SLIFF 2017 Review – MUNE: GUARDIAN OF THE MOON

MUNE: GUARDIAN OF THE MOON screens Saturday, Nov. 11 at 11:00am at The Missouri History Museum (5700 Lindell Boulevard) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. This is a FREE screening. 

As legend has it, the first Guardian of the Sun threw a harpoon into the cosmos and roped the sun to bring light and warmth to all of humanity. Then the Guardian of the Moon lured the moon to the Land of Darkness to provide a balance to the sun and supply the world with dreams. At a momentous ceremony to appoint the two new guardians, an accident seems to occur: The heir apparent is passed over, and the title Guardian of the Moon is bestowed on the waif-like Mune, a small and frightened forest faun who seems wholly unprepared to take on such a weighty responsibility. This news excites Necross, the nefarious ruler of the Underworld, a corrupted ex-guardian who decides to take advantage of Mune’s weakness and steal back the sun for himself. Now it is up to unlikely hero Mune and his friend Glim — a headstrong young girl with wax for skin — to save the sun and restore order to the world. A breathtaking new adventure from the producers of “The Little Prince,” “Mune” features a star-studded voice cast that includes Patton Oswalt, Rob Lowe, Christian Slater, and Ed Helms.

Review of MUNE: GUARDIAN OF THE MOON by Cary Paller:

MUNE: GUARDIAN OF THE MOON is the story of  an unlikely hero coming of age to save the world.  The hardest part about almost every studio that makes an animated feature, outside of Walt Disney Studios, has to deal with is the story.  Almost all the of them lack in that area.  Most come off and feel like B movie level material instead of pushing the story to something feels original and has depth.  Mune, kind of falls in the middle of it all.  The Animation switched from good computer CGI to rough edgy hand drawn looking style. Which gave the film an interesting feel to it.  The style kept changing as part of the plot at the just right moments when the story seemed to lack.  Now for the story, it really was the weak link.  The characters all seemed to be carbon copies of all the great Walt Disney characters.  I cannot say it made the film bad, but it kept the film from becoming any better than a direct-to-video Walt Disney spin off.  It is really a shame that so many production companies spend so much time on the Animation and so little time making sure the screen better than average.  For all the flaws in the film it still will be an enjoyable experience for the younger crowd.  There are so many sequences  filled with great visuals and some fun, silly dialog along with the usual banter between the hero’s and villain’s.  I am glad I saw it.  It is very hard work making  an animated feature.  Go see the film, support the filmmakers and enjoy the final product in the theater where it should be seen.