Review of Moon Man (2012) by Matt M — 21 Nov 2013

Based on a 1966 children's book by Tomi Ungerer, this is the story of a man living on the moon who pops down to Earth out of boredom to explore its wonderful creatures. However, his peaceful permanence turns sour after he clashes with the president of Earth who, having conquered his whole planet, has now set his eye on the moon.

Ungerer himself wrote the screenplay and supervised the project, so it's no wonder that the animation if absolutely stunning down to its very imaginative details. It must be said that, while the film looks stunning and is undoubtedly charming as well as funny, its story's unhurried pace and the moon man's avoidance of action or adventure makes it a little dull.

On top of that, the baddies are never so credible as evil characters even for a children's film. Nevertheless, it's equally true that with its more mature references and original brand of animation techniques it does make an effort to not alienate its mature audience - though Moon Man certainly works better with a much younger audience as a modern day fairytale.