Más allá de la Luna

A Netflix animated movie that very much follows the Disney/Pixar conventions. It's done well and with sensitivity, but it's let down by a mediocre middle section.

Loosely based on a Chinese legend, it tells the story of a girl whose mother dies and has to face the possibility of his father marrying again. She is not ready to let go and accept someone else in her family, so she ends up travelling to the moon with the unwelcome company of her annoying little step-brother to find proof that the fairy tales her mother told her were real, and hopefully convince her dad to remember her mother and not marry again.

The 3D animation looks quite good in the scenes set in China, with very expressive characters suiting the sentimental story being told. Once on the Moon, however, the acid-trip colors used there can't hide that the animation becomes more simplistic and cheap.

It's also in that middle part where the sensitive storytelling turns into a collection of so-so animation for children tropes. The improvement of the relationship between the main character and her step-brother is explored very superficially.

The songs (for this is a musical) are nice, and the resolution is satisfactory. Sure, the message here is very conventional, but then this is a movie for children, and it is with enough charm that I found it touching. It is a pity that they couldn't come up with something more special for the middle section.

The animation starts really well. The animation, although not as impressive as Disney or Pixar, was still really beautiful. The setting for the story really draws you in. The characters are likable. Up until the point of FeiFei's journey to the moon. The setting is just awful to look at. The whole popstar Chang'e thing was just awful. Why was it there? I don't know, but it was completely unnecessary and jarring. Speaking of the songs in this movie - they are just not memorable. Again it just reminds you how much better Disney is at creating musical pieces which grip you and stay with you. Perhaps it would have been better to just leave out the singing. Especially the pop numbers. From that moment on the characters become kind of bland and lose me. Their motivations are questionable. The pacing is all over the place. I just couldn't wait fir the whole thing to end. It could have been a great movie but it's like they run out o steam mid writing and animating and it just turned into awfulness. I'd rate it between 4-5. Gave it 5 stars for the strong introduction to the story.

There's not many animated movies anymore that perfectly captivate the soul and imagination like Over the Moon. Directed by legendary animator Glenn Keane (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tarzan, to name a few), Over the Moon transports you to a colorful world of love and wonder.

The movie starts off with a gorgeous 2D animation sequence of the Chinese Moon goddess myth, it's extremely reminiscent to the animation from classic 90s Disney films. The songs are melodic, catchy and full of heart (minus the short rap song, but even then, that song is good and fun too).

By far the MOST significant and iconic part of the entire film (this scene honestly carries the entire film tbh) is when the Moon goddess, Chang'e, sings Ultraluminary in what could be described as a spectacular concert performance. The visuals are BREATHTAKING and gorgeous. It's on par with the grotto scene from The Little Mermaid (Part of Your World), the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast, A Whole New World, The Cicle of Life (you get the idea).. Let It Go doesn't even compare to Ultraluminary. It truly deserves a place in animation history and it would be a travesty if it isn't nominated for a Grammy.

The story really pulls at the heart strings as it deals with loss and grief, something too many people are dealing with this year due to the pandemic. So if your little one is dealing with grief from losing a loved one, you may want to watch this first on your own to make sure it won't be too much for them.

Sadly this movie will be slept on and invalidated by the corporate powers at Disney who desperately refuse to let go of their monopolistic grip on the animated movie industry. The hoards of Disney loyalist are also trashing this movie very unfairly, its a movie they will love to hate, thats how you know its good.

Criticisms in regards to the "logic" of the movie kinda flew out the window when the protagonist built a rocket and literally went to the moon. It's laughable that the things these Disney loyalist are criticizing this film for they completely ignore and look the other way in their favorite films. For example Frozen was filled to the brim with plot holes and was incoherently illogical beginning to end, it was a fantasy movie anyways, but when it comes to Over the Moon, no, "it doesn't make sense" ok. Frozen wasn't the first movie to feature an annoying "tag-along" character (Olaf), there are COUNTLESS animated movies that have an annoying/endearing comic relief character, but they're all, including this one, "ripping off Frozen". Also Disney by far, didn't make the first animated movie to deal with death and loss (Coco). Over the Moon deals with grief much differently than Coco, I really don't understand how the comparisons to Coco are even relevant to this film.

This movie is proof the Disney is destroying animation because not only do people dogmatically cling to the name "Disney" but their standards also stem from their movies, most of which are rip-offs of other movies and feature recycled and stolen visuals from other animated foreign films.

While this movie shines on its own as a stand alone film, it really shines a light at everything wrong with Disney right now in their shadows. Their rabid cult-like fanbase refuses to let any other animated movies shine, even when they're directed by Disney legend Glenn Keane. Disney can't make an appropriate movie based off Chinese culture without bowing down to the CCP and endorsing genocide (Mulan 2020). Disney has the corporate money to pay for bad reviews to silence their competitors. Disney also decided to release a trailer for their new southeast Asian "princess" movie the same day Over the Moon was released. So because of the powers that be, this gorgeous film is unfairly being compared to the Emoji Movie and Trolls when in reality it's on par with the Disney classics from the 90s and their latest films (Mooana and Frozen).

I highly recommend this movie, if anything at least stick around till scene when they arrive at the moon and the Moon goddess, Chang'e, sings Ultraluminary, you won't regret it.

It's quite often when an animated film comes out and they try to imitate or to simulate the same narrative aspects or the same characterisation or even the same animated standards of Disney. Sometimes it's so good it stands out, but other times the story mechanics are very familiar with Disney that it can make the film very far from being a success. Over the Moon is a charming Chinese inspired animation that's both victim to that but also different to that and thankfully sets the bar quite high in animated filmmaking. The story is very familiar a teenage girl is trying to get over the death of her mother and to do that she must embark on a journey of enlightenment to move on. We've seen it all before, but the one thing that's different is the colours whether it's the weird and wonderful creatures walking around or the stunning picturesque views of China's landscape. It will often remind you of Spirited Away or Inside Out or other brilliantly successful animations. Granted Over the Moon may not be new when it comes to the storytelling or the pain we all experience when feeling grief but the colours alone make it a wild success and lest we forget the glorious tunes to boot which will make you cry, make you dance and make you smile. It's likely that Netflix will go to the Oscars with this but whether they'll get the prize is a different story. But it flies high past other films of 2020 and could actually be the best animated film of the year...maybe. 4/5.

Started of very well, nice and gripping story. And then comes the moon with neon colors and a stupid pop star God. Is this what we really want to show the children? There are better ways to tell a story about loss and progress with life.