Netflix has revealed the first details and debut trailer for their forthcoming animated musicalOver the Moon. And it feels like this is going to be another animated Netflix winner.
The official synopsis for the very charming-looking movie follows: “Fueled with determination and a passion for science, a bright young girl builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. There she ends up on an unexpected quest and discovers a whimsical land of fantastical creatures.” Cool, right?
But what’s even cooler is who isbehindthe movie.Over the Moonis directed byGlen Keane, a legendary, Oscar-winning animator who, while at Disney, gave life to characters like Ariel fromThe Little Mermaid, The Beast fromBeauty and the Beast, and the title characters fromPocahontasandTarzan. (This is, incredibly, his debut feature.) Serving as his co-director isJohn Kahrs, the Oscar-winning director of Disney short “Paperman.” They’re working from the final script by screenwriterAudrey Wells, who passed away in 2018. And the music is from Oscar-winningGravitycomposer Steven Price, with songs byChristopher Curtis,Marjorie DuffieldandHelen Park.
Just as incredible as the production team is the voice cast, featuringCathy Ang, Phillipa Soo,Robert G. Chiu,Ken Jeong,John Cho,Ruthie Ann Miles,Margaret Cho,Kimiko Glenn,Artt Butler, andSandra Oh. Whew, that’s a lot of talent.
The trailer for Over the Moon promises a lot of fun and whimsy, with the clip focusing mostly on our young protagonist Fei Fei (Cathy Ang) as she struggles to build her homemade rocket. The premise is fantastical but everything, at least in the first half of the trailer, is treated with down-to-earth realism. But in the final moments, a whole other world opens up, with fantastical creatures and bright, dizzying colors. Everything is impressively rendered by Pearl Studios in China (they produced the animation for DreamWorks’ recent yeti movieAbominable), with some help from Sony Pictures ImageWorks. Keane’s signature approach to character design, with some obvious attention to posing and facial expressions, is on grand display. There also appears to be at least one sequence that is traditionally animated with hand-drawn, 2D techniques, and it looks absolutely breathtaking.
We were able to sit in on a virtual press conference for the film, and everyone involved seemed absolutely (wait for it) over the moon to be working on the project. Keane talked enthusiastically about visiting China on a research trip and being invited into the homes of strangers in order to get a close-up view at the vibrancy and energy of their lives. It sounded really incredible. And producerGennie Rimtold a story that was as heartbreaking as it was heartwarming about cornering Sandra Oh at Wells’ funeral service at the Writers Guild of America and forcing her to take the role. (Telling the story, Oh started to cry.) It’s hard to classify a film of this scale and ambition as a passion project, but it certainly seems that way from listening to everyone talk about it.
What’s interesting is that, with Netflix’s nebulous “fall” release date, at one pointOver the Moonwould have competed directly with Keane’s old crew at Walt Disney Animation Studios, who were originally slated to release their Asian-centered epicRaya and the Last Dragonthis Thanksgiving. Can you imagine that showdown? Now,Over the Moonwill open alongside Pixar’sSoulinstead (in theory anyway). It’s going to be a big season for original animation.
Netflix has been making huge inroads with its animated projects, betweenOver the Moon,The Willoughbysfrom earlier this year and the Oscar-nominatedKlausandI Can’t Find My Bodyfrom 2019. They also have projects in the works withAlex Hirsch,Guillermo del Toro,Jorge Gutierrez,Chris WilliamsandHenry Selick. It’s an impressive line-up from a diverse, utterly brilliant array of filmmakers, that will showcase the different styles and stories that can be housed underneath the Netflix animation umbrella. Bring it on.
