Moon Man (novel)

Moon Man (titled *Jean de Lune* in French) is a novel by French author and illustrator Tomi Ungerer, first released in 1967. Ungerer himself described the book as a satire, and it received the Prix Loisirs Jeunes in France when it debuted.

The story follows the Man in the Moon—literally a man living on the moon—who finds his existence dull and longs to join the dancing parties he sees on Earth. One night, he catches the tail of a passing comet and rides it down to the planet, but his crash landing frightens forest animals and draws a crowd from a nearby town. Mistaken for an invader rather than a friendly visitor, he is thrown into prison and shackled with a ball and chain. Later, as the moon enters its third quarter, he shrinks in size, slips through the window, and escapes. When a general inspects the cell, it is empty.

Two weeks later, the Moon Man returns to full size and wanders the countryside, discovering plants and animals. He stumbles upon a garden party where people in elaborate costumes are dancing. A grumpy attendee complains about the music to the police, and the sight of the officers’ uniforms and equipment frightens the Moon Man, who flees into the forest. Outrunning the police, he finds a hidden castle belonging to scientist Bunsen van der Dunkel (named Professeur Balthazar Pépin in the original French version). Bunsen shows him a spaceship he has spent years perfecting, which the Moon Man can use to return home. Bunsen waits for the Moon Man to shrink again into his third phase, and a few nights later, the Moon Man squeezes into the rocket, bids Bunsen a tearful goodbye, and blasts off back to the moon. He realizes that Earth’s humans are not as welcoming as he had hoped, and he cannot live peacefully there, so he stays nestled in the sky inside the silvery moon, never returning.

The novel has been adapted into two animated films. The first, released in 1981, was produced by Weston Woods Studios and Krátký Film Praha, directed by Gene Deitch, with narration by Peter Hawkins and music by Karel Velebný. An audiobook version was also released. A second adaptation came in 2012, a French-German-Irish short film titled *Jean de Lune*, directed by Tomi Ungerer's son, with a heavily expanded plot in which the Moon Man is hunted by the President of Earth (voiced by Michel Dodane).