#moovie rant

[gualavi]

Netflix’s Over the moon is not as good as people are saying

Honestly, I liked the begining, I liked the end, but hated everything in the middle.

I am not chinese, so I’m wasn’t able to pick up cultural inaccuracies, BUT I do know a ton about japanese culture (that takes a lot of elements from chinese culture), and I really enjoyed the first and last part. 

The city felt alive, it didn’t seem to be looked through the lens of otherness from a western perspective. It felt local, and had its own feeling, way beyond exotic. The tale of the lovers seemed familiar, it was similar to other traditional stories, and it did not bother me at all that it was told with a song, even though it didn’t follow the “Sing when the emotion is way too powerfull” rule (created by white western people), because it was a common way of storytelling in the beginings of chinese and japanese literature. 

There were a lot of symbolically important elements, and links to chinese/japanese imaginery: The rabbit that can be seen on the moon, the lotus flowers (the one who can bloom in tough circunstances), the crane (little spoiler) ,and the hinting of being the mother as a continuation of the many stories about women who can turn into birds.

The moon’s worldbuilding was terrible, the moon citizens had the laziest designs ever. It used a style of shapes and colors and light that was so generical, and clashed with the beautiful chinese aesthetic. 

There was no need for the green dog or whatever he was, and the chickens (??????) They were shaped like animals, and where the only glowing characters that looked like animals except for the lions, who were justified because they’re mythical creatures, and if motorhead chickens are part of a chinese legend, please let me know. Their only reason for existence is plot convenience, yet, they don’t add anything to the story aside from comic relief, and ubelievable personalities. 

I felt no emotional connection to the characters at all. Except for when the protagonist cries for her mother, but that was because my mom almost died of cancer, so it doesn’t count, because it was my own pain. And they shouldn’t have either. SPOILERS I mean... she hugged her new brother for things he did when she wasn’t around. And why was he able to break the sadness wal?????? It makes no sense at all. She got in because she was equally sad, but he got in beacuse.... they hinted he could go through walls???? The amount of deus ex machina is flabbergasting...

I have more to say, but I’m sleepy

To sum it up: It was amazing when it was trying to be itself, with its own chinese identity, but messed up badly when trying to replicate disney models.