THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Journeys are all about expanding our mindset and I think was gotten across when watching Disney’s Moana.
PLOT
The 2016 film follows the titular Polynesian princess who lives in the island of Motunui and ever since she was a toddler, she has always desired to explore away from her home. However, her parents Tui (Temeura Morrison/Christopher Jackson) & Sina (Nichole Scherzinger) remained overprotective and have kept her from the ocean to prepare being the next island chief. At the age of sixteen, she’s only more urgent to leave once the island suffers from being struck from blight. Tui remains against the idea of leaving the island, but Sina privately explains that he’s been so ever since he lost a friend to the sea in a violent storm. Moana does try to leave on her own still, but gets overwhelmed by the ocean. After this, her grandma Tala tells her that the ocean hasn’t been safe for the past 1000 years because the heart of the island that was the living island Te Fiti was taken by the shape shifting Demigod Maui, which in turn created the volcanic demon Te Kā. And due to Maui’s actions, Motunui’s people abandoned voyaging as it was too dangerous to try, but it can be done if the heart is returned. After finding a secret cavern of ships, the motivation peaks for Moana to leave. Only after the realization though does Tala fall ill and in her dying breath, Tala gives her the heart and encourages her to save the island. Encouraged by her mom, she sets off with her pet rooster Heihei stowing away and after surviving a typhoon, she meets the demigod himself. She does demand him to undo what he did, but he’s only concerned with getting his magical fish hook back which he lost to the sea after his first encounter with Te Kā. He does try trapping her in a cave, but with the aid of the live ocean, she escapes and proves determination in setting things right. Both characters get on the same page after overcoming a wave coconut pirates, Kakamora. During their following travels, they find the hook in the realm of monsters known as Lalotai and get it back from the giant crab Tomotoa by outsmarting him. However, Maui can’t control his shape shifting like he used to, which leads to him re-learning. And in return, he teaches Moana the skills of way finding. And as they bond, the demigod admits that he was abandoned by his parents, resulting in the gods to grant him his powers out of pity. Wanting to be a hero, he admits he took the heart as an act of giving humanity a gift. They do reach Te Fiti, but are quickly attacked by Te Kā. When Moana refuses to turn back, it results in Maui’s hook getting severely damaged. Refusing to risk losing it again, he abandons her. Feeling self doubt for the first time, she begs the ocean to find someone else the task but regains motivation when the spirit of Tala reminds her voyaging is her calling. Maui returns with a change of heart when she sets back and buys her time by distracting Te Kā, despite the result of the hook getting destroyed as he feared. Just when Moana gets behind the demon, she doesn’t find the dormant island, deducing that Te Kā is only a corrupted Te Fiti without her heart. With the ocean clearing a path for her, she’s able to return the heart which heals the ocean and islands of blight. With Te Fifi restored, Maui apologizes for his actions and is rewarded a reforged hook by her. She also does the same to Moana’s boat that was damaged during the conflict. The princess then returns home and as she accepts her mantle of chief, the film ends with her leading her people to resume voyaging and Maui accompanies her.
THOUGHTS
2016 was the year I turned 18 years old and a part of me was feeling that maybe I might grow out of this particular studio. With the release of this film and Zootopia, I realized that the magic of Disney will never be undone and you'll never stop feeling it. The directing team of Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker & Chris Williams assemble to make something that's honestly more special. If you've grown up through the 21st century, you already know the animation is gonna be on point for most studios and Disney is of course no exception. Shot for shot, the world we get to see is quite captivating. To simple techniques like Maui's sentient tattoo acting as his conscience, or the extra details put to differ from Te Fiti to Te Ka, or the ocean paving a path like The Prince of Egypt, it feels challenging to hate on it. And you still get your laughs with the Kakamora being an adorable from afar but dangerous upfront kind of army because you know it can't be taken serious to be pursued by coconut pirates. And if that wasn't gonna make you laugh, I'm positive you will from the rooster Heihei because actor Alan Tudyk was excellent in expressing the clumsiness that bird was all about. Overall, I think this movie has held its own like previous kids flicks because it's an encouraging tale of following your heart and what interests you because they can be your greatest strength in the long run. This lesson is learned so fluently from a lovable lead. From the voice alone, Auli'l Cravalho has us to relate to the titular princess because she's got her own independence and determination in wanting to expand her own horizons for the sake of her home. While her parents come from the right place when it came to being protective as proven through their own song, 'Where You Are', it only drove her more to leave. Her own Oscar nominated song, "How Far I'll Go", just hits you on a different level because you relate to the want on pushing boundaries and not wanting to be held back. So when she takes her chance to leave and save her home, it's hard to not root for her doing things her way for once. I mean hearing the ancestors' song 'We Know the Way' definitely motivated her to take up the challenges head on, even though she was far from prepared. Before Maui though, the only person to have had her back was Tala because Rachel House expressed her to be light hearted through the eccentric-ness she embraced with the stories she shared and actually listened to what her grandchild wanted. And because of this connection, it made her death all the more heartbreaking. When the protagonist "I am Moana" with her grandma, it was her way to remind herself of her roots and through the shocking twist that Te Ka & Te Fiti were one & the same, "Know Who You Are" was a simply moving way to say cons don't define the life of a good individual. With confidence and assurance like this, it makes clear she was meant to be a chief which she does a great job as shown in the sequel. A lot of these movies have iconic scene stealing sidekicks, so it really fit the mold how this one gave us one with the loudest personality. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson really lets loose in being a mischievous demigod who is too boastful for his own good as he expresses through his song "You're Welcome". It was a brash move to take the heart and ignore the consequences he couldn't have predicted, but you can't blame him for wanting to do good since he's spent his life seeking love from those he saves. Once the backlash happened, he did feel a bit ashamed because he didn't want things to go so wrong. And he doesn't show interest in undoing it because he didn't think he could. That is where he differs from Jemaine Clement's Tomotoa because in his song, 'Shiny', he doesn't hesitate being narcissistic. Maui helps Moana despite multiple cases of hesitance because he knows this is his mess and had to fix it before it can get worse. Luckily, he redeemed himself with all the help he gave and was rewarded for it. It is a good thing he returned for the sequel because without his energy, the story wouldn't be so entertaining. This movie is pretty good, but even good stuff has some head scratching moments upon re watching. For example, it is one thing that Heihei stows away and luckily avoids death at every turn, but it’s a whole other thing for Moana to bring her pet pig Pua in her first try as a teen. And if Tui knew about the stores boats this whole time, he should’ve destroyed to prevent Moana from ever leaving. Also, why does Maui have a late reaction in seeing Moana have the heart on her? If he didn’t believe her until the ocean helped her return to her boat, he should’ve said so. Moving on, why does it take Tomotoa so long to pursue the heart as in until Moana tricks him? If the Kakamora were able to sense it miles away, he should’ve picked up on it sooner. Lastly, it probably would’ve not been a kids movie if Pua was eaten. Honestly if the blight was so big of a problem for Motunui, the tribe would’ve eaten that pig a day after Moana left. Ignore this, then you’ll still have a good time overall. In short, Moana is an instant classic to Disney’s catalog for great music, impressive animation and a moving tale. If you’re still a Disney fan as an adult, check this out.
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