Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
When a faun named Mune becomes the Guardian of the Moon, little did he had unprepared experience with the Moon and an accident that could put both the Moon and the Sun in danger, including a corrupt titan named Necross who wants the Sun for himself and placing the balance of night and day in great peril. Now with the help of a wax-child named Glim and the warrior, Sohone who also became the Sun Guardian, they go out on an exciting journey to get the Sun back and restore the Moon to their rightful place in the sky.
Mune: Guardian of the Moon is a visually stunning French animated film that punches well above its weight in terms of imagination and world-building. The film's greatest strengths lie in its extraordinarily original visual design — the dreamlike moonworld, the wax-child Glim's glowing aesthetic, and the surreal nightmare sequences are genuinely breathtaking and wholly distinctive, earning a top mark for cinematography. Its mythological premise and the peculiar cosmology it constructs feel refreshingly singular in the animation landscape, justifying high novelty. The plot, while charming, follows a fairly conventional 'unlikely hero saves the world' arc with predictable beats, and the ending resolves things tidily but without real surprise. Voice acting and character work are serviceable and warm but not exceptional. Overall a hidden gem that deserves more recognition for its artistry.