Moana is a princess in the most literal definition of the word. She is the female heir to the ruler of her land. She has very little of the trappings we associate with princesses (there are scenes which show her leaving certain princess like objects behind) and the expectations around her are not close to the cliched princess expectations. There is no expectation to marry, there appears to be very little attention paid to her dress and appearance, and she seems expected to lead. Even the somewhat new, but becoming cliched, idea of the reluctant princess dreaming of shuffling off the sheltered life to have an adventure, is tossed aside, Moana's quest is in service to her people. Her compulsions are based on a desire to serve. Moana is like no Disney princess come before. Disney is giving us something new.
Her adventure is closer aligned with a hero quest but even that breaks the confines of that genre. Her triumph and success on her mission comes from an act of love not war. She is not a warrior either. She may be a voyager, but not a conqueror. Her victory is based no on defeating a foe or villain but loving it. I believe it isn't a spoiler to say that Moana not only deconstructs the idea of princess but of hero as well. Her strength and power lie in her ability to not fight.
Moana is visually gorgeous, with most scenese fully exploiting the beautiful physical world of Polynesia. One of the strengths of good animated films is their creation of worlds for their story to live in and Moana triumphs there. Another strength is in the music. A traditional Disney animated musical, the wonderful songs advance story and are essential to the movie's characters and plot, not just thrown in for entertainment value. Broadway genius Lin-Manuel Miranda teams with Oceanic songwriter Opetaia Foa'i to create beautiful songs which create an essential grounding in the culture and landscape. My main complaint with Moana, is highlighted in the catchy tune You're Welcome. This is the vehicle for introducing the film's likely to be very popular breakout character Maui, the demi-god voiced by Dwayne Johnson.
I pretty much hated everything about Maui.
I know that he will be a crowd pleaser and will be featured in all sorts of Disney themed paraphernalia in the future but he made me cringe. I find Johnson's shtick to be grating at the best of times, and, like the Genie from Aladdin (whom I love), Maui is one of those characters which is just the actor thinly disguised. He's corny, fairly crass, with an insincere character arc. He also acts as dues ex machina a few times saving the plot for no real authentic reason. While I know I am very much in the minority here, Maui could have ruined the movie for me if the rest of it wasn't so good. I much preferred the moments when Moana was on her own adventure.
However, ignore me. Everyone will love Maui and Johnson's antics. And regardless of how you feel about him, the rest of the film is undoubtedly great. This is another wonderful addition to Disney's legacy of animated features and will likely be a favorite for a long time.
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