Moana - film review
May. 6th, 2017 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatThe animated Disney film Moana is a well-executed and inspiring tale about our relationship with the earth and sea, and how we...or rather men, can damage it by hunting for praise from others.
In the story, a young Herculean hero or Demi-God, steals the heart of the land and all creation to win the praise of the humans who had rejected him. Except when he does so...he turns the land into an angry lava goddess, burning and destroying all in her wake. A monster. With no heart, she is empty, craving and furious. And throws him and his magical hook into the sea. He's separated from the hook and stranded on an island for thousands of years.
One day, a young girl is called by the ocean. Her grandmother who bears the tattoo of the sting-ray, tells her the tale of Maori, the Demigod who stold Tahani's heart, the heart of the land, and how she must journey beyond the reef to find Maori and have him return Tahani's heart. The Ocean gives the young girl the heart -- which is a bright green stone.
Her father however forbids her from leaving the island, because it is dangerous beyond the reefs. He should know he lost someone there, and fears it. Fears losing her. But when he grandmother dies, she goes...
That's the set up.
The metaphors are beautiful, and the songs jazzy, many written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. I'm not sure any of the songs are memorable, but some fit...and there's one that I think metaphorically relates well to how we or men see the earth and why what is happening is well happening...the song is "You're Welcome" and in it the Demi-God, Herculean hero, Maori takes credit for all the things that have been given to us by the land, the ocean, the sun, and the source of us all.
What's interesting about this lovely film -- is how it subverts the entire genre, the hero here is not Maori, the Demi-God, if anything he is the villain of the piece, but you don't quite realize it until the very end. And he's not a deliberate villain, he's not evil, he was just careless and hungry for love...he made a mistake. He wanted to be a hero for all the wrong reasons -- for the applause, for validation, to obtain acceptance. But much like the heroes of other myths before him, he never does...no matter what he does, it's not enough.
The true hero is Moana, who has no need to be a hero. She merely wants to give the land back its heart and by not wishing to be hero and not seeing things in black and white or good and evil, she's able to discover that Maori's villain, the monster he feared, was in truth the land struggling to regain her heart.
It's a story about seeing past fear and ego...this ever-present need to feel important, to fit in, to be great, to be worthy, and as a result, not being who you are. She tells Maori that his magical hook isn't who he is, he is who he is. And she tells the lava monster, this is not who you are...without your heart...it is in your heart that you know.
I think I enjoyed this more than FROZEN, in part, because it subverts so many of the tropes... and unlike FROZEN it wasn't based on a fairy tale that I adored, as it had previously been told. I think this story goes further in throwing those old tropes out the window, while honoring new ones. And,
it is a tale told through characters, the characters and story are at the center. We don't spend a lot of time being "told", so much as being "shown". In other words, it's not preachy.
In the story, a young Herculean hero or Demi-God, steals the heart of the land and all creation to win the praise of the humans who had rejected him. Except when he does so...he turns the land into an angry lava goddess, burning and destroying all in her wake. A monster. With no heart, she is empty, craving and furious. And throws him and his magical hook into the sea. He's separated from the hook and stranded on an island for thousands of years.
One day, a young girl is called by the ocean. Her grandmother who bears the tattoo of the sting-ray, tells her the tale of Maori, the Demigod who stold Tahani's heart, the heart of the land, and how she must journey beyond the reef to find Maori and have him return Tahani's heart. The Ocean gives the young girl the heart -- which is a bright green stone.
Her father however forbids her from leaving the island, because it is dangerous beyond the reefs. He should know he lost someone there, and fears it. Fears losing her. But when he grandmother dies, she goes...
That's the set up.
The metaphors are beautiful, and the songs jazzy, many written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. I'm not sure any of the songs are memorable, but some fit...and there's one that I think metaphorically relates well to how we or men see the earth and why what is happening is well happening...the song is "You're Welcome" and in it the Demi-God, Herculean hero, Maori takes credit for all the things that have been given to us by the land, the ocean, the sun, and the source of us all.
What's interesting about this lovely film -- is how it subverts the entire genre, the hero here is not Maori, the Demi-God, if anything he is the villain of the piece, but you don't quite realize it until the very end. And he's not a deliberate villain, he's not evil, he was just careless and hungry for love...he made a mistake. He wanted to be a hero for all the wrong reasons -- for the applause, for validation, to obtain acceptance. But much like the heroes of other myths before him, he never does...no matter what he does, it's not enough.
The true hero is Moana, who has no need to be a hero. She merely wants to give the land back its heart and by not wishing to be hero and not seeing things in black and white or good and evil, she's able to discover that Maori's villain, the monster he feared, was in truth the land struggling to regain her heart.
It's a story about seeing past fear and ego...this ever-present need to feel important, to fit in, to be great, to be worthy, and as a result, not being who you are. She tells Maori that his magical hook isn't who he is, he is who he is. And she tells the lava monster, this is not who you are...without your heart...it is in your heart that you know.
I think I enjoyed this more than FROZEN, in part, because it subverts so many of the tropes... and unlike FROZEN it wasn't based on a fairy tale that I adored, as it had previously been told. I think this story goes further in throwing those old tropes out the window, while honoring new ones. And,
it is a tale told through characters, the characters and story are at the center. We don't spend a lot of time being "told", so much as being "shown". In other words, it's not preachy.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-07 05:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-07 02:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-07 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-07 10:40 pm (UTC)Other than that, hard to find a bad spot. The reveal on the fire guardian actually took me by surprise. (Can't tell you the last time a Disney cartoon was one step ahead me.)
The entire family is still doing imitations of Hei Hei the chicken. (Alan Tudyk rules!)
no subject
Date: 2017-05-08 01:58 am (UTC)I don't think they could have brought it in earlier...because from a plot perspective, they needed him to explain why he was giving up and why the hook was so important. Also, from a character standpoint? He wouldn't have told her earlier than that...that guy had to be prodded to do so. He was too "Narcissistic" to do it earlier. Which I thought was rather clever -- to have a male hero who was such a classic example of narcissism and how destructive that can be. And how she manages to help him see past it...and himself, long enough to help her. He's still narcissistic and doesn't completely change who he is..ironic that considering he's a shape-shifter, but he does begin to grow. Great commentary on classical heroes and ahem, "he who shall not be named".
Flipping the villain trope was a stroke of brilliance. I was also surprised by the twist -- it had me in tears, rare in a Disney film.
This film really surprised me. I didn't think it was going to be that good.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-08 03:02 am (UTC)And yes, Tudyk was the chicken. I've seen clips of Tudyk doing the insane squawk when Hei Hei realized he was in the middle of the ocean.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-08 12:47 pm (UTC)(He's probably the most famous New Zealander on the planet right now.)
Eh, no I'm pretty certain Russell Crow and Peter Jackson still hold that title. Both are just a wee bit more mainstream.