Long ago, the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole the heart of the island goddess Te Fiti, causing darkness to spread across the ocean. Years later, a blight reaches the island of Motonui, where Moana (Aual'i Cravalho) lives. In an attempt to save her home, Moana embarks on a quest to find Maui and return the heart to the island from whence it came.
Moana is the latest Disney animated film, and those have been very strong of late (while Pixar has been getting less and less so). I was very much looking forward to this film, mainly because it was drawing on a very different style by taking influence from Polynesian mythology, which would also mean a more distinct soundtrack. While this movie definitely did feel distinct, it also had a certain blandness to it, which held it back from being truly great. Maybe it's because I'm just able to see where Disney movies are going now, but Disney has always been able to do some truly great things with their traditional formula. With Moana, they only partly achieved that.
Moana is a visually unique film, and particularly excels in terms of detail. Whether it's the ocean, or hair, or any element of the world, it's portrayed very realistically. At the same time, the characters are stylized, but both approaches to animation mesh together very effectively. The film doesn't draw too much attention to its visuals, which made the subtle touches in movements and lighting all the more impressive. The ocean is particularly well-realized, and gave most of the film a very distinct environment; in a way, it literally was alive, but it felt just as alive when it wasn't being personified. The story takes Moana and Maui to many different places, all of which had a very different look and feeling. The music, even though it didn't particularly stand out, fit the different locations well, although there were some times where the tone that it was going for wasn't quite clear.
The characters, like most Disney films, don't operate far outside of the archetypes that Disney has employed before, but there were enough new traits brought to the table that they felt different. Moana is a very capable protagonist, though on a realistic level. She never did things that were too far out of the realm of possibility (besides the obvious ignorance of physics); she learned a lot over the course of the film and her progression felt natural. Aual'i Cravalho did a good job voicing the character, and considering that this is her debut role in a film of this scale, she's fairly impressive. Maui was a pretty fun character, and thankfully never too overpowered. Even though Maui is a a demigod, there's something very human about him, which may just be the energetic joy that Dwayne Johnson brings to everything. His song, "You're Welcome", was fantastic, and showed that Johnson has some solid musical talent. A character I really loved was Tamatoa, mainly because he was voiced by Jemaine Clement. Any song that Clement sings is pretty much gold, and him seemingly channeling David Bowie made Tamatoa's villain song - "Shiny" - all the more fun.
From a story perspective, the film definitely feels folkloric, but that's an overall detriment as much as it's a cool stylistic element. Because it follows the basic outline of a folktale, it's pretty clear where things are going. There was never a single moment where I was wondering what was going to happen next, but that was also never really the point. The film is very much about the journey, and although the journey is predictable, it's still well-executed. Just because I could see certain plot developments coming doesn't mean that the film did nothing new, and the story being told really lent itself to feeling like a tale that would be told around a campfire. It's not the sort of story that I feel I need to ever revisit, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.
I felt like I was perpetually waiting for the film to really impress me, but it never did. The soundtrack in particular wasn't that great, and while exploring a new language and style of music helped to craft the film's identity, there aren't any songs that are particularly memorable. This really surprised me, especially because Lin-Manuel Miranda worked on the soundtrack, and his music is generally incredible. There were also some tropes of modern animated films used in Moana that felt a bit unnecessary, like the goofy, slapstick comic relief character of Heihei the rooster. The kids in the audience seemed to love him, at least, and I derived some joy simply from the fact that Alan Tudyk was behind the character's voice. There was one joke in particular that I really didn't like, which made a direct reference to Tweeting. It was just unnecessary - they could have removed the line and nothing would be different - and really broke my immersion in the world of the film. The world was so engrossing before that point, so it was disappointing to throw in a lazy, pandering joke like that.
While Moana isn't the best animated animated film that Disney has ever produced - or even the best one from this year - it's still a strong addition to the Disney canon. It follows the Disney formula to a tee, but in doing so, takes advantage of how well that formula works. I hope that Disney continues to explore stories and characters from around the world, because there really are endless opportunities. Moana is both unique and bland; it's not particularly memorable, but there are certain stand-out moments that I wish could have elevated the story higher. This isn't a game-changer by any means, and Zootopia shows that Disney can do some truly unique things, but in terms of being a Disney princess movie, Moana is a solid film. It's just a few steps short of being truly great.
Moana is the latest Disney animated film, and those have been very strong of late (while Pixar has been getting less and less so). I was very much looking forward to this film, mainly because it was drawing on a very different style by taking influence from Polynesian mythology, which would also mean a more distinct soundtrack. While this movie definitely did feel distinct, it also had a certain blandness to it, which held it back from being truly great. Maybe it's because I'm just able to see where Disney movies are going now, but Disney has always been able to do some truly great things with their traditional formula. With Moana, they only partly achieved that.
Moana is a visually unique film, and particularly excels in terms of detail. Whether it's the ocean, or hair, or any element of the world, it's portrayed very realistically. At the same time, the characters are stylized, but both approaches to animation mesh together very effectively. The film doesn't draw too much attention to its visuals, which made the subtle touches in movements and lighting all the more impressive. The ocean is particularly well-realized, and gave most of the film a very distinct environment; in a way, it literally was alive, but it felt just as alive when it wasn't being personified. The story takes Moana and Maui to many different places, all of which had a very different look and feeling. The music, even though it didn't particularly stand out, fit the different locations well, although there were some times where the tone that it was going for wasn't quite clear.
The characters, like most Disney films, don't operate far outside of the archetypes that Disney has employed before, but there were enough new traits brought to the table that they felt different. Moana is a very capable protagonist, though on a realistic level. She never did things that were too far out of the realm of possibility (besides the obvious ignorance of physics); she learned a lot over the course of the film and her progression felt natural. Aual'i Cravalho did a good job voicing the character, and considering that this is her debut role in a film of this scale, she's fairly impressive. Maui was a pretty fun character, and thankfully never too overpowered. Even though Maui is a a demigod, there's something very human about him, which may just be the energetic joy that Dwayne Johnson brings to everything. His song, "You're Welcome", was fantastic, and showed that Johnson has some solid musical talent. A character I really loved was Tamatoa, mainly because he was voiced by Jemaine Clement. Any song that Clement sings is pretty much gold, and him seemingly channeling David Bowie made Tamatoa's villain song - "Shiny" - all the more fun.
From a story perspective, the film definitely feels folkloric, but that's an overall detriment as much as it's a cool stylistic element. Because it follows the basic outline of a folktale, it's pretty clear where things are going. There was never a single moment where I was wondering what was going to happen next, but that was also never really the point. The film is very much about the journey, and although the journey is predictable, it's still well-executed. Just because I could see certain plot developments coming doesn't mean that the film did nothing new, and the story being told really lent itself to feeling like a tale that would be told around a campfire. It's not the sort of story that I feel I need to ever revisit, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.
I felt like I was perpetually waiting for the film to really impress me, but it never did. The soundtrack in particular wasn't that great, and while exploring a new language and style of music helped to craft the film's identity, there aren't any songs that are particularly memorable. This really surprised me, especially because Lin-Manuel Miranda worked on the soundtrack, and his music is generally incredible. There were also some tropes of modern animated films used in Moana that felt a bit unnecessary, like the goofy, slapstick comic relief character of Heihei the rooster. The kids in the audience seemed to love him, at least, and I derived some joy simply from the fact that Alan Tudyk was behind the character's voice. There was one joke in particular that I really didn't like, which made a direct reference to Tweeting. It was just unnecessary - they could have removed the line and nothing would be different - and really broke my immersion in the world of the film. The world was so engrossing before that point, so it was disappointing to throw in a lazy, pandering joke like that.
While Moana isn't the best animated animated film that Disney has ever produced - or even the best one from this year - it's still a strong addition to the Disney canon. It follows the Disney formula to a tee, but in doing so, takes advantage of how well that formula works. I hope that Disney continues to explore stories and characters from around the world, because there really are endless opportunities. Moana is both unique and bland; it's not particularly memorable, but there are certain stand-out moments that I wish could have elevated the story higher. This isn't a game-changer by any means, and Zootopia shows that Disney can do some truly unique things, but in terms of being a Disney princess movie, Moana is a solid film. It's just a few steps short of being truly great.
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