Animated children’s films have proven incredibly popular on Netflix. Earlier this year, Despicable Me was added and quickly shot to the top of the most-viewed charts, with parents hungry for stuff to entertain the young ones with. As such, they’re now pouring more funds into original children’s entertainment, with the next big release being Over the Moon.
The movie tells the story of a young girl determined to reach the moon in order to meet a legendary Moon Goddess, constructing a rocket ship and launching herself into space. And judging by the trailer above, Netflix is aiming to match the visual and storytelling style of Disney and Pixar. They’re going to be helped in that by the direction of Glen Keane, who has supervising animator credits on a bevy of Disney classics, including Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan and Tangled.
My only qualm is that the 3D animation used for the majority of the film looks fairly generic, especially when contrasted with the gorgeous hand-drawn animation also in the trailer. Then again, there’s a decent chance that the Earth-based scenes are intentionally dowdy in order to make the later, more fantastical sequences stand out. Whatever the case, if Netflix wanted that Disney charm, it looks like they’ve nailed it.
As yet, we don’t have a precise release date other than that it’ll be due in the Fall. Still, the film looks pretty far along right now and animated movies are far less likely to be affected by the COVID-19 related delays that have hit most major live-action productions around the world.
Over the Moon‘s quality may be a harbinger of things to come, too. Most now consider that the golden age of Pixar is over, but could Netflix be the next big animation studio? They’re certainly putting the effort in and working with the right people, if this trailer is anything to go by.
Published: Jun 24, 2020 09:02 am