Just what is it about Disney that keeps people coming back to it? Is it the well-crafted worlds and stories told within them? Perhaps its the magical artistry that manages to capture everyone’s attention throughout their movies? Or maybe it’s the fantastic music they hardly ever mess up on? Whatever the reason, I had previously been planning to review something completely different before now, but I must say, in deciding what to go for next, I couldn’t help myself with this one. It was just too good of a flick (however recently it became one of my favorites) to pass up and I’ve been obsessed with its soundtrack even more so than I was with Frozen’s overplayed OST. Even though this may not have come by popular demand much, I can’t even help but ask...
♪What can I say except you’re welcome?♪
***SPOILERS AHEAD*** (And yeah, this tag totally applies to Disney now. Surprised?)
For starters, this film heavily portrays many aspects of Polynesian culture and legends and is one of those territories that Disney hasn’t fully explored before -- save for maybe scratching the surface in Lilo & Stitch back in 2002. In it, a strong-willed daughter of the chief of her tribe named Moana (voiced by newcomer Auli’i Cravalho) longs desperately to sail out into the ocean and discover what lies beyond her island. Her father (voiced by Temuera Morrison), however, is overprotective of her and won’t let her venture outward due to his past experience, instead having her grow up to take his place as chief. Upon noticing her land is slowly succumbing to a blight and discovering the secrets of her tribe, the sentient ocean along with her grandma Tala (voiced by Rachel House) send her out to restore the world to return the “heart of Te Fiti”. The heart being the only thing that can restore life to their world, Moana sets out to enlist the help of shapeshifting demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- who himself is Hawaiian) to return the heart which he stole in the first place. In order to do so, Moana must first travel the ocean, navigating various perils and learning how to work her camakau as the ocean guides her. Through means of teamwork, trust, and learning who she is, Moana will soon learn what her destiny holds for her.
Right off the bat, I simply couldn’t believe the look of this film. Disney really outdid themselves with the luscious island landscapes rendered in a way that appear so real and full of plant life -- like literally some shots are packed to the brim with plants in some of the island scenes. I don’t know how they did it, but I can only assume it’s because technology has come a long way since the genesis of CGI. Just looking at it makes me wanna move away to a tropical island paradise with nothing but plant life! And lest we not go without mentioning the ocean water effects this film is known for. Although I can honestly say I’ve seen better-looking water in CG animated movies before (i.e.: Finding Nemo), it’s still cool how they managed to create such realistic-looking movement in the water to make seem like it’s alive -- which, in the case of this film, is quite literal. From the moment the ocean first interacts with Moana, we are treated to a glorious shot of the ocean life surrounding her without her ever even getting wet. And, I’m sure there’s a proper term for it, but I hope it makes sense when I say that I found myself impressed with how the water at the ocean’s surface level decreased in order for the ocean to essentially “grow taller”. The attention to detail is just stunning!
In the other Disney movies I’ve covered thus far, never have I really noted the comedy very much and, although a lot of it has been good for what it is, here it really stuck out to me. The interplay between Moana and Maui’s friendship (which, in itself, reminds me vaguely of Ralph and Vanellope in Wreck-It Ralph) is so comedically on point that I couldn’t help but bust a laugh every time something funny was said/done. There was a great running gag when every time Maui threw her out into the sea, the ocean spit her right back much to his annoyance before getting used to it. And Maui’s interactions with his animated tattoos (the only real hand drawn animation in the movie) only served to make Maui my favorite character in the whole movie. Upon them re-retrieving Maui’s magical fishhook in the middle of the movie, there began some hilarious mishaps where he couldn’t properly transform into the creature he so desired (hawk, lizard, beetle, etc.). Instead, he would transform into things like Sven from Frozen (in a brief cameo, mind you) and a silly half shark, half human (or demigod) hybrid, which made me crack up every time it was on screen -- plus Dwayne Johnson’s great voice performance made everything funnier too. And who could forget the comedic character of Heihei the rooster (voiced surprisingly by Alan Tudyk)? He may not have done much besides act stupid for comic relief, but it sure hilarious re-watching it knowing that all of his sounds were made by a guy -- and a veteran actor for that matter.
Whenever the musical numbers came along, I was more than pleasantly surprised; I was blown away by how good it was! Not every song was catchy per se, but each one had a distinct melody that was so captivating it makes you want to learn it by heart. Songs like “Where You Are”, “We Know the Way”, and “Logo Te Pate” each have some element that pertains to South Pacific culture with its use of, for lack of a better term, island-like instrumentation and vocalizations, and some of them have lyrics in different languages such as Samoan, Tokelauan, and Tuvalu. Of course, everyone pretty much remembers more the songs with English lyrics such as “How Far I’ll Go” and “Shiny” upon leaving the theater, but, surely, the one song you can’t stop singing/humming afterward is “You’re Welcome”. This, undoubtedly, has been the case with me since I watched the movie and is one of the reasons why I love both this movie and referencing it in the first place. It’s just so catchy and in just the right key to where everyone, both singer and non-singer, can sing it just fine. Even Dwayne Johnson himself surprised me with his ability to actually sing an entire number by himself -- correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t quite remember if they edited his voice or if he sang okay by himself.
Most of all, I enjoy how the movie explores the theme of identity. Sure, the whole premise of Moana being chosen to save the world sounds like your average destiny angle, though it’s actually explored much deeper than some would think. Rather than being chosen simply because she’s “gifted” with some special ability (I mean she can’t even properly operate a boat at the start), she finds out through a secret cave area full of boats on her island that her tribe used to be a tribe of voyagers. In that sense, the ocean calls her to be the first in her present tribe to start the tradition once more and, being the only one in her village to desire heading out “beyond the reef”, it suits her best -- even according to her father who, like all reluctant fathers, changes his mind in the end. On top of that, like most recent Disney movies, the villain has a unique twist to it in the sense that it’s not exactly who you’d expect it to be. It is stated in the start of the movie that Maui stole Te Fiti’s heart and then encountered the fire demon Te Kā who also sought the heart making it appear as though Te Kā and Te Fiti were two separate beings just with opposite effects on the world. As it turns up, Te Kā and Te Fiti are actually one and the same, the former being Te Fiti without her proper life source and, as a result, becoming the opposite of who she’s meant to be -- deadly and destructive as opposed to peaceful and life-giving. While some were quick to guess the twist from the beginning, I initially bought into movie’s expectation aversion and was completely blown away by the twist. This was definitely one of those movies where I actually enjoyed getting lost in what was presented to be easily surprised by its twist ending.
In the end, the movie, as good as it was, can hardly have anything negative said of it. It’s got breathtaking landscapes, impressive environmental effects, great comedy and voice acting, memorable music, and solid thematics that, if I were still a kid, I’d watch this movie over and over again like I just wouldn’t care. If I had to complain about anything it’s that, once Moana heads out to sea, we never see anything happening back home (save for that one dream sequence depicting the parents dying) or much else of how the world is being affected by Te Kā’s darkness, but I guess the plot benefited from focusing completely on Moana as, of course, she’s the title character -- also, even the Kakamora pirates which were a big part of the movie’s marketing were only in it for one action scene. Even so, none of the aforementioned negative points really detract from the overall experience and is all just minor nitpicking on my part. Therefore, without further adieu, I score this movie with a solid A and label it a must see for all ages!
Thanks y’all for reading and, as always, I will see you in the next review!
