Over the Moon in Love

Over the Moon is a 2020 animated musical fantasy comedy film directed by Glen Keane and co-directed by John Kahrs, from a screenplay by Audrey Wells. The film was produced by Pearl Studio and Netflix Animation, and animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks. It stars the voices of Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Margaret Cho, and Sandra Oh. The plot follows an adventurous girl named Fei Fei, who builds a rocket ship to meet the mythical goddess on the Moon Chang'e. Janet Yang, a film producer, conceptualized Over the Moon's story as a modern retelling of the Chang'e myth, on which Wells based the screenplay; after Wells' death in 2018, additional screenplay material was provided by Alice Wu and Jennifer Yee McDevitt. Keane, a veteran animator from Walt Disney Animation Studios, marked his feature directorial debut with Over the Moon, and took a research trip to Shanghai in order to accurately depict Chinese culture for the film. Although initially written as a non-musical, Keane thought of using music to advance the film's story, for which he hired three Broadway musical composers to write Over the Moon's original songs, and midway through production, Keane's former Disney collaborator John Kahrs was recruited as co-director. Staunchly dedicated to the film's production, Keane later stated that "I've never worked on a film that I'm more proud of". Over the Moon was first shown at the Montclair Film Festival on October 17, 2020, followed by its release on Netflix and in select theaters on October 23. The film earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature Film, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards. It is the final film Wells worked on before her death and was dedicated to her memory.