Mune: Le Gardien de la Lune

Wonderful, Charming, Cheeky and lots of Heart for the Whole family, in the Ghibli story telling tradition and imagery.

It has a blend of 3D animation and 2D dream sequences...

It seems like a fairytale you should know but have forgotten. And thats the pity, the story telling is great, the animation is lovely and English voice actors did a great job.

It's the story of the Sun and the Moon, and the Guardians that protect them.

This animated feature deserves an Audience. Do yourself a favour and grab it

I watch a lot of movies, and most of them are fairly forgettable. So I was surprised to find that this obscure film was so fantastic. When I saw it on the shelf I thought it would be one of those horrible cut rate movies from some off brand studio. How wrong I was. This movie is of a different flavor and style than what you would see from the Hollywood giants, and that is a good thing. It has the most unique take on cgi animation I've ever seen. Rather than having the bland digital perfection of the style you see coming from Pixar, Blue Sky, Dreamworks, Illumination, Warner Brothers, Sony Animation, etc... this film has a more painterly look. The world building is so magical and memorable. The character designs are great! The only downside is that you can tell the dialogue has lost something in translation and the voice performances are as average as they come, and some are miscast. Other than that this has found it's place on my top ten list of animated films. Highly reccomendend!

Mune was a visually stunning adventure of epic scale. Set in a whimsical world, the sun and moon are controlled by their respective guardians. As the time comes for new guardians to be selected, the boasting and brawny Sohone is selected as the new guardian of the sun. In an odd twist of fate, the reluctant Mune is selected as new guardian of the moon. This film features a very beautiful world, filled with all kind of creatures and fauna. Both the day-dwelling and night- dwelling creatures are very distinct, building a very rich, interesting world. The story is very easy to follow and features a huge cast of distinct, interesting characters. We see practically every corner of this vast world, from the bright, stony land of the day-dwellers to the luscious forests the night-dwelling creatures live in. It's very clear that a colossal amount of creativity was put into this film, and it offers a fantastic visual experience. What definitely surprised me most about this film is that it features several scenes rendered in 2D animation. It is a style you see very little of in mainstream animated films, and was a nice change indeed. This is a great movie for animation buffs like me, and those who love whimsical adventures as much as their children.

Animation - All around the animation in this movie is just beautiful. All the different visuals and ideas in this movie are just wonderful. This is worth watching just for the appearance alone.

Story - This is a movie that is full of brilliant concepts, but they don't all tie into each other very well. The pacing is all over the place. Maybe if the movie was longer or had a better script it could've worked better. The only version I could find was with the English dub, and not the original though. Maybe some of it is more interesting in the original and maybe the story flows smoother, but based on the length of scenes I doubt it. The story isn't terrible, just a bit disjointed and generic at times.

Characters - This movie is a bit light on the character development. It probably could've spent more time on developing any of the characters. Honestly one of the biggest problems with this movie is that it is way too short.

Glim - (this bit might contain spoilers) Glim is a character whose concept is more interesting than her personality. She is a person made of candle wax that melts when too hot and freezes when too cold. Its kind of a cool idea. The problem is, she is completely unnecessary. Glim combines two of the tropes I hate the most - completely bland an unnecessary love interest, and the fake-out death. She could've been removed from the story completely (along with those "comic relief" demon things) and nothing would've been changed. The only reason I can see for why she is in the movie is so that there is a female character. If the movie really needed a female character though then why not make one of the guardians a girl?

Found 'Mune: Guardian of the Moon' in HMV a week ago and only got round to watching it a couple of days ago, as a hopeful remedy from having stumbled upon and watched a number of badly done animated films. The film actually looked and sounded good, so expectations were hopeful.

Expectations that were not just met but exceeded. 'Mune: Guardian of the Moon' stands out as one of the better animated films seen recently by quite a considerable distance, of the animated films seen in the past week it is one of the best looking and is also one of the most thought-provoking and entertaining. Perhaps the still very charming and touchingly sweet romance was not as necessary as it could have been and Sohone's frequent comments on girls and ladies are tiresomely repetitive and will induce their fair share of cringes and eye-rolls (for a film with so much heart these distracted somewhat).

However, the animation is incredible. Not in a long time in animation has there been a more wondrously and imaginatively rendered world, which makes it as easy as pie to get properly immersed in and be transported. The colours are truly a feast on the eyes, everything is very smoothly designed and the backgrounds and details, from the little things all the way up to the big effects, will amaze anyone with the richness and depth of the detail.

There is a great music score too, capturing the whimsy, ethereal sparkle and mystery of the story and world effortlessly. The writing does a fine job of not only entertaining but also intriguing. There's plenty for the whole family, regardless of age and gender, to be amused and charmed at, while there is a surprising amount of sincere depth here which gives 'Mune: Guardian of the Moon' a refreshingly unexpected amount of heart.

Story-wise, 'Mune: Guardian of the Moon' is remarkably complex while with enough simplicity to not lose younger children. Older children and adults will be amazed at the story and world's individual complexity while still making sense and treating its audience with respect. There is plenty of imagination here and the positive messaging makes its point but with more subtlety and tact than most films incorporating similar messaging. While there is a lot of style here, there is also a lot of heart.

'Mune: Guardians of the Moon' excels with its characters too. While not complex as such, these characters are both interesting and likable. The chemistry between Mune and Glim is very charming. The voice acting is very good and dynamic.

In summary, luminous and beautiful, a refreshing much-needed antidote. 8/10 Bethany Cox