To discuss Moonrise Kingdom is to discuss the color palette. Cinematographer Robert Yeoman lens the film in a warm, autumnal amber and mustard yellow, punctuated by the startling teal of Suzyβs coocoo eye shadow and the crimson red of her well-worn suitcase. It looks like a 1960s National Geographic spread curated by a sad clown.
First, there is the . It is the gold standard for "autumnal core." The mustard yellows, burnt oranges, and forest greens make you want to knit a sweater and drink hot cider, even if itβs July. The production design captures that specific melancholy of summer ending and the colder, scarier world of adulthood approaching. Moonrise Kingdom