BWW Blog: Your Next Good Cry - Over the Moon on Netflix

I didn't expect too much when I first began watching Over the Moon on Netflix. So when a big fluffy dog bit a chunk out of the moon in the first few minutes, I deduced it would be some light entertainment... But as the moon transformed into a reflection on a pond, I was suddenly blown away by the animation. 15 minutes pass, and I am bawling.

Ok, granted, I cry at everything for some reason. I've been rewatching Avatar the Last Airbender, and I find myself getting emotional over Aang and his friends. But there's something different about Over the Moon.

Over the Moon is about a young and smart Chinese girl named Fei Fei, who loses her mother at a young age. 4 years after this loss, Fei Fei is unable to accept the idea of her father remarrying, and she believes that if she can prove that the Moon Goddess Chang'e and her story is real, it'll prove that her parents' love is eternal. It's a story of joy and sadness, and what it means to let go of the past to embrace new experiences and relationships.

In the first few minutes of the film, you'll be blown away by the animation and the music. For me, it was extra special to hear many familiar Asian actors play the voices, and even more special that it was an entirely Asian cast (some familiar ones being: Sandra Oh, Philipa Soo, Kimiko Glenn, Ken Jeong). When the entire family gathers to celebrate the Moon Festival, bustling around in the kitchen, and then sitting around a circular table to eat the mouthwatering Chinese food, it was a familiar scene to me, but a scene that I had never seen represented in the mainstream like this. I teared up.

Cathy Ang, who plays Fei Fei, sings beautifully and her emotions can be felt through her voice. In the films's anthem, she sings about her mom, and then resolves to "build a rocket to the moon." Some of the beautiful songs in the movie were co-written by Helen Park, who you might know as the creator of KPOP the Musical. Ken Jeong, who plays an adorable and funny pangolin adds some much needed joy and cute humor on the journey.

I can go on and on about everything I love in this movie, but perhaps the most moving part was how it deals with loss. I had never watched an animated film that dealt with grief in such a tangible way. Both Chang'e and Fei Fei are on a journey of learning how to let go of what they've lost, and find love and joy in new experiences and relationships around them. On this jagged journey where Fei Fei is struggling with missing her mom, for anyone who may have lost someone, it feels like we struggle along with her. The sadness is tangible, which makes it all the more powerful when we are able to accept the sadness and then accept the new joys surrounding us along with Fei Fei. And for me, someone who is still dealing with what it means to lose someone or something, to grieve the past, but also accept the new, this movie was especially powerful for me.

When Fei Fei's journey nears a close as she accepts new experiences, there's just one quote I want to share from the end of the movie, "My Nai Nai always told me the circle of a mooncake is the symbol of a family coming together." I don't know about you, but just this quote alone, can me cry.

From this blog, you can definitely assess that I cry a lot, but hopefully you can assess something else. I hope you can see just how beautiful this film is, and hopefully do yourself the favor of watching this movie and having a good cry with your loved ones this holiday season.

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