In this film, Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) wants to sail and discover other parts of the world, but her father forbids it due to the dangers outside of their island as well as wanting to train her as chief. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, when she is tasked to return an ancient relic to its original location. She takes off to search for the legendary, shape-shifting demigod named Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) who can help her restore it.
Upon watching it for the first time, I noticed that it treads to some familiar ground, most of which come from the works of directors John Muskers and Ron Clements. There's the overprotective father who doesn't want his daughter to leave home (The Little Mermaid), a shape-shifting comedic relief character (Aladdin), and it takes elements from a different mythology (Hercules). It's actually not a bad thing at all. It combines what we've seen in some of the Disney Renaissance movies and makes for a fun and adventurous journey. I was especially intrigued with the world that Disney brought to life, being set in the Polynesian Islands and taking elements from said mythology like the gods and monsters. All of this is nicely established with some exposition at the beginning to draw the audience in on how this world works.
Moana herself is a pretty endearing character. She is a strong-willed, selfless, and responsible individual who longs to learn more about her culture. She takes matters into her own hands when life as we know it is in danger. When she wants something done, she will do what she can to accomplish her goal. The biggest flaw she has in-universe is that due to her father forbidding traveling, she is very inexperienced in sailing, so I have to give credit for the film in not making her a perfect character. I give my praise towards Auli'i Cravalho for providing a great performance and I wish her a bright future in acting.However, I do find that Maui is the most interesting of the duo. It's not that Moana is not an interesting character (far from it), but Maui has the most notable character arc in the entire film. He is a flawed demigod, coming off as kind of a selfish, egotistical jerk. In a way, he kind of reminds me of Captain Qwark from the Ratchet & Clank games, except much more intelligent. This is kind of deconstructed, however, when we learn why he is the way he is, giving him a lot of depth. I also have to give praise to Dwayne Johnson for giving a well-rounded performance. The guy really can act.
Both Moana and Maui have great chemistry together, despite how predictable this development will go. They start out as very antagonistic towards one another, but they have to work together to bring balance to the world. Predictable, yes, but it's the way the two bounce off of each other that makes it great to watch. Moana is so determined on her journey that when push comes to shove, she one-ups Maui when the chance is needed.
Alongside the main duo, Moana also features its share of endearing side characters. Grandma Tala (Rachel House) is the cool old lady who serves as a great mentor figure to her granddaughter. She's not in the film that long, but she left a good impression on me. There is the chicken, Hei Hei (voiced by Alan Tudyk in his fifth consecutive Disney film), whose only character trait is that he is stupid (he has a habit of swallowing rocks and regurgitating them). Unlike Chris Hemsworth's character from this year's Ghostbusters, that character trait is not overplayed, knowing when to deliver its comedy and make the audience laugh. While I didn't laugh that much from him, he got some chuckles out of me, so that's something.
Like the Carpet from Aladdin, Moana also surprisingly gives other things a personality of their own. How many films can you think of where the ocean itself is a character? It doesn't speak, yet says a lot with its actions. While being a great guide, it's not afraid of being sassy or determined to get the job done. Even Maui's tattoo of himself (all done in hand-drawn animation) is a great character. He is actually much smarter and reasonable, so it's no surprise that he tries to get Maui to do the right thing.
It should also be no surprise that the animation is gorgeous. It's so bright and colorful, which matches the tropical setting. Even the nighttime scenes themselves put me in a sense of awe, especially during the "I am Moana" musical sequence. You can also tell that the technology has been evolving when the water itself looks so lifelike that I feel like touching it. Something tells me that it was a pain to pull together, but the end result is worth it. It reminds me of the sense of awe I got when watching Life of Pi, which also had two characters sailing on an open sea, though those similarities are where they end.The film also lends itself to some entertaining action scenes. Since this takes elements from Polynesian mythology, that would mean that the characters would have to face some monsters as well, from Kakamora pirates, which I heard was an intentional shout-out to Mad Max: Fury Road, to a giant lava monster, all involving the sailing aspects. There is no dull moment to be found.
I did mention that this is a musical, so now I have to talk about the songs. The songs and even the score composed by Mark Mancina all take influences from the culture presented, like usage of drums during an intense scene. Even some of the vocal songs have lyrics sung in the Tokelauan language to give a sense of cultural differences. All of this stuff helps immerse the audience in this world. The only song that was the most out of place, however, was the villain song "Shiny." It abandons the Polynesian influence and instead goes for a David Bowie approach. Despite that, I still found it to be pretty amusing.
To be honest, while the songs are good and do their job to help the plot move forward, I don't find them to be that memorable. After I watched Frozen for the first time, I found myself humming songs like "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?," "Love is an Open Door," and, yes, "Let it Go." Many people say that "How Far I Will Go" is the next "Let it Go." I didn't get that impression at all. There was nothing popping out me; it all feels like it's just there. Though, if Tangled taught me anything, it's that if I wasn't too drawn into the soundtrack at first, then chances are that it will grow on me over time.
I really liked Moana overall, though I don't love it as much as I want to. It's a solid movie with an engaging journey, great characters, good music, and beautiful animation that makes it...
WORTH CHECKING OUT
Maybe I'm expecting too much and developed higher standards. Maybe the so-called "Disney formula" is starting to wear thin on me. Maybe Frozen just set the bar high for Disney's musicals that it couldn't be topped. Maybe animated films like Zootopia and Kubo and the Two Strings this year could not be topped at all because they're the more though-provoking. I honestly have no clue. I still think Moana is a good film. Definitely go see it if you haven't already.
Also, whose idea was it to put a "tweeting" joke? I mean, seriously!
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