Moana is Disney's latest animated film that feels familiar but also inventive at the same time. Narratively, the film still uses the classic "princess" formula from a classic Disney that tells a girl's adventures to seek identity outside her comfort zone, but it also explores the new realm by slightly modifying (even mocking) the stereotype.
Moana, the titular character, is not princess and she strongly denies being called by the nickname by her adventurous tandem, Maui. Indeed, he is the son of a tribal chief who will someday inherit his father's responsibilities. But he is not the girl who waited for destiny to change his way of life, rather than choosing and exploring for himself his future. This shows that Disney's princess character evolves over time. After all, what's the big deal if we just watch Moana live harmoniously on the island where people are prohibited from exploring and just sitting waiting for whatever fate to come?
Just like other superior Disney animations, this film has a specific cultural background. Moana raised the Polynesian culture that lived in the Pacific Islands. The filmmaker is clearly paying attention and may also have done research to bring his mythological touch to the story. The film itself opened with mythology; the narrative of Te Fiti, the island goddess whose heart is stolen by Maui (Dwayne Johnson), a human half-god who can transform into any animal.
Finding that the plant begins to rot and the fish begin to be hard to find, Moana opposes his father's order (Temuera Morrison) to "do not sail past rocks" in order to save his villagers who are in danger. The grandmother (Rachel House) tells her that their ancestors used to be oceanic explorers and Moana has been chosen by the ocean to restore the tradition.
Capitalized by a fairly large canoe, Moana's mission was to find Maui, twist her ear (!), And tell her to restore Te Fiti's heart. But this is not easy because Moana has no sailing experience. Moreover, when met with Maui, the god of a lot of bacot and arrogant is not willing to come because he was not equipped with a powerful hook as a capital to fight Te Ka, lava giant guard Te Fiti.
Their journey involves some tense and entertaining adventures, ranging from dealing with pirate tribes of hundreds of tiny coconut shells whose ideas are picked directly from Mad Max: Fury Road to meeting with giant treasure collecting crabs. The animator crew created some of the weirdest sidekick in Disney history. One of them is Heihei, the cock who is the most ignorant sidekick princess so far. The other is (1) the ocean itself being a real character, can nod, shake and help Moana several times; and (2) a tribal tattoo on Maui's lively body and personality.
Simple stories that provide obstacles to test their friendship will remind us of the classic Disney flavor. And this is not surprising given the director is Ron Clements and Jon Musker who used to work on The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. They are not kijok hijrah from conventional animation to CG animation. The visuals are so beautiful that most of them take place in the middle of the ocean. Looking at the beauty of nature as well as the sea and the sky is so clear, you may want to picnic to the beach immediately.
Continuing the tradition of Disney musical, the film features songs that are nice to hear but still inspiring. Broadway subscribers Lin-Manuel Miranda worked on "How Far I 'll Go" which became a memorable theme song even though it might not be Frozen's "Let It Go" class for poisoning thoughts. But my favorite is "Shiny" which Jemaine Clement brings in the form of a giant crab. The song is accompanied by cross-genre music and is presented through a crazy but hypnotically crazy sequence.
In addition to slapstick which mostly comes from HeiHei, Moana is also filled with running gags are quite smart. Comic-timing Dwayne Johnson we've seen and Maui seems to be the embodiment of his character in this movie. His quality of dendangan pretty surprised me. The voice of debutant Auli'i Cravalho shines a radiant charm that instantly makes us attached to Moana. Moana is a full character; he loves family, strong, smart, brave, adventurous. It's not the only independently-independent princess (there's Rapunzel from Tangled, Anna from Frozen and Merida from Disney's Brave Pixar movie), but Moana is the first time a princess does not need the presence of a charming prince or the like. Wait, this movie does not even need a subplot romance.
If you want your little girl to learn an inspirational message about girls power in an entertaining way, there's no better choice this year than Moana.