Over The Moon review

Young Fei Fei (Ang) believes in the legend of Chang’e – a goddess who lives on the moon and mourns the loss of her love Houyi, who died on earth – because it is a story her mother loved. A few years after her mother’s death, when it appears her father is moving on with a new woman (Oh), Fei Fei decides that she has to travel to the moon herself to prove to her dad that the stories of endless love are true.

An animated musical from former Disney animators Glen Keane and John Kahrs, this begins as a beautifully animated, sad story of a child coping with grief and loss and then becomes something wildly different once Fei Fei’s space rocket lands her on the moon.

It turns out the moon is a trippy place populated by flying lions, motorbike-riding chickens, a cuddly creature named Gobi (Jeong) who feels like a rip-off of Frozen’s Olaf, and walking and talking multi-coloured moon cakes (like the traditional treat Fei Fei’s mother used to bake) – while Chang’e makes her grand entrance as a pop goddess to rival Taylor Swift.

While the songs aren’t particularly memorable, kids will enjoy the brightly coloured, nicely paced space adventure, the interactions between Fei Fei and her potential stepbrother Chin, and (probably most of all) Fei Fei’s adorable pet bunny Bungee.

And though Pixar’s Coco – with which this bears some similarities – may have tugged more successfully at the heart-strings, Over The Moon may still bring a tear to the eye of viewers young and old as it lightly touches on the sadness and loneliness of losing someone and learning to move on without them.