|
★★★☆☆
20 November 2016
A movie review of MOANA. |
“If you start singing, I’m going to throw up,” Maui (Dwayne Johnson)
It is crazy that even in 2016, it still feels refreshing to have a female-led animation that does not have the protagonist defined by a love interest. Titular Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is filled with brio and audacity. Her adventure is not about romance. In a meta Disney joke, Moana is accused of being a princess, which she strenuously denies. Being the daughter of Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison), of Motunui, does not mean she has to stay at home, but it does mean responsibilities chafing against her desire for exploration.
It is crazy that even in 2016, it still feels refreshing to have a female-led animation that does not have the protagonist defined by a love interest. Titular Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is filled with brio and audacity. Her adventure is not about romance. In a meta Disney joke, Moana is accused of being a princess, which she strenuously denies. Being the daughter of Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison), of Motunui, does not mean she has to stay at home, but it does mean responsibilities chafing against her desire for exploration.
|
|
The first toe-tapping song, of several, and for me better than those of FROZEN, has the line, “must find happiness where you are.” Normally a cry for contentment in yourself is an excellent sentiment, but the villagers of an idyll have had generations of warnings to not travel beyond the encircling reef. This is not about foreigners, but an unnamed fear. The song is an observation about human propensity to distrust the unknown. The boldest amongst us are thankfully here to push forward. Moana is such a hero.
Sanctimonious moralising is gratefully absent. Any message is there to be interpreted for yourself. Instead of preaching, funny rat-a-tat dialogue, which would not be out of place in 1930s screwball comedies (PHILADELPHIA STORY, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, etc.), entertain and delight. Her verbal sparring partner: Polynesian demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). The Rock throws himself into a character of cocky arrogance, masking a wounded backstory. Moana’s mission to save the world involves this reluctant hero. She is Luke Skywalker to his Han Solo. Gramma Tala (Rachel House) is Obi-Wan. R2D2 equivalent comes in the form of an annoyingly brainless rooster, Heihei – one surmises that he is the comic relief for the youngest members of the audience. Pua, a hairy pig, another of the lead’s pets, would have made a more engaging sidekick on the journey.
|
|
What really irked is the woeful plotting that seems to be in every mainstream film concerning friendships and relationships; the formula: Fractious strangers meet -> slowly come together -> have a trite falling out -> come back together stronger. It is so unbelievably tired. Filmmakers, please retire this cliché device now.
The climax though avoids the obvious, especially regarding the antagonist. Humanism pervades.
ALADDIN, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG and now MOANA, are directors Ron Clements and John Musker the most progressive animation directors in the world?
|
|
Using these Google Adsense links help us keep Filmaluation free for all film and arts lovers.