Over The Moon
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
We are playing catch up by reviewing films that are a part of the current awards season.
Not that long ago, I had some qualms over the Pearl Studio debut Abominable. As sweet as it might have been, it resorted just a little too heavily on easy clichés and family film resorts. It was almost like the exact blueprint of what a wholesome animation should be. One year later, we got Over the Moon, and I feared for the same issues. Turns out, I might have been doubtful for the wrong reasons. The first act of Over the Moon is actually beautiful, and saddening enough that it feels difficult not to tear up. A young girl loses her mother, and aspires to find a goddess in the moon to help: her father is wanting to remarry, and she doesn’t like her mom-to-be, nor her potential stepbrother. She crafts a rocket that will go to the moon, in order to fulfil this mythological tale she was told as an even younger child. Even the song “Rocket to the Moon” (yes, this is a musical) is exquisite, and my heart was in knots over this opening.
We get to the moon, and that’s where it all goes downhill. Oddly enough, it’s the place away from reality that is the safe, by-the-numbers, clichéd part of Over the Moon, and not the build up to it (the opening act still has some formulaic properties, but it didn’t feel like Pearl’s now-signature tactics). As wonderful as the animation on the moon is, the story just falls completely flat, with even more boring musical numbers, stale lines, and the kind of events and interactions we’ve heard a thousand times before. It’s such a shame, because you’d think this part of the story would be even more daring, but it’s actually less. This is more Abominable than what the first little bit of Over the Moon promised.
The on-Earth parts of Over the Moon act as a nice look at Pearl Studios at their best.
The moon stuff keeps going, and it gets a little more tolerable. The conclusion is warm, albeit typical, so Over the Moon doesn’t keep going down its downward spiral. Besides, even at its worst, the film looks fantastic, so Pearl Studios is still noteworthy for its visual ideas and details. I felt a lot less bothered by Over the Moon than Abominable, but I wish I didn’t feel annoyed by either. I mean, look at them. They’re adorable films! But why do we have to use a Coldplay song that’s been beaten-to-death in Abominable, and why does Over the Moon have to try and create its own family film songs that have been drained of all of their nuance to follow suit? I’m not sure, but at least there’s some promise found within Over the Moon. The right story, direction, and amount of boldness and faith in a story to go all the way on its own (without obvious ingredients to bring us back to the familiar) could have Pearl Studios creating a fantastic film. I didn’t believe it before, but I do now. We have yet to see it, but Over the Moon is at least heading in the right direction.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.