Moana: A Disney Princess in a New Kind of Princess Movie

Originally written 6/1/2017.

It is a hardly disputed fact that animated films are experiencing a golden age unseen since the days of the Disney Renaissance. Emotionally captivating movies such as ‘Tangled,’ ‘Frozen,’ and ‘Zootopia’ introduced younger audiences and families to mature material that would not only traditionally be taboo in lighthearted animated pictures, but did so in responsible, creative, and entertaining ways. All of them are praise-worthy not just for being good films, but for being important cultural landmarks. This is, unfortunately, where Disney’s ‘Moana’ somewhat breaks the mold.

The story is a seemingly refreshing change from Disney’s go-to princes tale. On a pre-colonial Pacific Island, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) is the teenage daughter of a tribal chief who, despite her father’s traditionalist views, longs to go beyond the endless horizon and into the boundless sea the surrounds her home. While she is being prepped to take over as her village’s leader, she is secretly chosen by the sentient ocean to escort the arrogant demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to the creation goddess Te Fiti in order to right a wrong he committed in the past and prevent the world from being consumed by a cancerous curse that destroys entire islands and ecosystems. Aided only by the guiding words of a spiritual Grandma (Rachel House), a mystic fishhook, and each other, Moana and Maui must fight their way through an army of demonic coconuts, past the avaricious giant crab Tomatoa (Jermaine Clement), and around the massive volcanic guardian Te Ka.

Happily, ‘Moana’ is in no way a romance and instead focuses on the characters and their internal struggles, particularly Moana herself and her desire to follow all the destinies she has been presented with, the path of leading her people, the path of following her heart to the ocean, and the path of being the sea’s special chosen one. This drives the story just as much as narrative elements and it’s a good representation of a journey of self-discovery, albeit a bit trite and blunt but this is Disney after all.

However, that’s about as deep as the movie dares to go. Unlike its most recent predecessors, ‘Moana’ suffers from a cookie-cutter feel, a paint-by-numbers mentality that keeps it from being entirely as likable. Most major plot points are predictable by a quarter of the way through the film. You just had to read that Moana and Maui are on a journey alone together and you knew there was going to be a scene where they get into a fight and split up for a bit only to reunite later for a reconciliation.

In terms of musical performances, the film is unique and stylized. The songs are written by an absolute dream team of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina who blend their broadway new wave, rusty Pacific folk, and pop styles respectively in a beautifully mixed soundtrack with songs tailored to individual performers like form-fitting outfits. For Johnson an upbeat acoustic rock song with a rap segment, for Clement a morbid and saucy folk tune, and for Cravalho a set of gorgeous stage tunes backed with authentic Samoan chants and the weight of a power ballad. Miranda and Foa’i both lend their voices in soaring songs written in some manner of Samoic or Tongic language which lends itself fluidly to their combined brands. It would be a stretch to call the songs some of Disney’s best, but they carry with them a sense of authenticity and are definitely some of the highlights of the film.

Unfortunately, the voice over performances don’t have the same momentum. This is not Dwayne Johnson’s first romp into animated features, but the innate charisma he is known for just doesn’t communicate through his voice alone. He is clearly invested and trying his best, but his performance is largely dependent on a script which fails to provide him with adequate humor or motivation. And lord knows he’s giving it his all, but the man can carry a tune about as well as Russel Crowe. Clement’s role is small, but he lavishes in his screen time with more ham than a county fair pig contest.

The rest of the film rests comfortably on the more than capable shoulders of the teenage lead. This is Auli’i Cravalho’s debut, but she’s far and away one of Disney’s best surprise finds. Her passion and commitment to Moana bleeds through in every syllable and her lovely alto voice delivers her anthems with the confidence and strength of a seasoned Broadway veteran. I must have taken a stroke of genius for the directors to cast a teenage girl from the south pacific as a teenage girl from the south pacific, but this is one of the best casting decisions made in recent years and I hope she moves on to bigger and better things.

The animation in ‘Moana’ ranges from the Disney gold standard of CGI to some simply stunning vistas and shots. The unofficial Disney animation motto is “believable, not realistic” and here they tend to stick to that rule. The ocean, obviously a major factor throughout the film, splashes with enough viscosity and movement for it to be both cartoonish and seemingly present as a character. If ‘Finding Dory’ hadn’t come out earlier this year with water animation twice as profound and sensitive, the ocean here would be almost impressive. The characters are animated with the traditional Disney style of wide, expressive eyes and small, flexible mouths. Hair animation seems to have been drastically improved, with each strand seeming to move autonomously but also congruently with the heads they are attached too. The animation of Maui’s living tattoos are particularly beautiful as they appear to be a 2-dimensional animation design imprinted on a CGI canvas, almost like real tattoos.

Overall, ‘Moana’ is not the instant Disney classic it was clearly meant to be. It suffers from a lack of originality that has been so rich and fresh in recent animate movies. It is beautiful to look at, but this family movie is clearly more aimed at children. Though it would feel wrong to dissuade anyone from seeing it, it’s also a Disney film that you shouldn’t feel too guilty about skipping. 3/5.

For more film reviews, please like, share, subscribe, and feel free to contribute to the Patreon!