What can I say about Moana? Well
it’s a Disney movie through and through that’s for sure. There’s plenty of
catchy songs, and funny moments, that you and your kids will enjoy. I saw it
with one of my nieces and one of my nephews and they loved it. They’re only
three and four mind you, and it kept their interest and had them laughing. It
had me laughing as well, my favorite line of the movie is when Moana is saying
how she isn’t a princess and Maui says “You’re the daughter of the chief and
you have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess”. I mean how many Disney
princess films haven’t used this formula? But hey it works, and we as an
audience love it.
The
story is in fact about the daughter of the chief, named Moana. She is supposed
to lead her people, but there’s something about the sea that calls to her.
Despite her father’s wishes of her staying out of the water, she must voyage
into the sea to save their island from being swallowed by the darkness, to find
the demi god Maui who once stole the heart of Te Fiti, an island goddess who
created all life. But in doing so, Maui was struck down by Te Ka, an evil lava
monster, and he, the heart and his magical fish hook that gives him powers are
lost at sea. Moana is given the heart by the ocean itself, who is another
character on its own in this movie. She then must find Maui and his fish hook
to help her return the heart to Te Fiti. The problem is Maui isn’t quite as
easily persuaded to go back and fight a lava monster as she was hoping.
One
thing I really love about this film and Disney’s last big animated film this
year “Zootopia” is that they aren’t shoving a love story down your throat. But
instead both stories are of powerful friendships, with two oddballs coming
together. Maui is voiced by Dwayne Johnson of course, and he does great. He
sings his own songs, and he’s hilarious. I’ve always been a fan of his. I know
he has said this movie resonates with him, because it’s all about his people
and their culture. Another aspect of this movie I think is great, something
new, we haven’t many movies about Polynesian culture. I thought the addition of
having his tattoos tell his stories and have a personality of its own was
pretty neat as well. HeiHei is also a
great character on the voyage, he’s a super dumb chicken who accidentally
boarded Moana’s boat, but honestly he helps her out a lot unintentionally. As I
said before the ocean itself is a secondary character as well, and it too also
helps her out a lot. Moana herself is at the forefront of this movie, she’ll make
you laugh, feel happy, and feel sad throughout the film. Voiced by new comer
Auli’i Cravalho, she’s a good lead, and the main point of the story is for her
to find herself, and who she really is. Which for me reminds me of so many
Disney films before, such as Mulan, Hercules, and Treasure Planet. But it’s not
a bad thing, after all what is harder in life than finding out who you truly
are and what you want out of life. The only thing not traditional about this
movie for a Disney film, is there isn’t a prominent villain. Yes, they run into
danger against bad guys, and there is the looming threat of Te Ka, but not a
solidified villain like so many before. It isn’t a deal breaker by any means, I
loved the twist at the end, didn’t see that coming. I highly recommend seeing
this in theaters while you can, the animation is stunning, I give this a solid
9 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment