‘Over The Moon’ directed by Disney legend Glen Keane serves pop-music-laden whimsy in a story that is essentially about coming to terms with loss. Starring a perfect ensemble voice cast, the film takes a child’s fascination with an ancient Chinese myth (fueled by imagination) and turns it into a heartwarming tale filled with magic.
It is difficult to pin-point where it all began but between the more sentimental Ghibli titles and Disney's '90s renaissance, animated movies meditated upon death more deeply than they ever did before. Films that help children explore loss and the grieving process are having a moment now and it's perhaps one of the most meaningful outcomes of titles like Coco and the recent Onwards. Why are we talking about Disney in a review of a Netflix movie you ask? Well, Over the Moon is Disney legend Glen Keane's hypable feature-length directorial debut. Having created magic in some of the biggest classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, his latest project that comes on the heels of his Oscar-winning short Dear Basketball warrants a renewed look at his filmography as he returns to create some more magic. Netflix, in ramping up on Oscar nominees like I Lost My Body and Klaus seems to have one-upped Pixar and Dreamworks with this one. Over the Moon has Keane co-directing with John Kahrs a perfect-fit voice cast starring Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Sandra Oh and more on a script written by the late Audrey Wells. The movie we get is a pop music-laden story that can launch you into a whimsical world only to navigate hard-to-tackle earthly struggles closer to home.
Home in this film is located in China where Fei Fei (Cathy Ang), a bright-eyed young girl lives with her family. We meet Fei Fei as she laps up the legend of the Moon Goddess narrated by her doting mother (Ruthie Ann Miles). The Chinese myth is about Chang’e (Philipa Soo), who in the process of attaining immortality loses her lover Houyi and is believed to be living on the moon among the stars ever since. Growing up, Fei Fei returns to the story often, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival as she joins her parents who own a local food stall in making mooncakes, a traditional delicacy. Four years after the loss of her mother, new guests visit during the holidays, a Mrs Zhong (Sandra Oh) who her widowed father (John Cho) is now dating and her son Chin (Robert G. Chiu). It’s a change Fei Fei doesn’t see coming. Like most children who find themselves in her shoes, she immediately responds to it as a threat to the memory of her mother. In an effort to hold on to her mother’s legacy, she sets out to prove the myth of Chang’e. She does this by building a rocket and literally launching herself and her pet rabbit Bungee into space only to realise a little later, that her would-be step-brother has sneaked in too. Once on the moon, she’s about to find out that Chang’e is nothing like she ever imagined.
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Fei Fei is young enough to believe in an ancient myth (and that proving it will prevent her father from re-marrying) but smart enough to know that it takes science and engineering to get to the moon. Combine these qualities and it becomes rocket fuel that gets our well-meaning protagonist a rough landing on lunar territory. In essence, her mission is to prove that one can wait for their one true love forever and people are irreplaceable. But the Moon Goddess Fei Fei discovers is a celestial pop star if you must. Phillipa Soo’s Chang’e dances, sings, changes costumes and delivers a larger than life performance. Forever is a long time to be on the moon for an immortal being and Chang’e has spent considerable time perfecting pop anthems, power jams with enough musical prowess remaining for a rap battle against a young boy (Chin) who just arrived, you’ll see. After describing herself as “Ultraluminary” in a song, she demands Fei Fei present a gift from Earth. Unfortunately, Fei Fei doesn’t know what it is and the entire kingdom is sent on a quest to find this gift and only upon finding it will she be able to return home with a picture of herself with Chang’e (the aforementioned proof). Over the Moon couldn’t have asked for a better Moon Goddess than Hamilton star Soo, bless her vocal cords. Her voice and the film’s soundtracks - ‘Ultraluminary’, ‘Hey Boy’ and Ken Jeong’s rousing ‘Wonderful’ have all the makings of a truly enjoyable musical show.
Meeting the mesmerizing explosive music are the mesmerizing visuals. The moon is filled with creatures based on Chinese mythology, candy-coloured lunarians (that’s the average moon citizen I believe), clever characters like chickens on bikes called “biker chicks” and talking mooncakes. The filmmakers take the concept of a moon ruled by a pop star and infuse it with a burst of colours waiting to enchant anyone who visits. The spectacle is matched head-on by Earth that manages to never come off plain in spite of the cosmic wonders of the new world Fei Fei lands on. After all, her ultimate yearning is to return home to the way things used to be. And who wouldn’t want that if home looks the way it does in the film.
The animation team has breathed life and local colour in the charming place set by the Yangtze river. Among the main attractions is the hyper-realistic food that I swear you can instinctively smell even if you haven’t tried the dishes laid out on the family’s dinner table. The crabs, dough, tofu and prawns are a standout. So the look and feel of the film bears all the hallmarks of what we have to describe as big-budget Disney outings. But let's not get too distracted by the many visual wonders that populate the frame. Like Fei Fei, the viewer must confront the more difficult aspects the film saves for the second half of its run-time.
The film will strike a particularly personal chord for Chinese and Chinese-American viewers but the themes at its core are universal. By de-mystifying the legend of the Moon Goddess, Over the Moon breaks down the most complicated feelings Fei Fei and by extension Chang’e are having. The two are dealing with different kinds of heartache but bear the unsurmountable pain of losing someone they loved and cherished. The death of a beloved or a parent is something that can change you and dealing with that pain is a lot more complicated than constructing a rocket and heading into space. And that’s precisely why films like these are required. Sure, the subject is smoothed over by mooncakes and music so children can get on board but in it’s most important moments, the film embraces the complex feelings that Fei Fei or any child who has lost a family member or a friend goes through and gets them across beautifully. The lesson on loss here is mature and applies to grown-ups too but is broken down in easy helpings for the younger ones to munch on. Going beyond its target demographic, this might be one of the most layered yet heart-warming family entertainers to come from an animation studio.
Over the Moon premieres Friday, October 23, 2020 on Netflix.
Cover image: Bhavya Poonia/Mashable India
