The Chinese Cultural Details in Netflix's Over the Moon 

Every time someone tells me they're Chinese diaspora and my content helps them get more connected with their culture my chilly lil heart grows one size

This movie screenplay was written by a woman with cancer that died before the movie came out. She wrote it for her husband and daughter to cope with her passing. I cried when I saw the dedication message

Xiran Jay Zhao: I'm starting my youtube career Kokochin: *our* youtube career

Can we appreciate the fact this all started because of Mulan 2020?

"And since this is a kid's movie, it starts decimating your emotions right at the 6 minute mark." TOO. ACCURATE.

When I heard the screenwriter had cancer and wrote this movie for her daughter and husband I almost cried. Especially when she died while they were starting production.

"My first girlfriend turned into the moon" "That's rough buddy"

Fun fact: Chang'e's outfits were designed by Guo Pei one of the most iconic chinese fashion designers of the last decade

"If you lived thousands of years ago, and you had a lot of children, you’re going to have so many descendants" Descendant of Henry VIII, can relate.

"GAY MOON LIONS" This is our new queen.

Xiran: *tries to formally talk about a movie* Their Cat: *cha cha real smooth*

“Oh yeah. She was YOUR girl until she saw my three-tiered stationary case “ I replayed that five times.

10:46 “Chinese family titles are very specific, you know exactly how you’re related and on which side of the family” As a Hispanic, if we meet someone and hit it off they are automatically a ‘cousin’ half of our family members aren’t related 😂

"Her mom gets like, KDrama style signs of terminal illness" NOOOOOOO YOU DID NOT JUST 😂😂😂😂😂

“Anything you can do there’s a 12yr Asian child who can do it better” Newton’s 4th law (Edit: errors)

The fact that this channel exists, and just kinda happened because you got so angry at the live action Mulan, makes me extremely happy.

The Ten Sons: What are you going to do about it? Hou Yi: I'm about to do what's called a pro gamer move.

I feel like gay lions are becoming a pattern on this channel. I wonder how many more gay lions we'll encounter the more Chinese inspired media she analyzes.

"Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to be an East Asian vegan?" *Stares mournfully at Polish cuisine; 99% meat, dairy, and potatoes* "I can probably empathize..."

"Thoughts of you are so difficult to bear, I wish I could be with you." Aside from the obvious romantic sentiment, I feel like this also very much applies in the context of grief and missing a departed loved one. Too real.

I'm adopted from China, I often times get told that I can't claim to be, "actually Chinese," since I wasn't raised chinese. Therefore, I've gotten told a lot that I'm not Chinese enough. Your videos help me a lot in learning about Chinese culture, and they help me feel more in touch with my racial identity. Thank you!!!

This movie is like Coco cause they both are impressively accurate, talk about grief, and have good songs

Here's a fun fact for you, the dog they have as Tiangou is the Chow-Chow, aka big puffy lion dog. People believed the chow-chow got it's purple tongue from licking a fallen star, so it seems appropriate it was chosen to be a space dog.

I love films like this and Book of Life, where you can tell it's someone having fun with stories they grew up on, and they're excited to celebrate their identity. Whereas the best-case scenario for white-people-retellings have more of a book report vibe, where they carefully display everything they've learned while researching the setting. (These can be good too Coco was fun please don't @ me.) There's such a tangible difference in storytelling and I just think that's neat.

The jade pendant implies that the stepmother was right about being Houyi's descendant, right? Since she's the one who gave Fefe the moon cake where it was hidden?

This person has taught me more about Chinese history and culture than 17 years of American schooling ever did

"The gay lions" Im dying 😭

I’m from India but was raised in America and our cultures are very similar. The whole aunties thing, like, we have SUPER specific names for our family members and weddings last for a month.

"Anything you can do, a 12 year old Asian child can do better" Me, living in ROK: *nods emphatically*

I saw a comment somewhere about this movie saying “There aren’t high tech trains in China, why are you praising them?” and I wheezed. The Ignorance in that one sentence is mind blowing.

“He was either a literal god or a feral child” is the most important thing I’ve ever heard

Xiran Jay Zhao: "So if you have a name like Wang Yibo (...) or Xiao Zhan" Me: Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well

Beauty, historical education and quirky humor. THIS WOMAN IS PERFECT

In Nigeria where we import a lot of Chinese things Stationary cases were primary school status symbols. This one guy had a four tiered case with built in sharpeners, retractable ruler and tape measures. Obviously he ran things in that 3rd grade class.

chinese people: i must specify down to the exact degree how this person is related to me desi people: everyone my age is a cousin and everyone older is an auntie

Finally watched this movie and in love with the fact that Chang E is miserable and sad until a small child starts also getting miserable and sad and is immediately "Aw fuck wait no"

"Do you guys have any idea how hard it is being East Asian and vegan?" Monks: "Such is the path to nirvana."

Yess, the Queen is back!

I remember seeing a quick documentary about how movie's creators get to one village to help them getting it right, and how a grandma heberged them and making them shit ton of traditionnal food.

Shout out to your cat just vibing in the background

Kind of neat how at 7:26 you say that in China, white is no longer the color of mourning. That it's more of an ancient thing now. But at the end, we see Chang'e wearing white when she mourns her loss of Houyi, because no matter how modern she seems to be, she's from ancient times in her core. That's a nice touch. Idk, I might be reading too much into it lol. Also Kokochin is the most adorable kitty ever.

Seeing your eyes light up with Chang'e and seeing yourself as her is why representation is important asf

It would be a delight to listen to your telling of various Chinese sun and moon legends. You have an interesting style of storytelling and your occasional tangents are always interesting.

"A lot of their stuff is named after mythological concepts." Meanwhile, the planets in our solar system were named after Roman gods and godesses.

I'm so glad the Disney live action Mulan was so bad that it forced you to create a channel because your content is everything I need

i just love how your intro style is "have you ever [stuff] thats me, that happened to me"

I love that you give backgrounds of the characters and story. If I was a huge Netflix producer I would make a Netflix show called " The Legends and The Myths" where it's people using art, animation, dance etc to tell stories of their culture and folktales.

I'm the whitest of white people and admittedly know nothing about Chinese culture, but your videos have made me so interested in it. You're such a great presenter! Thanks so much for being so entertaining and educational, and give Kokochin some scritches for me!

Just casually dropping MDZS actor references - sure, no biggie.

"it is not a chinese festival dinner without some crabs getting steamed alive in a pot" me, black latine from brazil's northeast: OH MY GOD, SAME

Aside from how much I always enjoy these videos and how much I learn from them... I don't know why hearing Wang Yibo' and ZhanGe's names here took me completely by surprise lmao. It SHOULDN'T, but it did. It's like some weird fandom crossover I wasn't expecting LOL

have you ever followed a youtuber that always made you stay up past 2am? why is your upload schedule always like this??

"I've had so many people tell me that she looks like a 3D cartoon me" I was thinking that throughout the entire movie!

Am I the only one who doesn’t care much about the movies she’s reviewed but is here Instead for her quirky attitude and the knowledge she presents in a very easy to understand and fun way? No, no I’m not. But god damn it’s true. This is quality content.

Watched this movie because of this video, because I hadn't known it existed before. I wasn't prepared at all for it to be about grief for a lost mother, dad remarrying, and everything that goes with it. My mom died almost 20 years ago, and I still cried like a baby and had a hard time finishing it. What an incredible gift for a parent to give to her kids. Thank you for pointing me towards it.

The “Chinese teachers are so nosy that they will make you change your hair” is definitely true. Idk if this is completely accurate but when my mom was in middle school her hair was to long and the teacher just cut it at school. Or it’s just some other story I heard somewhere else. But the teacher definitely told her to cut her hair.

Fun fact: Phillipa Soo, voice of Chang'e, doesn't speak chinese. But i feel like her pronunciation was spot on for the few chinese lines she sang. Only another reason to love her more.

dude chang ge in over the moon is literally the most underrated icon and I still don't know why there aren't as many compilations of her on youtube yet

Getting to learn about chinese culture: good Getting to learn about chinese culture from a charismatic chinese woman with a lovely voice: great Said woman has IMPECCABLE taste in clothes, hair, and makeup: excellent The OUTFIT SWITCH this episode: IMMACULATE

"So he shot them down" "If there's anything you can do, a Chinese 12 year-old can do it better"

I'd love to hear your take on the Kung Fu Panda movies. As movies they're really fun, and I don't know if it would be weird to discuss the "accuracy" as they're about talking animals lmao, but maybe the video could be about animal symbolism in Chinese folklore and how right or wrong they got it?

"K-Drama signs of terminal illness." I nearly choked. This is so true 🤣 every K-Drama ever.

My stepsons mom died of cancer when he was still a baby, he was begging us to watch this and he LOVED it, it was so nice to see him relate and cope with his feelings of lost in such a calm and funny way, he was astonished by the colors and the music, while being so engaged with the story, its very hard to get him to focus on anything, also hes learning chinese in the elementary school, so he was excited to see familiar things hes been taught. I apologize for my english

“It’s a Pacific Rim meets the Handsmaid’s Tale reimagining of the only female emperor in Chinese history.” I had to rewind and listen to that twice then pause to process it, lol.

"wang yibo and xiao zhan" you maam is a cultured woman

I have never lost anyone in my life, but I’ve almost been crying throughout the entire movie.

I'm not Chinese and I'm not even really invested in these movies but GIRL I WILL WATCH /EVERYTHING/ YOU DO FOREVER

only part chinese here, but reconnecting with my heritages as a whole is something that's been so empowering as a diasporic asian person who only stopped being ashamed about it a few years ago. letting go of all that negativity due to internalised racism (from a lot of outside factors) and making room for more cultural pride is made so much easier by people like you. it's really great and inspiring to see how much passion you have.

20:39 but the fact that they covered up the 1st and 2nd place winners faces is so shady😭😭😭

It's the fact that she managed to yet again include "The Untamed" in her videos... and I am here for it.

I LEGIT CLICKED INSTANTLY

I stumbled across your review of the new Mulan and fell in love with your passion and knowledge. It's a genuine joy to hear you talk about this culture that is so unfamiliar to me with such reverence. I have seen all your videos now and cannot wait to see more. You are easily one of my favorite creators at the moment.

Fun fact about the gay lions: I watched this movie with my best friend, and, after I saw your video on the original mulan, noticed the balls. So I turned to her and said "You know the lions are gay." She stopped the movie and went "What?" And I nodded and explained the cub and ball thing to her. I don't think she cared, but for my part, I never felt so educated in my life 😅🤣

The shrine with a picture and food it's also a common thing in mexican culture, they are called "ofrendas" and we mostly put it on november! Also the "plaza dancing" it's a thing in mexico, and it's called "zumba"

I don’t need the love of my life, just an army of celestial moon minions that absolutely have to include gay winged lions.

"dude...we actually need like One sun" So relatable

"Do you guys have any idea how hard is it to be a East Asian vegan?" "Which is just another example of anything you can do there's a 12 year old Asian child who can do it better." Haha to good! Subscribed!

10:02 piece of useless info for you guys: The names she references for examples, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan, aren't completely random. They're the names for the two main actors for the recent series that blew up in China called The Untamed. There was also a animation and manhua that came before it, but under different names. Definitely worth the watch and read! Fangirl moment over here 😂 ♥

I first heard of Chang'e and her myths, I fell in love with the story. I'm so excited to hear more version of it!

Please teach us more about Chinese myth and history, I feel like I'm taking an actually enjoyable course on film/history/culture and it's AMAZING.

Hou Yi: my first girlfriend turned into the moon If you wanted to do an Avatar the Last Airbender analysis that would be awesome🌊🌏🔥🌪

Omg I FEEL when you mentioned the online shopping delivery time! I’m from Guangzhou, China and studied in SF, US and everytime it took at least a week or two if not longer to get my stuff from online shops. And one time I was in need of a hand warmer and it took sooo long that the weather turned hot when it arrived... and every time I went back to Guangzhou and I ALWAYS amazed and surprised at the delivery speed!! Like even if it cross the whole god damn country it will not take more than 4 days!! Honestly even taking 4 days is rare, cuz it usually takes 2-3 days. And often free of delivery. And a very cheap fee for one day shipping.

RU-vid's smart aunt for anyone that didn't have one. Thank you for the videos ^_^

6:38 "Anyway, because this is a kid's movie it starts AIMING TO DECIMATE YOUR EMOTIONS AT THE 6 MINUTE MARK." lmaooo

The version I was told (not the “correct” one, just wanted to share) was that she wanted to go to heaven because life was boring on Earth or something (they also had arguments everyday) and she accidentally ate two. When she arrived at the heavenly gate the guards scolded her for leaving her husband and not staying true with their marriage and forbade her from entering. With no where to go, and she couldn’t go back down earth, she stayed on the moon. Ho yi felt as if it was his fault, and sent letters to her attached on an arrow to confess that he felt sorry for actions and that he still loved her. However, the magic in his arrows and sadly left and it never reached the moon. When they fell down, they were the shooting stars. Edit: Another story: it probably depends on where you’re from, but I was told by my dad that (I forgot what era but something about suppressed citizens under a tyrant) the moon cakes were spread around an had a message for a time and date to revolt. I forgot if they won or not, but I think they did (otherwise it probably wouldn’t have been told...) edit: don't forget to read the replies! Somebody added more details to the second story and more people wrote their own version that was told!

12:47 Can confirm, I'm from Asia and this is pretty common pencil case you can buy at stores I love how you re-did some of the video and still did the make-up really beautifully xD *_"The Lions in Fei-Fei's town are gay"_* Lol, I remember that from Mulan video. I guess they thought symmetrical statues are better

I KNEW I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO THOUGHT THOSE DUDES WHERE BASICALLY THE ANGRY BIRDS

Over the moon is one of my favorite Netflix movie the sound track was fire and the moon goddesses outfits were so cute😭❤️

the sky dog is the most ADORABLE CONCEPT I'VE EVER HEARD

I love how all of your intros are basically "I was forced to do this"

I can hear the smile in her voice when she explains her culture, wholesome

First - I adore your hair and makeup, it’s so pretty and flattering😍 Second - I LOVE that you take the time to share your heritage with us! Using pieces of media we have access to gives us a great basis to start from. This movie is so beautiful, and I loved hearing more about it from you!❤️

East Asian Vegan: So, no restaurants ever? I can’t imagine how family gatherings must go. I’m barely getting by in Japan and being allergic to shellfish and seaweed...

As a Chinese adoptee in a while family. your videos on Chinese culture make me so happy. I’ve grown up struggling severely with my cultural identity, often feeling like I’m not Chinese enough. But these videos are so informative, I’m so grateful for them❤️

Gay Lions:”Double Smooth Balls. Watch out for those.” 😂🤣

9:54 Cat on the bottom left

"Oh yeah, she was your girl till she saw my 3 tiered Chinese stationary case" Me: Madam I know when I am beaten

You should do one of these videos for “Wish Dragon” on Netflix

Chinese diaspora human here--Taiwanese and Chinese Indonesian. Thank you for providing all the representation and mirroring I would have loved to have as a child and through my 20s and appreciate now. I lived in Shanghai and Taipei, so the school uniforms, the plaza dancing, the tourist village look that reminded me of all the tourist villages in Jiangnan, the kitchen that looked so much like my friend Yao Xiaoqing's house when he put me on the back of his bike after we practiced Shaolin forms at the gym and we had dinner at his place, the totally relatable ubiquitous questionably dirty tile floors, the hairy crabs that my sweet uncle used to cook for me with beer before he'd take me out for the most painful foot massages that made it feel like you were walking on clouds after, the aunties picking at you, how the table is set, the food! I miss the food AND, not sure if you'll read this because I"m sure you get thousands of comments, but if you need a guide in the States or Taipei, I'd be happy to host you. I cook vegan East and Southeast Asian food. In Taipei, there are a hundred vegan spots that I love including, a spot by the national library that has vegan Shizitou with dabaicai and boiled peanuts that I went to on the regular, another spot for vegan dim sum, a spot with vegan tiramisu, vegan zongzi vendors by the temple, and a restaurant that had everything for Chinese feast style meals that is vegan. My aunts who are Christian and told me I was going to hell for not eating meat went there with me so I was able to eat something, and they even begrudgingly said that the food was really good. Anyway, finally watched the movie and your video tonight because my mom died two years ago, so didn't want to watch it then. Did you watch in Mandarin or English or both? Thanks for being you and making videos like these. Your Mulan video gave me life at a time when I was so mad about so many things including some serious anti-Asian racism and both my parents being really ill (not with COVID).

Now I know why my family calls my aunt “Mei-Mei”. when I was younger, I thought that Mei-Mei was her full first name lol