MovieChat Forums > Moana (2016) Discussion > What I appreciate about Moana

What I appreciate about Moana

posted 8 years ago by UnvoicedApollo1
11 replies | jump to latest

The Disney formula is still there, but they frame things differently than in past movies. In most that are in similar style, the father is overprotective because she's a girl and/or must be married off. Here, there is no romance and he's protective of her because she's the next in line. It's framed as people needing a leader and as such she must live so that they have guidance once the role is passed on to her. And we actually see her embracing her role, which is where her conflict comes in.

She hears this calling to voyage but she knows she has a responsibility as a leader (future or otherwise). We even see her making decisions on what to do when the crops are decaying & fish disappearing. The only reason she ends up finally voyaging is it is the only way to fix what has been done and ensure her people's survival. So her dream finally meshes with her responsibility as leader.

And what needs to be fixed? She must return the heart of the goddess Te Fiti, which Maui stole and is causing the decay. Moana retrieves Maui not because she needs his protection but because he must atone for his actions. There's the usual conflict, but no romance (be kinda creepy anyway as she's 16 & he's 1000+ years). Maui has some depth to him as well and the movie explains exactly why he stole the heart.

Finally, I like that Moana is allowed to be real. Her design is probably the most realistic of all the "princesses". While some western sensibilities likely present (and I just didn't notice), she's well built to the point of even having cankles. She is inexperienced at sailing and knows it and struggles with that limitation. She's allowed to have messy, sandy, and/or wet hair. And as mentioned before she struggles between her responsibility which I think she embraces with what she knows is a truer calling.

[–] MightyTiki 8 years ago

Great analysis.

"Toto, I've [got] a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

[–] Thornspike 8 years ago

I enjoyed this read. How do you manage to use perfect grammar when so many others fail so miserably?

[–] Zaphenzo 8 years ago

I would be more curious as to how so many other fail so miserably when it isn't that difficult. I mean, certain things I can understand. But not as bad as I've seen from most people.

I agree whole-heartedly. It was nice to see a future leader in a Disney movie actually embrace that role, and only leave as part of fulfilling that role. Usually they love as part of their rebellious nature (Jasmine, Merida, Pocahontas, Simba, etc.), but this was unique in that she actually took on that role and only left because it was needed for her village.

[–] UnvoicedApollo1 8 years ago

I was really lucky.

My posts are often riddled with typos & grammatical errors.

[–] footnotegirl 8 years ago

I agree, or as I told my friends what I loved about it: Moana being female is not intrinsic to the plot. The protagonist could have been male or female. None of her obstacles or advantages were due to Moana being female. It's simply not an issue, which makes it so wonderful (and very feminist).

[–] Block-Busted 8 years ago

In other words, it's a blatant SJW propaganda that panders to whiny women.

Oh, wait... never mind! 

[–] javalorum 8 years ago

I agree with everything you said. Though I personally wished Moana could go one step further. I wish Moana goes on that journey because she needs to find a cure for the plants and fish; rather than heeding to the voyager spirit within her. I understand that's the theme of the whole movie, and every time I see the spirit ship I couldn't help but tearing up. But as a character, I would like to see a female protagonist intentionally taking on the responsibility of a great leader. There are many Disney princesses with advantageous minds (actually almost all of them do) but start out with very personal goals (to see the world, to live, to help family, to learn, to be happy), some of them eventually do discover their inner strength and become accidental heroes, but I can't think of an example where a princess actually understands her responsibility as a leader (not simply "be a good person and lead by example" or "be kind and help others", but the real leader-type questions: how do you envision your country and your people, how should you help them get there?)

[–] Zaphenzo 8 years ago

I agree with everything you said. Though I personally wished Moana could go one step further. I wish Moana goes on that journey because she needs to find a cure for the plants and fish; rather than heeding to the voyager spirit within her. I understand that's the theme of the whole movie, and every time I see the spirit ship I couldn't help but tearing up. But as a character, I would like to see a female protagonist intentionally taking on the responsibility of a great leader. There are many Disney princesses with advantageous minds (actually almost all of them do) but start out with very personal goals (to see the world, to live, to help family, to learn, to be happy), some of them eventually do discover their inner strength and become accidental heroes, but I can't think of an example where a princess actually understands her responsibility as a leader (not simply "be a good person and lead by example" or "be kind and help others", but the real leader-type questions: how do you envision your country and your people, how should you help them get there?)

That's exactly what she does. The first time she tries to go out, she's just heeding to the voyager within her. But everything goes wrong, so she decides not to do it again. She takes on her role, beginning to make decisions for her village and doing what she needs to do. But then things start going wrong. Fish disappearing, coconuts coming up empty. She finds out why that is, and does the only thing that can help save her island: goes out to find Maui and Tafiti.

[–] C-Younkin 8 years ago

That was the case with Frozen too in that Disney is now showing girls there is more than just the romance angle and they can reach for things beyond that. I also noticed that she isn't a statuesque beauty here and that too is a big positive.

Trying to create a channel based on interpreting, reviewing, and even giving you something to laugh about film. Hope you enjoy what you see. Thanks in advance.

Review of the film here-https://youtu.be/02C0X1yPBF8

[–] UnvoicedApollo1 8 years ago

I don't feel we really saw Elsa or Anna really embracing their true responsibilities.

[–] thenmadewild 8 years ago

Agree with all of this. I barely thought about it while watching because it all felt so natural, which is a sign of how good the movie was, but this is the kind of disney/ fantasy film I've been waiting for for so long. Instead of falling back on old tropes or shoehorning in a "feminist" message with all the subtlety of a hammer, this movie simply allows girls/ women to be people first and female second. Moana is obviously a girl, her body, clothes etc make no attempt to be boyish, yet her femininity isn't really what's important. It is simply there, a part of her, yet with no need for the movie to keep pointing it out.