Written by: Jerome Fansten, Benoit Philippon.
Directed by: Alexandre Heboyan, Benoit Philippon.
Starring: Joshua Ballard, Trevor Duvall, Michael Dobson.
Run Time: 86 Mins.
Plot
In a resourceful parallel universe, where the sun and moon are controlled by beings of the planet, a bewildering choice in the form of a faun is named as the new guardian of the moon. An accident puts the sun and moon at risk.
Along with the guardian of the sun and a girl from the wax world, they set out to retrieve the sun, and put the moon back in its rightful place.
The movie
The world is a whimsical one where the sun and moon are taken care of by guardians who pass on the mantle every 350 years through a ritual. The sun’s responsibility has been handed to the hunky Sohone (Trevor Duvall), who has a brash Johnny Bravo-esque demeanour and thrives on the approval of ‘the ladies’. The moon was promised to Leeyoon (Michael Dobson), a conniving presence who has been waiting his entire life for this moment. Unfortunately for him and the people of the night, a mischievous dreamer named Mune (Joshua Ballard) is chosen as the guardian of the moon.
Lying deep in the underworld in a pool of lava is the evil Necros (Davey Grant), who has been secretly plotting to gain control of the sun. An oversight puts the sun and moon in danger and Sohone and Mune, with a wax girl’s help need to set balance back in space.
Guardians of the mo..vie
Together, Benoit Philippon and Alexandre Heboyan created a pensive, colorful world which was very easy on the eye and left you wishing more of it was on display. However, what the imagery managed to achieve, the script and storyline couldn’t. They were let down by inconsistent animation.
The CGI is confusing and inconsistent, because it would leave you awestruck in one scene and suddenly transform to below average in the next. It does, however, manage to display the equilibrium between the worlds of night and day effectively.
The use of 2D animation to depict the world of dreams and differentiate it from reality is outstandingly done. A special mention to Nicolas Marlet of Kung Fu Panda fame for the exquisite character design. That being said, they might have been too inspired by the Kung Fu Panda script. A lot of cliche and ‘cool-sounding’ conversations left the characters feeling vacant at times.
Oh, and 30 seconds to Mars provides a gratifying theme song.
The ‘Dream’ Team
The film was made in both French and English, with the French casting done much more tastefully than the English one. Although not much can be said about the performance of the French cast, their powerful names are matched by stellar performances by the English cast.
Joshua Ballard (White Noise 2: The Light, Pants on Fire) pleasantly surprises as Mune, whereas Trevor Duvall (Rocket Racoon in the Guardians of The Galaxy TV series) equals that brilliance as the arrogant Sohone. Michael Dobson (Dragon Ball Z) deserves a mention for a solid performance reminiscent of Scar from The Lion King.
All in all:
The end credits are somewhat a delight to note the end of a pretty stale plot. It is a movie with great characters who just weren’t vindicated by the story.
The movie is so feel-good that you end up feeling bad.
On the flipside, children will find the movie entertaining due to the vibrant nature and the ease with which they can connect to the characters. The makers of the movie have done a good job in creating a harmonious balance between the two worlds, making it a soothing experience for the age bracket of 5-12 years.
Watch it if you’re: In the mood to entertain some young souls around you, or share your mental age with some of them.