A grieving girl builds a rocket to prove a Chinese moon goddess is real.
In short: In this animated musical, eleven-year-old Fei Fei refuses to accept her mother's death. To validate her faith in the legend of Chang'e, she constructs a makeshift rocket to reach the moon. What follows is a vibrant, emotional journey through a celestial realm that forces her to confront the reality of loss.
The 2020 film Over the Moon reimagines the traditional Chinese myth of Chang'e through the eyes of a young protagonist. Directed by Glen Keane, a veteran of Walt Disney Animation Studios, the project began with a concept by Janet Yang. Screenwriter Audrey Wells penned the script, which weaves the ancient tale of an immortal goddess waiting for her lover, Houyi, into a contemporary story about a girl struggling to accept her father's remarriage.
Production was a collaborative effort between Pearl Studio and Netflix Animation, with visual work handled by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Keane, making his feature directorial debut, emphasized a non-committee approach to creative choices. To ensure cultural accuracy, he conducted research in Shanghai. The film's aesthetic for the moon city, Lunaria, draws inspiration from Joan Miró’s paintings and the iconic cover art of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. The production involved 120 animators and featured costumes designed by haute couture artist Guo Pei.
While the film received nominations for Best Animated Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, critical reception was varied. Rotten Tomatoes reported an 81% approval rating, though some reviewers noted that the narrative structure felt familiar. By January 2021, Netflix reported that 43 million households had viewed the film. Beyond the technical achievements, the story serves as a poignant exploration of grief, as both Fei Fei and the goddess Chang'e must eventually learn to move on from their respective tragedies to restore light to their worlds.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Over the Moon (2020 film)
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