Walt Disney Animation Studios released their fifty-sixth feature film “Moana.”
The story follows the brave and conflicted chief’s daughter, Moana, played by newcomer Auli’i Cravalho, on her quest to restore order to her island and find herself along the way. Joining her is the Maui, a shapeshifting demigod out to help the human race, played by Dwayne Johnson (“Ballers”) and the brainless chicken Heihei played by Disney veteran Alan Tudyk (“Zootopia”).
Cravalho is the youngest voice of a Disney princess as she was cast as Moana when she was 14 years old. Casting a native Hawaiian who is as young as Cravalho was the best choice for the heroine. Not only does she have a beautiful singing voice, but her emotions clearly shine through her performance.
The scenes are absolutely breathtaking. Full-screen shots of the ocean and the sky are simply beautiful. Since the ocean is a character itself, the animators had their hands full giving something as vast as the ocean any sort of emotion. Yet, somehow, possibly through Disney magic, they made an emotional character out of the ocean. Some scenes that highlighted just the ocean were so spectacular. It was difficult to tell that it was actually an animation and not live footage.
The storyline itself is so much fun that audiences cannot help but be entertained. The chemistry between Cravalho and Johnson is great and leads audiences to root for the characters on their voyage.
Although the plotline of the story is great and easy to follow, some of the music is not as good as some of the movies Disney has done in the past. While Mark Mancina worked with artists such as Phil Collins and Hanz Zimmer to produce music for “The Lion King” and “Tarzan,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, the mastermind behind the Broadway hit “Hamilton: An American Musical,” was a Disney newcomer.
While songs like “How Far I’ll Go” and “We Know the Way” are sure to be Disney classics, songs like “Shiny” and “You’re Welcome” are where the music falls flat. Typically, the best songs had a Polynesian origin, making them sound authentic and fit into the film, whereas “Shiny” and “You’re Welcome” are more pop oriented, having nothing to do with the people who sang them. The songs were just not written that well.
Prior to the film’s release, it was met with controversy mainly surrounding the character Maui. People blamed the film for stereotyping Polynesians as the depiction of Maui is overweight. Along with that was the controversy that surrounded the Halloween costume depicting the demigod as it raised the question of whether it was OK to “put on” someone else’s skin.
Audiences may be too mesmerized by the beautiful set design to notice quite a few Easter eggs from some of Disney’s previous animated movies including “Frozen” and “Tangled.”
“Moana” will make audiences laugh, cry and put them on the edge of their seat for the entirety of the film. It is a must see for all ages.
