Moana meets Maui in a scene from Disney’s Moana. (Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures)The formula for a Disney animated movie is as familiar as… well, Disney itself. Start with a plucky heroine, give her a problem to solve and an obstacle to overcome, throw in one or two quirky sidekicks and five or six earworm-level tunes. All that’s left to make an instant hit is two to three years of painstaking animation and a sprinkle of marketing magic.
Disney’s latest, Moana, checks those boxes and doesn’t stray too far from them. It lacks the subversive social politics of Zootopia from earlier this year and the narrative invention that has been the hallmark of films from Disney’s corporate sibling Pixar. But as formulaic executions go, Moana has enough energy and pizzazz to warrant a family trip to the theater this holiday season.
The movie draws its story from the ancient Hawaiian myth of the demigod Maui. According to a prologue, Maui disappeared from the public eye after allegedly stealing a magic stone that gives life to the natural environment of the islands. The title character (voiced by 16-year-old Hawaii native Auli’i Cravalho in her debut role) is a strong-willed teen who’s set to take over from her stern father Tui (Temuera Morrison) as chief of their home island, Motunui. Moana thinks the key to saving her home lies across the sea with Maui, but her father’s rocky relationship with the choppy seas proves a roadblock.
It’s no surprise that Moana eventually sets sail, after a first act that drags but also features some of the movie’s most stirring songs, as well as heartfelt scenes with Moana and her grandmother (Rachel House). The story kicks into high gear once Moana, flanked by a dopey chicken and the will of the ocean, finds Maui, a flamboyant hunk of muscle voiced with relish by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who gets a standout number. Together, they encounter all manner of ocean flora and fauna as they tussle over their destinations and eventually come to an understanding.
Moana, which predominantly features characters of Hawaiian descent, is the latest step in Disney’s push for increased representation of racial minorities. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, both white, spent several years researching and meeting with people from the South Pacific, and they tapped acclaimed Oceanic musician Opetaia Foa’i to help write the songs. Zootopia commented pointedly on the divisions along racial lines in urban America, but the existence of Moana is itself a piece of commentary: People of color belong in and behind the scenes of the movies, and the story doesn’t need to call attention to the radical nature of their onscreen showcase.
From the varied Hawaiian landscapes, the loving depiction of ocean waves, and music which features lyrics in English and South Pacific dialects, the filmmakers demonstrate their commitment to a specific place and culture. Such details also ground the story in an emotional honesty that a more superficial approach would have lacked.
Part of the movie’s theatrical romanticism can be attributed to the involvement of Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who co-wrote many of the songs and sings on a few of them. His Hamilton co-stars Christopher Jackson and Phillipa Soo also have vocal cameos in the soundtrack. The same spirit that animated the landmark Broadway musical is also on display here: amplify voices that aren’t always heard, tell a story with characters worth caring about, sing until your feelings are laid bare. Disney knows a good formula better than most. This one’s a keeper.
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Moana
Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
Written by Jared Bush from a story by Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell and Jordan Kandell
With Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Rachel House
Rated PG for peril, some scary images and brief thematic elements.
113 minutes
Opens today at a theater near you
