'Over the Moon' sees Sandra Oh, Cathy Ang bring to life talking mooncakes, flying lions but with little depth
'Over the Moon' starts with the stunning scenery in a city in China where it depicts a happy family of three -- Fei Fei (Cathy Ang), her father who believes in science, and her mother who believes in magic and folklore that centers on love. The three lived happily, making moon cakes, celebrating festivals year-round, but unfortunately, all of that doesn't last too long. Fei Fei's mother dies after suffering from an illness and for years, Fei Fei lives with her father and begins to believe that their family can only be made of her late mother, her father, and herself. It doesn't cross this teenager's mind that her father might be lonely and this is despite him trying to give her hints before he brings the woman he is interested in home for dinner.
It is after meeting Mrs Zhong (Sandra Oh) that Fei Fei is extremely disappointed and the fact that her family seems to be forgetting about her mother and the stories that she enjoyed makes Fei Fei frustrated and angry. This is what leads her to design a rocket that would take her to the moon, where she can meet the moon goddess Chang'e and get proof of her existence so that her father would begin to believe in the legend and begin to believe her mother too. The movie is supposed to be less about the flash and more about how a young girl deals with her grief after losing her mother and that is exactly what we do not see of much. For the most part, we are amused by the talking mooncakes, the flying lions and other moon life that look like they have come straight out of the world of Candy Crush and Angry Birds. From flying on bicycles with chickens to giving rabbits superpowers, there is a lot of trippy ideas that the film explores but it feels empty as the idea itself is left unexplored.
The only scene where we feel even a tiny bit of the idea of getting over grief and accepting love again is explored when Fei Fei attempts to comfort Chang'e after her lover Huoyi passes on to never return. She enters a space that no one with her is able to, and by entering, she ends up drowning in her own loss and misery, but Chang'e and Fei Fei help each other get over the loss of their loved ones. Fei Fei shows Chang'e she has other people who love her, like the talking mooncakes for one, while Chang'e shows us how Chin, despite all his annoying habits, can be a lovely brother. Beyond this scene, the entire movie feels like it is too much of a drag with entire stretches that only concentrate on introducing absurd creatures and colors.
The only character in this movie that made us constantly smile is Bungee, the rabbit. From helping the jade rabbit with the magic potion to helping Chin weaken the barrier that kept him away from bringing his sister back, Bungee is the best. Not only does Bungee do this, the rabbit also understands when her friend Fei Fei is in the wrong and doesn't think twice about expressing the same. The next character that we loved a lot is the frog, who happens to be Shin's friend. 'Over the Moon' attempts to break into animation and compete with Pixar and Disney, but this attempt has definitely fallen short of expectations.
'Over the Moon' can be streamed on Netflix.
