On October 17, Netflix came out with an animated musical film adapted from a screenplay by Audrey Wells, which was directed by Glen Keane and co-directed by John Kahrs. The movie is a comedy-drama about the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Chinese New Year. Due to my study abroad in Shanghai, this is one of my favorite holidays, so count me in to watch anything with it as the setting.
The story follows a Chinese-American girl named Fei Fei who truly believes in the ancient legend of Chang’e. As it follows, the woman took two pills of immortality, being transported to the moon while her one true love was left behind on Earth. Fei Fei’s mother’s favorite holiday was the Chinese New Year. For that reason, it would only make sense that they made a living out of making mooncakes. Mooncakes are desserts that are typically eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival in tribute to Chang’e. And they’re delicious!
After Fei Fei’s mom dies, she goes through a very dark time and so does her dad. He meets another woman and decides to remarry. However, Fei Fei doesn’t approve of it, and all it took for her to reach her tipping point was celebrating the holiday amongst her family members. After she’s accused of being too innocent for believing in the legend of Chang’e, Fei Fei gets the idea to go to the moon to prove that the legend is real.
Over the Moon is definitely not only a very heartwarming story, but also one of the most whimsical and sweet movies I’ve seen in many years. The animation graphics are stunning, and the story is deep and filled with life lessons that moved me to tears. You’ll learn lessons on the different ways of showing grief, the importance of family tradition, why people act the way they do, the power of love and how there’s always a time to move on. But the main lessons that stuck with me were how we always have all the answers within us (without knowing it), and how our loved ones will always be with us even after passing.
Apart from family bonds, you also see other relationships that are so genuine and well-developed. Also, the emotions explored through songs were another thing that really caught my attention. It wasn’t just your regular cute movie perfect for a family movie night. It talks about feelings that aren’t usually very alluded to in children’s movies, like losing your loved ones as well as feeling sad and lonely. In my opinion, this is a very well-rounded movie with so much meaning.
As an example of how beautiful this production is, here are two great quotes:
“If you give love, you’ll never lose love. It only grows.” – Chang’e
“Once you lose the person you love the most, it changes you.” – Fei Fei
I definitely recommend it when you’re feeling sad or uninspired because Fei Fei’s determination definitely made me feel refreshed and ready to tackle what I need to get done for the rest of the day. It will also definitely warm your heart with all kinds of relationships shown throughout the story. It will make you cry, laugh and smile. Who doesn’t love movies like that?