376. Over The Moon; movie review

 

 

OVER THE MOON

Cert U

95 mins

BBFC advice: Contains threat, emotionally intense scenes

In 2020, Netflix has ruled supreme in the world of home entertainment apart for one crucial arena - animation.

This shouldn't be too surprising as the baton was picked up by Disney when it launched its own channel during the summer.

Its overall success or otherwise will be seen much more clearly during the family-film season at Christmas.

Meanwhile, Netflix has proved that it has not entirely turned its back on animated storytelling via films such as Over The Moon.

Indeed, this movie by director Glen Keane and John Kahrs has proved to be worth its while - because it became the company's top-streamed movie over its first weekend.

Over The Moon is a tale about a young girl, Fei Fei (voiced by Cathy Ang) who is sad because her widowed father (John Cho) is in love and she wants him to cherish only thoughts of her mum.

The latter used to tell her romantic stories of the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e, so she literally sets about building a rocket so she can fly into space to meet her and, hopefully, see her mum again.

This is a cartoon so there is no limit on possibilities - the rocket is built and Fei Fei's annoying new half-brother (Robert G. Chiu ) stows away.

And they both fly to the moon where they are picked up by the goddess's guards on the lunar surface.

All sorts of lively adventures follow, accompanied by some toe-tapping tunes.

The plot does trip off into the surreal but, thankfully, it is realigned for a satisfying finale.

But the big question is - does it compete with a Disney, Pixar or Marvel computer-generated movie? No. But it is a decent marker laid down by Netflix.

Reasons to watch: Good songs and lively plot

Reasons to avoid: Loses its way after a promising start

Laughs: One

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? When Netflix went public in 2002 it had a market capitalisation of $300m. Today its value is more than $230bn.

The final word. Glen Keane: “They would tell me — my mentors, Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men — don’t animate what the character’s doing, animate with the character’s thinking, feeling.” Slash Film

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