We continue our series of reviews chronicling all of the (non-Studio Ghibli) animated films distributed by GKIDS Films — some of the most original and breathtakingly beautiful animated films from around the world — and how they hold up for a young American audience.

The entire retrospective is found here, and this time we’ve got…

Mune: Guardian of the Moon (2015):
Alexandre Heboyan & Benoît Philippon, directors

What’s it about?

According to legend, the first Guardian of the Sun harpooned the sun to bring light and warmth to the planet. Then the Guardian of the Moon lured in the moon to provide a balance and supply the world with dreams. Ever since, there have been two guardians, each protecting their own celestial body – and (literally) guiding it around the planet to give its inhabitants light, darkness, inspiration, and dreams.

At a ceremony to appoint two new guardians, tiny inconspicuous (except for his exceptionally large ears) forest creature Mune (pronounced with a long u, as in huge – rather than tune) somehow bumbles his way into getting named the new Guardian of the Moon. Mune and the new Guardian of the Sun – Sohone – then set out on their massive chariots to pull the sun and moon around the planet… but they both promptly lose control of both.

Meanwhile, the ruler of the underworld sees the new, somewhat inept guardians as a golden opportunity to reclaim the sun and the power he sees as being stole from him. Thus, the race to recapture the sun and moon begins. Mune and Sohone, though naturally at odds with each other, must work together… along with a young girl named Glim who longs for adventure.

Oh, and Glim is made of wax and lives in the shadows because she’ll melt in the sunlight and freeze solid in the coolness of the night. (She basically spends the whole movie freezing and unfreezing at inopportune times.)

What are the cultures at play? And how about the languages?

This is a French film, but it’s based in a fantasy world that bears no similarities to our own. Therefore, there’s no “real” cultural barrier to overcome. The film was originally in French, but there’s an English dub that’s surprisingly well done. Featuring Patton Oswalt, Rob Lowe, Christian Slater, and Ed Helms, this is one of the few GKIDS films where I might actually recommend watching the English version over the original.

Will my kids like it? Is there anything objectionable for young kids?

Yeah, most kids will probably like it. It’s a fairly paint-by-numbers script about the power of friendship and cooperation and about not judging a book by its cover, which are all decent – and important – lessons for kids. The world and its inhabitants are also incredibly unique, so it’s not something kids will have “seen” before. They’ll probably be naturally attracted to Mune, who just looks cute (and recalls Despereaux with those ears). I will say that the only female character is kind of useless, even though I think the filmmakers meant her to be inspiring. So your mileage may vary.

There’s nothing objectionable in the film, except for some relatively minor scares by the villain. It’s suitable for almost all ages.

Will I like it?

Meh. The story is fairly predictable and formulaic, and the target audience certainly skews younger than many GKIDS films. Don’t get me wrong, the animation is beautiful and the character designs are impressively unique, but it’s really just window dressing. There’s nothing aggressively bad about Mune that I’d recommend avoiding it; it’s just firmly middle-of-the-road. And since it’s grouped together with the rest of the GKIDS catalog – where there’s just so many phenomenal films – it makes it hard to recommend bumping this one to the top of the list.

How can I see it?

GKIDS and Universal released a Blu-ray edition of the film with a few special features. Included is both the French and English audio tracks, a making-of featurette, a focus on the art, and the U.S. trailer. The film is also available digitally from most retailers and is currently on Netflix (both language versions).

Final word?

Come for the unique character designs and animation style, but don’t expect anything life-changing or groundbreaking.