Mune: Guardian of the Moon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Mune: Guardian of the Moon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 22, 2017

Mune: Guardian of the Moon (the first word pronounced with a long "u" as in "immune") is a French animated film with aspirations of taking the colorful digital children's flick to a more thoughtful, creative, and purposeful realm beyond the repetitive humor and makeshift characters that infest many of the other midrange films on the marketplace. The filmmakers have cited Terry Gilliam as an inspiration, and the influence from more artistically inclined cinema, and the art world in general, is obvious. The film starkly contrasts light and dark, day and night, and various themes centered thereon against a standard animated adventure film cadence populated by cute creatures in which an innocent mistake propels the story and an evil presence grows eager to pounce on the advantage formed out of the resultant chaos. It's an interesting concept, the construct one that's both traditional within the animated realm and nontraditional in its more thoughtful construction beyond the standard, but the question is whether younger viewers will find the value beyond the cuteness and colors and if adults will be able to look past its banal, genre-standard actions and appreciate what's happening in the background.

It's time for one make-believe world to choose new guardians to guide the paths of the sun and the moon. On this world, the guardian of the sun regulates the seasons while the guardian of the moon regulates dreams. There's a fine-tuned, perfect balance harmony between day and night that must be maintained at all costs. it's a job in high demand but only the most skilled and qualified are considered. This time, there are two shoe-ins: Shone (voiced by Rob Lowe) as guardian of the sun and Leeyoon (voiced by Christian Slater) as guardian of the moon. Shone's selection goes as planned; the confident and egotistical guardian takes his rightful position, but Leeyoon is passed over in favor of a small, insignificant creature named Mune (voiced by Joshua J. Ballard). Mune is as surprised as anyone else, and Leeyoon is steaming. On his first night on the job, Mune mishandles his duties, resulting in the sun being stolen when Shone must come to Mune's aid. Now, the guardians must team together, along with a spunky astronomer named Glim (voiced by Nicole Provost), to retrieve the sun, all the while Leeyoon plots his revenge to take his rightful place as guardian of the moon.

Even as the film takes not necessarily cues but certainly inspiration from more avant-garde sources, Mune still manages to create an identity all its own, at least in certain areas. The film constantly wrestles with that fine line between expressing itself through a more unique visual structure and story while still catering to the genre's basic needs that younger fans demand, i.e. cute characters, funny dialogue, and family-safe action and adventure sequences. The film often succumbs to typical animated movie shenanigans, even as the tone is always a bit more serious than many of its peers. Yet the film can be praised for a number of other factors, including original character designs and its unique approach at looking at the world, or at least the world it creates. The film draws some interesting parallels and makes some subtle comments on a number of topics, always tucked neatly behind the visuals and the story and, yes, the more crude maneuverings necessary to please the younger audiences that are very demanding of a film of this sort, but not for the same demands that adults or the filmmakers would necessary place on the film.

Mune's characters aren't necessarily memorable, not for who they are, the skills they bring to the table, or the role they play in the film's core ebbs and flows. As a hero, Mune has that desirable innocence and charm working in his favor, that reluctance and emergence as an unlikely hero who essentially has to clean up his own mess, of course with the help of his friends and even, perhaps, those who initially take a more antagonistic view of his newfound position and inability to hold up his end of the bargain. The character reveals enough charm to satisfy, but as far as design, any memorable dialogue, or unforgettable actions go, there really aren't any. Glim is an interesting character, one who is prone to melting in the sun -- her mother "died" by staying out in the heat too long -- and who freezes at night until the morning light can thaw her from her rigid immobility. She's a nice counterbalance to Mune, more in-tune with the way the planet's light-dark cycle works and, together, they form an agreeable team. Otherwise, the characters don't stand apart as all that memorable. They all fit into the core narrative and dramatic and emotional flow well enough, but with the movie's priorities largely split between its world design and function and the core animated action-adventure templates it follows, there's not a lot of room left to build a truly unforgettable roster.

Mune: Guardian of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mune: Guardian of the Moon's 1080p transfer doesn't exactly light the format on fire, but it's a sturdy, capable image. Details are fine. The 1080p resolution proves more than capable of revealing broader landscape textures and intimate character characteristics with satisfying ease and complexity. Certainly much of what is seen or not seen is whatever the digital artists have or have not placed in the film, so smoother character textures, for example, probably don't have much more room to grow were there a greater resolution output option. But close-ups of the moon, various creatures, and, for instance, some of the nicknacks within the nooks and crannies around Gilm's house are appropriately dense and detailed. Colors don't leap off the screen with any striking or blinding intensity, but general saturation and depth are fine. Nuance is enjoyably capable on environments, elements, and characters as the image allows. Black levels and shadow detail, critical to the movie's nighttime sequences, offer no problems. The only eyesore of any note is sporadic but noticeable banding that appears along some skies. Otherwise, Universal's transfer is good-to-go.

Mune: Guardian of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mune: Guardian of the Moon features a capable and oftentimes involved and intense DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation offers regular surround implementation. Discrete effects pop in with frequency, and more maneuverable action is well imaged and flows effortlessly about the stage. Action scenes are frequently engaging with all sorts of energized activity that, thanks to this track's capabilities, is always matched with equally intense sonic accompaniment. The low end engages with positive depth and delivers a stage-saturating power. Environmental quirks are well defined and apt to appear anywhere around the listening area, creating a healthy, all-around immersive world. Dialogue is, of course, the main driver, and it delivers natural clarity, firm center positioning, and priority over competing elements as action intensifies.

Mune: Guardian of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mune: Guardian of the Moon contains a trio of extras. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• The Making of Mune (1080p, 42:15): An involved piece, constructed around a series of in-depth interviews, that looks at the original short-film concept, inspirations, the freedom in making the movie, characters, plot, themes, design, conceptual artwork, digital construction, music, and much more. In French with English subtitles.
• The Art of Mune (1080p, 2:47): A quick, auto-advancing image gallery.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 0:43).

Mune: Guardian of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mune: Guardian of the Moon strives to bring a different tonal flavor to the traditional animated film. It succeeds, in parts and in spurts, with an interesting design and a unique world that's somewhat offset but fairly standard, off-the-shelf animated action/adventure components and good, but certainly not memorable, characters. The film should please, but not excite, any and all comers, regardless of expectation. Universal's Blu-ray does deliver good video, better audio, and a trio of supplements headlined by an in-depth making-of that's largely constructed of filmmaker interviews. Worth a look.