John Canemaker’s Academy Award® and Emmy Award-winning animated documentary explores the terrain of father/son relationships, as seen through Canemaker's own turbulent relationship with his father.

Featuring the voices of noted actors Eli Wallach and John Tuturro, THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION combines memory, fact, conjecture, home movies, photos and original animation to tell the true story of an Italian immigrant’s troubled life and the consequences of his actions on his family.

The film resonates with audiences on many levels, addressing sensitive topics such as parent/child conflicts, family violence, difficulties facing immigrants, morality and personal responsibility. The film is a magnificent example of creating art out of personal struggle.

Above all, Canemaker's brilliance, humor and artistry are on full display in his greatest animated work.

John Canemaker, head of New York University’s Animation Department, gives a master’s class on the art of animation in the wonderful bonus features. In the first, Canemaker and producer Peggy Stern present a making-of film that details the creative evolution of THE MOON AND THE SON. This DVD also includes the very first rough cut of the film with the working title “Confessions of my Father” that shows how much the film changed over the course of the production. Finally, there is a photo gallery of production sketches, preliminary artwork and storyboards.

In an article in the New York TImes, animation historian Charles Solomon wrote that THE MOON AND THE SON “reminds audiences of animation’s power to present deeply felt emotions.” The reviewer went on to quote Bob Kurtz, an ex-governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscars. “‘John's film is very brave. Its honesty is very, very powerful, and he's one of the few artists trying to do something we haven't seen before.’”