Mune: The Guardian of the Moon Review

Mune

THE GUARDIAN OF THE MOON

Blurb

NOTE: I've combined a few synopsis together to give you a better idea of the story-line.

​When an evil magma demon and his minions steals the sun of a magical world, the new guardians of both the sun and the moon must embark on a quest to retrieve it and save their world from disaster as the moon faces destruction as well.

As legend has it, the first Guardian of the Sun threw a harpoon into the cosmos and roped the sun to bring light and warmth to all of humanity. Then the Guardian of the Moon lured the moon to the Land of Darkness to provide a balance to the sun and supply the world with dreams.

At a momentous ceremony to appoint the two new guardians, the heir apparent is passed over, and the title Guardian of the Moon is bestowed on the waif-like Mune, a small and frightened forest faun who seems wholly unprepared to take on such a weighty responsibility.

This news excites Necross, the nefarious ruler of the Underworld, a corrupted ex-guardian who decides to take advantage of Mune's weakness and steal back the sun for himself. Now it is up to unlikely hero Mune and his friend Glim - a headstrong young girl with wax for skin - to save the sun and restore order to the world.

Main Characters

MUNE

Loveable misfit.
​
In a description, Mune is described as a fawn. I personally, don't see it. I also prefer to see these animorphs as unique and not comparable to animals on earth.

But Mune is special in that he can curb dreams into whatever form he wants. He can change nightmares to pleasant sleep and even has the power to calm things when awake. He is in essence the moon itself.

---

GLIM

The girl made of wax.

Glim is basically, a candle. She believes in magic and the stars, the moon and the forest. 

While she has a sweet side, she's determined to help when the moon is in need.

She's also mischievous and cunning in getting what she wants. Good thing she's on Mune's side or else she'd be a formidable opponent. 

However her sacrifice for the greater good of her world places her firmly in the heroine category. 

---

SOHONE

Representing a lion which is very appropriate since he's the guardian of the sun.

Typical jock attitude. He trains every day in the event that the sun ever snaps the harpoons and gets away from the traveling temple that carries the sun around the world. 

While good at being admired, he has a hard time seeing Mune as an acceptable counterpart especially when things with the Temple of the Moon go awry. 

---

Supporting Characters

Glim's Father

Perpetually worried that Glim will melt, her father follows her into the sun after she sneaks away to watch the Moon/Sun guardian exchange.  

​Definitely a helicopter parent. 

Leeyoon

The original understudy of the Moon guardian. Leeyoon expected to supersede his predecessor. The "lamb" that chooses the guardian had other ideas. 

Leeyoon is reasonably upset that he studied hard, dedicated himself to becoming the guardian then right as he was about to achieve his goal, it was snatched away at the last moment.

Phospho

*SPOILER ALERT*

Phospho was the original guardian of the moon until he was shamefully abdicated. 

He guides our heroes and heroine to Necross, the evil dude who wants to steal the sun. 

Temple of the Moon

To explain this guy you have to know that the temples are moving creatures controlled by the guardians but independently stay on course.

The temples are fascinating creatures that add to the lore of the world. The moon and sun are "chained" to these huge walking temples thus each satellite is pulled around the world in a methodical pace. 

The two temples hardly ever meet. But when they do, the effect is a division between light and darkness.

---

---

Antagonist

Necross

The first ever Guardian of the Sun turned bad. Corrupted by eels and twisted into a vengeful exile, Necross seeks to gain the sun because some people just want to watch the whole world burn. 

Antagonist Minions

Pain and Angst

Or depression and anxiety─I'm not sure. One wants to serve Necross because... pain. The other goes on like an evil Eeyore. Comic relief that doesn't work for me.

---

Review

Mune was a film that took me a good fifteen minutes to adjust to the animation. The story was one either made up or that I'm not familiar with but I loved the concept. The creativity within this project needs a huge applause. 

The voices were perfect. I enjoyed each and every scene. I can't say enough about the imagination that went into this story. While it took me a while to realize Mune was a faun, I noticed the resemblance Sohone had to a lion straight away. Temples pulling the sun and moon were a new and fascinating concept for me. 

What threw me off further was the inanimate objects being sentient such as Glimer (Glim), who was made of candle wax, but she seemed to be the oddball. Most other creatures were representatives of real animals. But they were drawn more like people. 

Drawing animals as people is tight.

Each new scene brought with it a whimsical, fantastical world I will enjoy again and again. It felt new while also being the typical hero's journey. I fell into the world, the characters and the second time around I might be able to see more than just wondering what Glim was supposed to be. It took me a bit of watching until I finally "got" that she was a candle despite the obvious implications at the beginning of the movie. It was both a ahhh... duh... moment. Thankfully the awesome overshadowed my perplexity. 

In the end it gave a happy ending kiss that didn't seem all that necessary but sweet. After searching the internet for images, I know fujoshi fan's went in their own direction despite the implication of Glim and Mune coming together at the end. (No pun inteded)  :) Boys love forever! Sohone ♥ Mune.

I would like to add that the voices for the characters were superbly done. This feature was a surprise for me and I really enjoyed the story line. Unique. Bold. Refreshing. Something you won't find elsewhere. If you get the chance, and you like animation, this is a must see for at least the world development ideas it presents.  

---

I Would Recommend to Fans of:

Mythology
(even though it has myths unto itself and not related to any culture that I can tell)

Animation

Animorph Stories

Unique Worlds

To see more reviews, click on "Review" under Categories in the side bar.