Film Review: Moana

Just like how anything is a better love story than Twilight, Moana is better than Frozen.  

Disney’s animated film, Moana, directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, follows the physical and emotional voyage of Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), a young girl, unsure of who she is but determined to find Maui (Dwayne Johnson), shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, hero of men and women, in order to restore the heart of Tifinti and restore her island. The film was an emotional ride from start to end. I was on the verge of tears so many times and well I had to “let it go” around 20 mins in. Seeing the characters on the verge of tears made me also be on the verge of tears.  

Characters
Really, only two main characters (Maui and Moana). A lot of characters were not necessary, Pau (the pig), the coconut pirates, crab. Hay Hay and the tattoo guy weren’t exactly necessary either but added to the humor element. It’s just many of these unnecessary characters have very limited screen time and thus viewers don’t form a connection with them. They really become filler characters.

Plot
Clear and simple – perhaps too simplistic? They don’t really fight anyone. They just kind of manage to escape the coconuts, crab and the fire demon. Everything is fairly predictable.

Songs and music
They were well timed and placed. Not as unnecessary or annoying as Frozen. Catchy. Sometimes the songs were repetitive (“the island”) and didn't seem to have a particular structure to them. Meh, I still think Tangled did it better.

Cinematography
Some really pretty scenes. The crab scene, both glow in the dark and not, were pretty.

Humour
So you’ve got Hay Hay and little Maui. There are also some pretty dark jokes that really left me speechless and thinking, “Disney did not just go there. Oh, that’s messed up.” The breaking of the fourth wall added to the humour as well.

Other thoughts/observations
Hay Hay is one suicidal chicken.

Rating
Like I said, better than Frozen but no where near Tangled. Worth a watch though. It’s just not amazing. 3.5/5 stars.


 - Sarah


REFERENCES:
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKFuXETZUsI

Information:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3521164/

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