Ang and Phillipa Soo and the wonderful original music by Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield, Helen Park, straight-up made me bawl. It had its “Best Animated Feature” Oscar moment and I was swept up. I really do love this movie and it’s such a fantastic watch for families, especially the ones who are unexpectedly going through grief right now in this cruel year that has taken so many loved ones. Over the Moon is a passionate, lovely, and timely animated feature that is as dazzling to watch as it is powerful with its emotions. No, it’s not a stand-out like other Netflix animated features, such as last year’s Klaus, but as far as animated features released this year go, it’s a strong entry.
