Netflix’s ‘Over the Moon’ might draw tears
A fantastical story about a young girl with an adorable animal sidekick building her own rocket ship and flying to the moon to cope with the loss of her mother has all of the makings of a Disney classic.
This time, though, it isn’t Disney that’s responsible for the heart-tugging adventure musical: It’s Netflix.
“Over the Moon,” an animated feature set in China about a young girl who travels to space to meet the goddess who lives on the moon, is produced by China’s Pearl Studios.
There’s a likely explanation why “Over the Moon” feels like a Disney movie, and that is director Glen Keane. This is Keane’s feature directorial debut, despite quite literally being a Disney legend for his animation work on classics including “Aladdin” and “The Little Mermaid.” Co-director John Kahrs is a Pixar and Disney alum, responsible for animation on films such as “Tangled” and “Frozen.”
It may not have you singing along as much as “Frozen,” but the hyperreal CGI animated “Over the Moon” is fun, visually stunning and poignant, even if there are spurts of aimless psychedelic chaos along the way.
Fei Fei (Cathy Ang) is a bright young girl who has a seemingly idyllic childhood helping her parents make mooncakes in their shop until tragedy strikes and her mother (Ruthie Ann Miles) falls ill and dies.
Four years later, Fei Fei’s father (John Cho) is about to remarry a new woman named Mrs. Zhong (Sandra Oh), who has a rambunctious son named Chin (Robert G. Chiu).
Frustrated with the new additions to the family and missing her mother, Fei Fei decides to build a rocket to take her to the moon where she can meet the mythical moon goddess Chang’e (Phillipa Soo) , whom her mother often told her stories about.
Fei Fei thinks if she can prove Chang’e is real and true love really exists, then her father won’t need to marry a new woman and leave her beloved mother’s memory behind.
Although the task of successfully building a spacecraft is a little beyond her abilities, Fei Fei, her pet rabbit Bungee and Chin, a stowaway, make it to the moon kingdom called Lunaria where Chang’e lives as a moon-bound pop star, pining after her one true love.
In real life, Chang’e is a prominent figure in Chinese mythology, so much so that she is the namesake of China’s lunar exploration program.
The story, which is stunningly animated, is lovely and sweet until Fei Fei and Chin make their way to the moon.
While Chang’e welcomes Fei Fei with a concert that would put Lady Gaga to shame and it is lovely to hear Phillipa Soo’s incredible voice, it all feels a bit startling. The lunar surface is a land so colorful it looks like a neon rainbow fever dream complete with Miyazaki-esque inhabitants that are later revealed to be Chang’e’s sentient tear drops.
Chang’e misses her Earth-bound true love who died a long time ago. She is immortal and has a way to get him back, but it is clear Fei Fei must be the one to help her.
When Fei Fei meets Gobi (Ken Jeong), a seemingly dog-like creature who glows bright green, she becomes a bit aimless both trying to help the fickle Chang’e and get proof the moon goddess is real after her family back on
Earth makes fun of her.
In the end, though, the denouement recaptures the emotion of the beginning that is surprisingly mature for a movie that is meant to appeal to children. For a movie that may have you scratching your head at some points, it also may draw out a few tears when Fei Fei learns how to deal with loss and open her young heart to the affection of family.