The Moon Man (2012)

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Movie
Original title The moon man
Country of production Germany
France
original language German
Publishing year 2012
length 95 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
JMK 0
Rod
Director Stephan Schesch
script Stephan Schesch,
Ralph Martin
production Stephan Schesch
music Jun Miyake ,
Louis Armstrong
cut Sarah Clara Weber
occupation

The Moon Man is an animated film from 2012 that was made in a German-French co-production. Stephan Schesch , who directed the film, also produced the fairytale film and wrote the screenplay together with Ralph Martin in close collaboration with Tomi Ungerer , the author of the picture book of the same name, which was published for the first time by Diogenes Verlag in 1966 . The title role of the moon man is spoken by Katharina Thalbach , that of the power-hungry president by Ulrich Tukur . Tomi Ungerer also works as a narrator.

action

The moon man has lived alone on the moon and contemplates the earth for ages. When one day this gets boring for him, he clings to the tail of a flying comet and lands with it on earth. First of all there is a lot of new and beautiful things to discover for him.

Then, however, he must experience that there is a power-hungry president on earth who has already conquered the entire world. He considers the moon man to be a dangerous intruder that he wants to catch. He also made the plan to fly to the moon himself in order to conquer it and also rule there, with which he wants to reach for the stars, so to speak. When the moon man finds out about it, he says contrite, but he is the moon man. In order to achieve his goal, the president instructs the inventor Bunsen van der Dunkel to build a moon rocket. At first, the professor feels flattered to receive an assignment from such a powerful man, but that should change permanently.

When Van der Dunkel met the moon man and became friends with him after a short time, he realized where his help was really needed. Together they build the rocket, which is now supposed to serve a different purpose than its original purpose. When the president finally manages to catch the moon man, his new friend stands by with whose help he manages to escape at the last moment, so to speak. With the completed rocket he travels back to where he is sorely missed by the children - to the moon. Now all children on earth who barely managed to fall asleep can do just that again. And the moon man is also happy that he is allowed to pursue his destiny in the sky and shine for the children.

production

Production notes, publication

The film was produced by Schesch Filmkreation GmbH & Co. KG (Munich / Berlin), co-produced by Le Pacte (Paris) and Cartoon Saloon (Kilkenny). He received funding from the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (Munich), the Franco- German Funding Commission , Eurimages , the FFA (Berlin), Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media - Film Funding - (Berlin), the German Film Funding Fund (DFFF) (Berlin), from the Stiftung Kuratorium Junge deutscher Film (Wiesbaden), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH (Potsdam), Irish Film Board (Dublin), Center national du cinéma et de l'image animée (Paris) and the EU Media Program (Brussels ) Those responsible had an estimated budget of 10,000,000 euros.

As a producer, Stephan Schesch was already responsible for Tomi Ungerer's story of the three robbers , which was filmed in 2007. Katharina Thalbach lent her voice to the evil aunt at the time.

The film celebrated its world premiere on June 8, 2012 at the Animations Festival in Annecy in France, and its German premiere on June 28, 2012 at the Five Lakes Film Festival in the Fünfseenland region in the Starnberg district, southwest of Munich. It was first shown in French cinemas on December 19, 2012 and in German cinemas on March 14, 2013.

It was also presented at numerous festivals:

  • July 6, 2012 in France at the Festival International du Film de la Rochelle
  • September 2, 2012 in Iceland at the Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF)
  • October 19, 2012 in Poland at the Warsaw International Film Festival
  • November 18, 2012 in France at the Arras Film Festival
  • January 20, 2013 in Sweden at the Gothenburg Lilla Film Festival
  • January 27, 2013 in Sweden at the Gothenburg International Film Festival
  • February 28, 2013 in Luxembourg at the Luxembourg City Film Festival
  • March 12, 2013 in Sweden at the BUFF film festival
  • April 13, 2013 in Argentina at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
  • May 23, 2013 in the USA at the Seattle International Film Festival
  • October 14, 2013 in Serbia at the Kids Fest, Deciji Festival
  • October 18, 2013 in the USA at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
  • October 9, 2014 in Israel at the Haifa Film Festival
  • November 15, 2014 in Spain at the El Meu Primer Festival Barcelona
  • September 13, 2015 in Kurdistan / Iraq at the Dohuk International Film Festival

The film was also released in March 2013 in the Netherlands, October 2013 in Belgium, December 2013 in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and in Brazil, Hungary and Slovenia. The international title is: Moon Man .

On September 20, 2014, Indigo released the film on DVD and Blu-ray.

Music in the film

The film features the song Moon River , sung by Louis Armstrong , and the folk tune The moon has risen . Furthermore, individual scenes are accompanied by Jun Miyake's ambient jazz and Iron Butterfly's rock title In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida .

reception

criticism

In the reason given by FBW when it received the rating “Particularly valuable”, it said, among other things: “An enchanting and supernatural animation pleasure for the whole family” and further: “The coherent and mutually contrasting drawing of the figures, rooms and Millieus, the interweaving of different narrative and creative elements or the fantastic synchronized voices, for example by Katharina Thalbach, Ulrich Tukur or Ulrich Noethen, including the narrative voice contributed by Tomi Ungerer himself. "

Birgit Roschy wrote in Zeit Online , the “slightly somnambulistic atmosphere” of the cartoon “kidnaps the viewer into nocturnal nirvana” and praised: “The cartoon adventure, hand-drawn in 2-D on computer monitors, is literally beautiful. The animators simulate Ungerer's clearly contoured drawings and rich colors, albeit with a more rounded line. The enchanted nocturnal paradises are especially enchanting. ”Roschy also praised the soundtrack, which was“ great and unconventional ”and from“ Ambient jazz to the folk song The moon has risen and Louis Armstrong's wistful Moon River to Iron Butterfly's pounding In-A-Gadda -Da-Vida rich ”. In contrast to other reviews, she rated negatively that Katharina Thalbach's “typically croaking and rattling voice that can wake the dead” does not fit “with a diaphanous creature” like the moon man. Furthermore, "the need to stretch the book to the length of a feature film" was criticized, which would create "further discordant tones".

Sophie Charlotte Rieger judged the film for kino-zeit.de and said that “at first glance”, Der Mondmann “doesn't look like a children's film at all. The colors [are] rather gloomy, the figures sometimes appear abstract, ”and gave examples. Then again, Der Mondmann is “entirely a children's film with a clear educational message of the value of friendship”. Rieger continued: “The impossibility of locating the plot in our imagination of place and time gives the concept something fairytale-like and a special charm. The voice actors also contribute to this charm. ”In contrast to Roschy's statement, however, Rieger was of the opinion that it was“ primarily the voice of Katharina Thalbach ”that gave the moon man credibility and also a special joke.

Alexandra Seitz watched the film for kinofenster.de , where it is listed as Film of the Month , and wrote that it was “about the specific movements of the various characters from place to place, but also about the inner changes that these characters cause To gain knowledge about oneself and the world and their place in it ”. She continued: “It always becomes wonderfully colorful, magical-lyrical, round and gentle when the moon man can be seen on his journey of discovery through the world.” Seitz drew comparisons to the effect that one “almost looked into Henri's paintings Rousseau ”or be reminded of “ the weightless [] world of the Italian Pittura Metafisica at the beginning of the 20th century ”or of the“ universal genius Leonardo da Vinci ”. In contrast, “the president's world is angular, angular, rugged and black, red, and blue monochrome”. In conclusion, it said: “These diverse references that Der Mondmann makes between art forms and across time testify to the great importance that the pale celestial body has for humanity. They remind the adults of its enchanting quality - and for the children they open up a room full of amusing miracles. "

Petra Wille wrote the review for the Filmstarts editorial team and was of the opinion that "'Der Mondmann' by Stephan Schesch [is] a colorful animated film for children that makes the book of the same name by Tomi Ungerer poetic and touching". She also praised the “consistently very well cast speakers”, among which “Katharina Thalbach in particular” stood out. The “very appropriately used music” was also praised. Conclusion: [...] “'The Moon Man' is an adventure that takes place almost exclusively at night, is very poetic and staged with a great sense of atmosphere. The implementation of the book is impressive because of the harmonious combination of figure drawing, color and narration. "

Also Kino.de was full of praise for the film and said that "the genius Tomi Ungerer" had "found in Stefan Schesch in terms of animation and tone the perfect voice when it comes to adapting go [e], his work for the screen ". It went on to say: “What may seem childlike at first glance is in reality a philosophical treatise on life in general ('alone you are faster, but you can go further together') and values ​​such as friendship and trust, packed in beautiful pictures in particular ('The heart is where you feel me as a friend') ... ”Here, too, the“ perfect support ”of the film was emphasized with the appropriate music, which also included the voices of“ great German actors ”who Would give "their characters depth, conciseness and credibility", "above all Katharina Thalbach, who practically teaches her moon man to speak". All of this makes "this intelligent, unconventional and wonderfully playful (children) film ultimately an extraordinarily great pleasure for almost all age groups".

The lexicon of international films certified Tomi Ungerer that his picture book classic is a “children's film fable, animated with great attention to detail, about the lovable, equally unsuspecting and unsuspecting moon man”, “who leaves his satellite out of boredom and becomes a plaything on earth power-hungry president ". The focus is on “the hesitant budding, then increasingly inviolable friendship of the moon man with an old inventor. In particular, the parallel story of a girl who drives through the summer night in a car with her father characterizes the film as a pleasant, lazy, poetic, spooky 'night-day dream' with an accomplished sound and music design ”.

Awards (selection)

  • 2012: Award of the FBW title "Particularly valuable"
  • German Children's Media Festival Goldener Spatz 2013 , Award in the category "Animation"
  • At the end of 2013, Stephan Schesch received the “Teacher's Award for best full-length film for children” from a teacher jury at the “Alekino” children's film festival in Poznań, Poland.
  • The actress Katharina Thalbach was nominated for the award in 2013 for her linguistic performance as the voice of the moon man at the Stuttgart Animated Film Festival in the category “German animation speaker award”.

French version

In the French version with the title Jean de la Lune , the following actors lent their voices to the characters, whereby it should be said of Katharina Thalbach that “no similar dubbing voice was found” in France, so the actress “rehearsed the French sentences [] to keep the character of the figure ”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Der Mondmann . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , January 2013 (PDF; test number: 133 124-a K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for Der Mondmann . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ a b The moon man visits the earth on March 14, 2013 adS zoommedienfabrik.de. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  4. ↑ The moon man, sh. Film funding adS. In: filmportal.de . German Film Institute , accessed on August 31, 2017 .
  5. ↑ The moon man adS goodmovies.de
  6. ^ The Mondmann jury statement adS fbw-filmbeval.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  7. ↑ Birgit Roschy: Film "Der Mondmann" - Fly Home In: Zeit Online , March 11, 2013. Accessed August 30, 2017.
  8. ^ Sophie Charlotte Rieger: Der Mondmann - A children's film (also) for adults adS kino-zeit.de. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  9. ↑ Alexandra Seitz: Film of the month: Der Mondmann adS kinofenster.de. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  10. ↑ Petra Wille: The moon man at filmstarts.de. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  11. ^ The moon man at kino.de. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ The moon man. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 30, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  13. ↑ criticism Man on the Moon adS epd-film.de. Accessed on August 30, 2017. (Additional information: There it is stated: "Without her (meaning Katharina Thalbach) the moon man would only be half as engaging.")