Moana = Pocahontas? Is Disney repeating itself?

I think just coincidence. Most of disney flicks are based of fairytales, so theres always going to be similar themes.

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I had to respond to this, so lets do it!

Disney seems to be patterning their new Golden Age after their previous one in the 90's, with Moana being their new Pocahontas. Have a look at the similarities between the two movies:

This is not true, the feel of Disney's modern films is very different than that of the Renaissance. Only Princess and the Frog felt somewhat close to that.

1. Both princesses belong to ancient tribes and are daughters of chiefs.
2. Both princesses have a grandma-figure character.
3. Nature has consciousness and the tribe has a deep relationship with it(I read that in Moana, the ocean is a living character, and there is also a concept art of a giant lava woman).

These are generalizations, not really major plot points. You can make any two movies feel similar using generalizations.

Tangled = The Little Mermaid:
1. Rapunzel and Ariel are both curious and sheltered princesses who dream of exploring the outside world.
2. Both princesses were forbidden to go to the outside by an overprotective parent because humans are dangerous.
3. Both princesses disobeyed their parents and ran away to the outside world, where they fall in love with a guy(also Flynn and Eric resemble each other).
4. The villain is an old hag who uses an illusion of heartbreak against the princess.
5. Both movies marked the beginning of their respective Golden Ages.

For this, I'll break down each point.

1. This is a generalization, hardly a rip off scenario.
2. Very different. Ariel may have been forbidden from making contact with humans, but she had a vast world she could explore otherwise. Rapunzel was essentially a kidnapping victim isolated in a single building.
3. I will agree that both Rapunzel and Ariel defy their parents and in both cases it's not necessarily for love. In the case of Eugene and Eric though, they have little to nothing in common.
4. The motivations, style choices, and personalities of Ursula and Mother Gothel are actually quite different.
5. I disagree, Princess and the Frog and, to a lesser extent, Bolt kicked off the recent success. On a side note, I think Tangled is closer to films like Aladdin and Shrek. It's a comedy/adventure first, but with the fairy tale worked in.

Frozen = Beauty and the Beast:
1. Elsa and Beast are both magically-cursed and tortured individuals who live in isolation.
2. They were labeled as monsters by society; people have attempted to storm their castle to assassinate them.
3. They were loved by women who see through their violent exterior and who teach them true love.
4. They were freed from their curse through a dying act of true love.
5. The handsome, charismatic, and well-liked guy in town turned out to be the real monster in the end.
6. Said guy was determined to marry the protagonist princess.
7. Said guy attempted to kill Elsa/Beast with a sword.
8. Said guy fell from a great height at his defeat.
9. Movie ends with a public dance of the two central characters.

This is fun, okay, here goes.
1. This is a generalization, Elsa and Beast are very different characters in most ways.
2. I guess I can give you this one, though the circumstances of their castle raids are quite different.
3. True, but only in the vaguest sense.
4. Once again, only in the vaguest sense.
5. Kind of true, but Gaston was clearly unlikable from the beginning. Hans serves a very different purpose in Frozen.
6. True again, but also for very different reasons.
7. You get this one, I think you have one and a half points thus far.
8. A very silly comparison, the ends of Gaston and Hans are very different.
9. Technically true, but not really a relevant point and still different contexts.

Also an interesting similarity:
The Princess and the Frog = The Black Cauldron:
1. Both films were not as successful as Disney hoped.
2. Both films premiered right before the start of their respective Golden Ages.
3. The villain used Satanic magic.

This one seems very fun.

1. You can't compare these two financially. The Princess and the Frog still made bank even if it wasn't what Disney had hoped. The Black Cauldron almost ended their animation division. Big difference!
2. Wrong on both accounts. The Princess and the Frog arguably started the current success. The Black Cauldron was quite a few years before the Renaissance.
3. You're stretching here, the Horned King and Dr. Facilier are almost nothing alike.

And now, it seems Moana is shaping up to be this Renaissance's Pocahontas. Even their other upcoming film Zootopia seems like the new Lion King as it involves talking animals in an African savannah setting.

I very much doubt Moan will feel anything remotely like Pocahontas. Pocahontas was an old school, romanticized Hollywood musical. I don't think that's what Moana is going for. On the latter, Zootopia is clearly meant to be a comedy with some action and mystery thrown in. The Lion King was a Shakespearean attempt at an epic, albeit with very mixed results.

Very interesting post overall, but sadly quite misguided and ill informed. I enjoyed reading it and making a response though!

"If life is getting you down and needs uplifting, then please come dance with me!"

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Pardon my prissy remark, but I don't think the comparison between The Princess and the Frog and The Black Cauldron is that relevant. Cauldron is labeled as being one of Disney's worst, despite having it's fanbase. While Frog was not a huge hit, it was not a flop either. Though it's questionable whether Frog should've been labeled as a part of the new Revival era, it still semi-ushered an interest in Princess movies and Disney again.

As for the Aladdin counterpart, Wreck-It-Ralph may not be an exact replica. But it's often depicted as the Aladdin of the new Revival era; Both snarky comedies with pop culture references, male leads, a pivotal duo who emerges a friendship. In fact, though your comparisons are relevant, the fact is that the new Revival movies have been compared due to their box offices; Frog was the new The Little Mermaid (the beginner). Tangled was the new Beauty and the Beast (increasing Disney's box office). Winnie The Pooh the new The Rescuers Down Under (the flop). And last, but not least Frozen the new The Lion King as the big blockbuster (despite the former not being an animalistic movie this time). But each to their owns.

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No it goes like this:

Little Mermaid=Princess and the Frog:
1. Both characters undergo a transformation
2. Villains had a purple color scheme and practiced black magic.
3. Movies ending with a wedding.
4. First musical fairy tales in years.
5. Came out during the holiday season of a year ending with a 9.
6. Preceding Disney movie was about pets and was regarded as a step in the right direction.
7. Had sidekicks that were arthropods with accents.
8. Main characters knew who the villain was prior to the start of the film.

Tangled=Beauty and the Beast:
1. Both had magical flowers and hidden castles/towers
2. Villains were vain and wanted the main character for themselves.
3. Villain stabs the male lead and falls to their death
4. One song took place in a tavern
5. Song introducing the main character mentions reading books
6. Male character dies and comes to life.

Wreck It Ralph=Aladdin:
1. Main character doesn't wear shoes, lives in a dump, and befriends a princess.
2. Villain turns into a monster during the climax and meets his demise in a volcano.
3. Villain's sidekick becomes friends with the main characters.
4. Lots of pop culture references.
5. Villain brainwashed everyone into thinking he is the ruler.
6. Basic rags to riches plot
7. Came out Thanksgiving time in a year ending with a 2.

Frozen=The Lion King:
1. Big cultural phenomenon
2. Opens with a song that has chanting in another language.
3. A royal heir abandons the kingdom and sings a song about leaving their old life behind.
4. Main comedy relief character(s) appear 45 minutes in.
5. Parent(s) die during the course of the movie
6. Villain wants to be king and has regicide as part of his main plan.
7. Villain wants the main character dead but never makes a serious attempt at killing them.

Not saying that any of these movies are ripoffs, but this is just how they are similar.

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Pocahontas was based on a real story and Moana is an original story with gods and demons. All Pocahontas had was those crappy ancestor trees.

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Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern of something where none actually exists.

...from that internet encyclopedia anybody can edit but nerds will roll back your trolling efforts in a pinch.

Maybe this film is set up to fail because people are constantly beating it off to their nostalgic perceptions of a cartoon "golden age."

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OH MY STARS! It's almost like fairy tales and legends have common tropes which repeat and are endlessly worked over. YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON EVER TO NOTICE THIS.
(ahem. Maybe try reading "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell or the Aarne-Thompson classification of folktales index. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarne%E2%80%93Thompson_classification_systems)

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It's sad that some people consider Frozen to be in the same league as the masterpiece, Beauty and the Beast.

Anyways, back on topic. I hope Moana doesn't suffer the same fate as Pocahontas: an excellent animated movie left in the dust.

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