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j a n • f e b • m a r c h 2 0 2 1 c g w 2 3 My-Makers Animated Print Over the Moon contains a variety of animation aesthetics, but one of the more surprising in this 3D film came from Director Glen Keane himself: a traditional 2D hand-drawn anima- tion sequence that depicts the story of Chang'e. It appears early in the film on an undulating silk scarf worn by Fei Fei's mother, as the camera position moves from the real world to the scarf and then resolves back into the real world. The purpose of the hand-anima- tion was to tell the story of Chang'e, her backstory, both quickly and in an engaging way, especially to those unfamiliar with this tale. "That was my fun. It was the very last shot approved," says Keane. As Clara Chan, a CG supervisor, notes, incorporating that 2D anima- tion onto a moving scarf animated in 3D presented some difficulty. "Glen did not want it to be a flat 2D anima- tion. He wanted it mapped onto the scarf," she explains. The challenge was to simulate the scarf so that it did not move too much as to distort the animation. "We had to strike a balance between being able to read the animation clearly but still feel that it is flowing on the scarf with a little wavy pattern to it," says Sebastian "Sacha" Kapijimpanga, head of char- acter animation. suming," adds Chan, especially with her many wardrobe changes. "It felt like we were dealing with five or six different characters," says Kapijimpan- ga about the way the goddess moved in the various outfits. "She has these long, trailing sleeves that drag behind her when she walks. How the weight and resistance of that fabric affects her movement needed to be considered. It can be limiting, but also in- teresting. There were also many proportional changes. Oen we were adjusting her body underneath to conform to the design of the outfit, rather than the other way around." New Tradis Over the Moon is a touching tale – one blended in past and present, tradition and modern – told through the creativity of a renowned traditional artist and a talented crew and team of 3D animators. "This was definitely a unique experience for many reasons: working with Glen Keane, a legendary animator, and Netflix, which is an emerging market making fantastic prod- ucts," says Smith. "Having the opportunity to put the artistry from Keane and Céline Desrumaux up on screen was amazing." Kapijimpanga recalls instances when the animators presented Keane with early Lunarian tests, Gobi in particular. "Glen would do a lot of [2D] drawing in our review soware. He'd take a few of the key poses as a starting point and then just straight- ahead animate in 2D. It was truly instinctive and amazing to watch," he says. At the time of the film's development, Netflix's newly formed animation division consisted of Keane, his son, Max, and Gennie Rim (producer). Since then, the animation division has swelled to approxi- mately 800 artists, as Netflix continues to make its mark on a growing new segment of the animation industry. Indeed, a new moon rising. Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW. Fashion designer Guo Pei craed couture for Chang'e. Artists used a tool called Sprout to generate the huge stadium crowd.