Image Courtesy of Insider
Co-directed by a dream
team of animators, Over the Moon was a wonderful retelling of a Chinese
myth, with a lovely story surrounding the mythological aspects. Co-director
Glen Keane has worked on many classic films before, including Tarzan, Tangled,
and probably most legendary, Beauty and the Beast. Co-Director John Kahrs
has an equally impressive resume, having worked on Frozen, Ratatouille,
and The Incredibles. Bringing both of them together for Pearl Studio’s
second film (following 2019’s Abominable) brought the energy of Pixar
and Dream works to a new animation studio.
The story begins when
Fei-Fei’s (voiced young by Brycen Halls, and four years later by Cathy Ang)
mother (Ruthie Ann Miles) tells her the Chinese myth of the moon goddess Chang’e
before passing away. In the film, Chang’e (Phillipa Soo) had two immortality pills,
intending to give one to her husband Houyi (Conrad Ricamora). However, she
accidently swallowed both when she was forced to hide the pills in her mouth to
keep them safe from bandits. By swallowing both pills, she floated up to the
heavens and landed on the moon where she sits alone forever.
The actual myth is very
similar in form. Chang’e’s husband, Yi in the original story, was an archer who
shot 9 suns out of the sky leaving only one. For his service, he was given two
doses of the immortality potion, as he couldn’t bear to be immortal without his
wife. There are other versions of the myth as well, where Yi was a horrible tyrant
and Chang’e took both pills to spare the world from his cruelty. These variations
in the story are explored in the film. During a family gathering on the night
of the Moon Festival, Fei-Fei’s family brings up some different versions of the
story. Since Fei-Fei’s connection to her mother is rooted in this myth, she
finds it hard to accept that there are accounts of the myth different from the
one her mother shared with her.
The story picks up in earnest
four years after her mother’s death, when her father introduces Fei-Fei to Mrs.
Zhong (Sandra Oh), who he intends on marrying. Fei-Fei decides to build a rocket
and travel to the moon to meet the moon goddess. She wants to spite her family,
who all tell her the story is just a myth, and she wants to prove to her father
that love never dies in an attempt to keep him from remarrying.
Image Courtesy of IndieWire
This film was exuding
serious Pixar vibes, not in small part due to the songs. The quality of the songs
was excellent, and varied through the film. Some of the more melancholy songs
were reminiscent of Stephen Universe, while the songs that Chang’e sang
had a more K-Pop quality to them. Steven Price, who took home the academy award
for the soundtrack to Gravity, was the films primary composer. The
original songs were mostly handled by Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield,
and Helen Park. Duffield and Park worked together on KPOP the Musical,
and were most likely the team that brought the K-Pop quality to the score. The
songs were well integrated into the plot, often serving to cover long stretches
of time and to fill in moments in the film where the action dips.
Bringing even more Pixar vibes
to the film was the excellent animation. It reminded me of Coco in some
aspects, as there was the mundane world that was causing the protagonist problems,
and the fantasy world heavily influenced by tradition and mythology that they
escape into. The main marvel in the film was the City of Lunaria, where Chang’e
resides on the moon. The animation of the city was influenced by the album
cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, as well as the surrealist
paintings of Joan Miró. It was above all a joy to watch.
This is also a movie primarily
about overcoming grief, and accepting the loss of a loved one. Chang’e was
unable to overcome the death of her husband, and her grief turned her into a self-absorbed
diva, who was only interested in finding a way to bring him back. Fei-Fei is
also struggling with overcoming her mother’s death. She cannot understand why her
father is able to move on when she cannot let go of this tragedy. This deeper
message is woven throughout the film, and provides depth beyond the animation
and music. This film’s success in portraying complex emotions, and even drawing
some tears at the end, bring it into a higher category. I have no doubt it will
be a film I remember for a long time.
-Patrick Bernas
