Over the Moon

In the fantastical animated film Over the Moon, directed by Glen Keane and John Stevenson, resourceful and adventurous young Chinese girl Fei Fei Chang dreams of reaching the moon to discover the truth behind a legendary moon goddess. Fei Fei's mother, known as Mama Chang, had passed away when Fei Fei was a child, leaving her a handmade book detailing the lore of the Chang family. The stories of this book have a significant impact on Fei Fei's imagination and inspire her to pursue the impossible. In traditional Chinese mythology, the moon goddess Chang'e is believed to reside on the moon. According to legend, Chang'e was banished to the moon after drinking an elixir of immortality meant for her husband, Hou Yi. This myth has captured Fei Fei's fascination, driving her determination to prove the moon goddess's existence. The idea is that if Fei Fei can reach the moon and meet Chang'e, she will finally find her mother and bring back her mother's memories to share with her family. Inspired by her late mother's stories, Fei Fei decides to take matters into her own hands and build a rocket that will allow her to reach the moon. With her loyal family's reluctant support and encouragement from her friend Cheng Gongming, Fei Fei pours her heart and soul into the development of the rocket, facing various setbacks and complications along the way. However, Fei Fei's creativity, courage, and perseverance ultimately allow her to successfully launch the rocket. In a beautiful moment of nostalgia, Fei Fei looks back at the launch of the Moonlight Serenade and shares a tender heartwarming moment with the people who love her, as they all bid farewell to the rocket and to the dreams of Fei Fei. Her rocket flies into space, where, in her imagination, it transforms into the legendary Phoenix, which eventually reaches the moon and takes Fei Fei to Chang'e's celestial home. Upon landing on the moon, Fei Fei discovers a vibrant, lively world filled with incredible and fantastical beings and creatures that have become enchanted by Chang'e's music and love for a mythical lover named Hou Yi, whose love is believed to have been reciprocated. However, on exploring this new world, it is revealed that Chang'e still deeply loves Hou Yi from the past and misses him so greatly that she's been using her incredible talent for making celestial music that would make it seem as if the Phoenix is still alive, thus keeping the myth alive. Fei Fei, though not initially intended to meet Chang'e's companion or love interest, Hou Yi, the legendary hero, eventually does encounter him and forms strong unbreakable bonds with both Hou Yi and the lunar deities on the moon. It turns out that Hou Yi is still on earth. When he was banished, Hou Yi was given a task to bring food to his wife by shooting down nine suns on the ninth day, however the nine suns were eventually subdued by Hou Yi. In the end, as the journey concludes, Fei Fei returns back to her family and realizes the significance of her encounter with Hou Yi, which was never initially planned but is significant to the story of the moon goddess. In the finale, the moon goddess Chang'e sings again, this time for a younger audience, to tell her story to the children. Her story has a positive message about perseverance, following your dreams, and staying connected to the ones who inspire you.