Since the beginning of time, generations have been interdependent, and despite the gaps in thinking that sometimes arise, they have never been able to part with their blood ties. Like the big, bright star that falls through the universe like a meteor, adorning this beautiful moon. If animation is a playground for children’s dreams, then Pixar is a dream factory. Today’s short film, Luna, is a prequel short to the 2012 animated feature film Brave. Although the main film was poorly received, the short was so impressive that it was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film that year. Luna is a short film about a child, beautiful as if it were a childhood dream. All the innocence and fantasy about the moon, the stars, the night sky, all the imagination, all in this short six minutes of breathtaking beauty.

The film begins under a silent night sky with a boat called “La Luna” rocking in the middle of the deep, quiet sea. In the boat sits an old grandfather with a long white beard, a sturdy father, and a young boy with big, clear eyes. The grandfather gives his grandson a lovely hat, which seems to symbolise the beginning of some important ritual; for the boy, today he is about to start a sacred job.

Unexpectedly the father and grandfather argue over the angle at which the boy wears the hat. The grandfather felt that the hat was more spiritual when it was raised. The father, on the other hand, felt it was better behaved pressed down. Each side argued and argued. But to the little boy they were both important elders and imitating them was the boy’s favourite thing to do. Just then, a light faintly lit up in the sky.

A bright moon rose at the junction of sea and sky. His father set up a ladder and with his grandfather’s encouragement, the boy picked up the boat spear on his back and boarded the journey to the moon with the unknown and curious. As he climbed to the highest point, gravity changed magically and he could fly through the sky, that spear became the weapon that controlled his gravity. He flew up to the shimmering planet. It turned out that the moon shone so brightly because there were countless stars on it. The little boy fixed the spear in one corner of the moon and helped his father and grandfather’s ship to moor.

A shooting star streaked across the sky by chance. A star as lovely as a biscuit landed on the moon. He followed the trail of the star and touched it gently, accidentally discovering some interesting mysteries. A short while later, my father and grandfather also made their way down the ladder to the moon, where they were about to start their day of cleaning. When it comes to cleaning tools, Dad and Grandpa have their own preferences. At that moment, a blinding light emanated from the sky and a huge star fell. The star’s as embedded in the moon and Dad and Grandpa used every tool at hand, none of the methods they were used to could pry it out.

The little boy tried to use the secret he had discovered earlier and chose the small hammer, climbed up to the star and gave it a light tap. Immediately the huge star transformed into countless smaller stars and the problem was easily solved. The empirical father and grandfather, despite looking a little surprised, were proud of their child’s bravery and creativity.

Together, with the help of the little boy, the trio cleared the moon of its stars. The full moon in the sky, too, gradually becomes a curved crescent. This little story, taken from Calvino’s novel The Distance of the Moon, has the colour of a fairy tale and can easily transport one to the memories of teenage years, where those reveries of the sky and the unknown glow quietly like a luscious crystal.

Just as we always wanted to fly free like Peter Pan when we were children, after watching this short film, you will want to climb up to the moon along the bamboo pole and see what the stars are whispering above, and see how gentle and enchanting the silent sea on the ground is.

It is a film about growing up, and the moment he picks up the tool of his choice to strike the stars, he completes the rite of passage into manhood. No longer through simple inheritance and imitation as before, he chooses to face his problems alone, using his wisdom and a completely new approach to their solution. Between generations, between years, the young boy completes his family’s inheritance and his personal growth. It is astonishing to see such a grand theme expressed in such a short animated film.

Since ancient times, generations have been interdependent, and despite the sometimes divergent ideas, blood ties have always been inseparable. Just like the big and bright star, which falls like a meteor through the universe, adorning this beautiful moon.