storyboard of Fei Fei in profile in Over the Moon
Minkyu Lee's storyboard of Fei Fei in profile in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

Issue 12

Winter/Spring

CalArts 50ish Anniversary
Issue 12 Issue 11 Issue 10 Issue 9 Issue 8 Issue 7 Issue 6

Visual Essay Issue 8

The Art of Minkyu Lee

Minkyu Lee (Film/Video BFA 09, MFA 11) is a film director, writer, producer, and artist whose animated short film, “Adam and Dog,” earned a Best Animated Short Academy Award nomination in 2013 and won an Annie Award for the film in 2012. One of the film consultants he thanks in the credits is veteran animator and fellow CalArtian Glen Keane (Film/Video BFA 73).

During the past several years, Lee and Keane have worked together on several films, including The Princess and the Frog (2009), Wreck-It-Ralph (2012), and on the Oscar-winning short “Dear Basketball” (2017), directed by Keane and written by the late Kobe Bryant.

(The two filmmakers also took part in an online discussion recently during CalArts Weekend.)

Glen Keane and Minkyu Lee discuss Over the Moon.

For Keane’s first directing foray into feature film, Netflix’s Over the Moon, Lee served as a storyboard artist. Released on Oct. 23, the animated musical follows a girl who builds a real rocket ship, hoping to meet a mythical moon goddess.

Lee created the “rocket to the moon” scene for the film. Below is the clip of the scene from the film, along with the story boards that Lee created. 

storyboard sequence from Over the Moon film

Minkyu Lee's storyboard sequence for a scene from 'Over the Moon.' | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

storyboard image of girl

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of Fei Fei in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

storyboard image of girl riding bike

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of Fei Fei bike riding in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

storyboard image of girl riding a bike

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of Fei Fei riding a bike in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

storyboard image of bird with wings spread

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of a bird in flight in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

storyboard image of girl with moon and bird above

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of Fei Fei with a bird and moon above in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of a lily pad in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of a lily pad in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.

storyboard of Fei Fei in profile in Over the Moon

Minkyu Lee's storyboard of Fei Fei in profile in Over the Moon. | Image: Courtesy of Netflix.