Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker, Don Hall, Chris Williams
Written by: Ron Clements, John Musker, Don Hall, Chris William, Jared Bush, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell
Starring: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House
I finally sat down to watch Moana, and I'm so glad that I did. Even when they've got their storytelling down to a formula, Disney still manages to impress.
*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*
Moana (Cravalho) is the daughter of a chieftain (totally not a princess, as the movie breaks the fourth wall to make some funny jokes about) for a village on an island in ancient Polynesia. Her role is to eventually become the chieftain herself, and guide her people, keeping them safe on the island. However, she feels an innate call to adventure on the high seas, an attitude that is discouraged by her father and encouraged by her grandmother. Moana learns that her ancestors were voyagers, travelling from island to island, and that they stopped when the sea became treacherous, after the demi-god Maui (Johnson) stole the heart of the goddess Te Fiti, which caused a curse to slowly spread throughout the ocean. Moana then goes on a journey to find Maui and restore the heart of Te Fiti, chosen by the ocean itself ever since she showed her selflessness as a child.
The factor I want to most hammer home about this move is that it is gorgeous. The environments are photorealistic, but also over-saturated enough that there isn't a disconnect between the realistic environments and the cartoony characters (such as in The Good Dinosaur). The characters are incredibly fluid, and there's a lot of little things that go along way to make the movie much more enjoyable to watch. Maui's tattoos are a god example here; they're alive as much as he is, and there's many little moments where the characters in his tattoos move. Animation has come a long way, and Moana is a perfect example of some of the best work animators are doing today.
The characters are also fantastic. Moana herself is a nice change of pace from the usual Disney princess; there's no love interest for her to fall head over heels for without knowing the first thing about him, there's not even some specific guy she likes on the island waiting for her when she gets back. She goes out on this adventure all by herself (save for a stow away chicken, but more on him soon), and makes mistakes that she has to learn from. She's selfless and a little sweet and fiery enough that her heroic moments feel right when they happen. She contrasts well with Maui, who's a fun anti-hero; initially just a selfish jerk who leaves Moana on an island and steals the chicken to eat for himself, he of course goes on a journey of rediscovering of why he wanted to help people in the first place. This character development is a little glossed over for the sake of focusing on Moana's journey, but that's probably fine considering the movie's title. As for the chicken, Heihei (Alan Tudyk, who manages to get some credit in just about every Disney movie these days), he's one of your usual animal sidekicks. He's dumb as bricks (eating, throwing up and re-eating a rock, pecking everything in front of his beak, regularly walking of a boat's edge in to the ocean, etc.) and his funny little moments are all fine, if a little grating in how often they happen.
The story is just what you'd expect from a Disney movie. They hit the usual beats, such as a parent-figure dying in order to spur the hero in to action, the hero being initially rebuffed by the villain before returning after a pep talk and a song, the secondary character leaving but returning at the exact right moment to help complete the story, etc. While it's all presented with dazzling visuals, there is that slight feeling of "ok, so this is the part of the movie where X happens" that pervaded my whole experience to an extent. This isn't inherently a problem, good stories get retold, but this feeling stems from my only problem with the movie, which is the death of Moana's grandmother. There's no real foreshadowing, other than a line of 'when I die, I hope I come back as (a manta ray)", and it just happens, as if the writers got to the part in the script where Moana had to go on her journey, and one said "Hey, she's already learnt that her people are naturally voyagers and that her people will die if she doesn't go on this journey, do you think she's motivated enough?" to which another replied "Nah, kill her grandmother, just to be sure." It's my one issue with the movie because it's not only unnecessary, it basically comes out of nowhere. Other than that, I think this movie achieved everything it wanted to achieve.
The Verdict: Moana is an excellent movie. The animation is sometimes breathtaking and the music is very much on point (pitch perfect, one might say). The story is often predictable and feels a little played-out, but it's not enough to majorly impact how much charm the characters and environment exude. I recommend this movie to everybody; even the most cynical and hardened if they aren't afraid that a kid's movie might make them feel again.
Rating: 8/10
Published January 12th, 2017
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