That is really, really stretching.
Young daughter of a sultan/chief butting heads with her father over her future
Yeah, this is totally unique to Aladdin. It didn't happen in Brave, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, etc. Seriously, this is an extremely broad description that could be applied to thousands of movies AND real life situations.
-both Jasmine & Moana live a comfortable life with an unusual animal as a pet (Raja the tiger/ that pig in Moana)
So their similar because they both live comfortably? As a daughter to a chief? Yeah, because THAT'S really unique to these two movies. No princesses actually live a comfortable life. And the pet thing is kind of a Disney trademark. The movie even pokes fun at it ("You wear a dress and have an animal sidekick. You're a princess.")
-some ancient artifact represents something of immense power (the scarab in Aladdin/ the stone in Moana)
These aren't similar at all either. The scarab just brings you to the cave of wonders. In the grand scheme of the movie, the scarab is completely insignificant. The heart of Te Fiti in Moana, however, is the entire point in the movie, is featured throughout, and is the object that ends up saving the islands.
-The Genie/ Maui = wacky comic relief, shape shifting qualities, each get a song introducing them about how awesome they think they are
Having an introductory song to a main character is pretty much a must in a musical. Moana gets the same thing. So do most main characters in most musicals. And comic relief? They're both comedies. Of course both have a character that is comic relief. And the genie has all kinds of magic powers. Shape shifting is just one of them. Maui only has shapeshifting. And Genie's shapeshifting is just done a little as part of his introduction and is mainly just additional comic relief. For Maui, it is a key part of his character. Again, this is generalizing to force them to seem similar.
-the magic carpet & the ocean: 2 inanimate things that the movie personifies with silent body language & human-like movements
This is really the only valid point that you have. And even it is rather weak as a similarity. But still, I'll concede this one.
-Abu/The chicken: the wacky animal sidekick that only squeals and does not talk
An animal that can't talk?! You're right! Totally, that ONLY exists in Moana and Aladdin...
Again, you're forcing these to seem similar. If you use such broad similarities, you could make this movie seem similar to any movie at all.
reply
share
inaliciro
8 years ago
Eh I get it. It's not a unique story but what is now a days ? Moana was still a good movie. The main complaint I've heard is just that it same like the same "princess adventure" story with the need for independence, reveling, saving her home, wacky sidekick ". So I get the complaint. Again, the movie was still very good and lovely.
reply
share