{"id":9173,"date":"2024-11-28T10:19:32","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T15:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=9173"},"modified":"2024-11-28T10:19:32","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T15:19:32","slug":"moana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/11\/28\/moana\/","title":{"rendered":"Moana"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Moana<\/strong> (2016)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Disney\/Adventure-Comedy-Fantasy-Musical\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 103 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (peril, some scary images, brief thematic elements)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Ron Clements and John Musker\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jared Bush\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Story: Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell and Jordan Kandell\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Mark Mancina (score), Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa\u2019i (songs)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 23, 2016 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Auli\u2019I Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Jermaine Clement, Alan Tudyk.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $248.7M (US)\/$687.2M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0Is it too soon to predict that Moana<\/strong> is the next Disney classic? Not to brag, but I was right about Frozen three years back. Disney has had a pretty good run with their animated movies these last eight years with winners like Bolt, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia. If you\u2019re wondering why last year\u2019s excellent Inside Out isn\u2019t on the list, it\u2019s because it\u2019s technically a Pixar (a different division of Disney) movie.<\/p>\n

\u00a0All the movies I mentioned are quite good, but only Frozen can rightfully be regarded as a classic along the lines of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. I am absolutely certain Moana<\/strong> will ascend to the very same level. It has all the necessary prerequisites; great animation, dazzling visuals, catchy tunes, clever gags, a huge sense of fun and, most importantly, a strong-willed heroine (with a goofy comic sidekick animal).<\/p>\n

\u00a0In this case, it\u2019s the titular character (newcomer Cravalho), the 15YO daughter of a Polynesian village chief. She\u2019s next in line to inherit the title, but only if she gives up her dreams of leaving the island. Her father (Morrison, Once Were Warriors) says it\u2019s too dangerous to travel beyond the reef and for good reason. Legend has it 1000 years earlier, the demigod Maui (Johnson, the Fast & Furious movies) stole the heart of island goddess Te Fiti, angering her and turning her into a lava monster. His action also brings about the gradual destruction of nature. Now that the curse has started to affect her home, Moana takes decisive action to make things right.<\/p>\n

\u00a0All her life, her father and mother (Pussycat Dolls singer Scherzinger) have repeatedly told her to stay away from the ocean. That\u2019s a lot to ask considering the ocean chose her, as a toddler, to restore the heart of Te Fiti. It\u2019s her destiny. Not long after discovering her people\u2019s ancestors were voyagers, she takes one of their sailboats (from a hidden cave on the island) and embarks on a perilous mission to save her island and her people.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Along with her dimwitted pet rooster Heihei (Tudyk, Firefly), she sets off to find Maui who\u2019s been living in exile on a small island, stripped of his powers, since angering Te Fiti all those many years ago. He eventually agrees to help her, but only if she helps him first. He needs to retrieve his fishhook\/staff (a gift from the gods) which gives him the power to shapeshift. It\u2019s being held by a giant crab, Tamatoa (Clement, Flight of the Conchords), with a penchant for shiny objects.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Moana<\/strong> is an enormously entertaining family film. It\u2019s one that parents will enjoy just as much as their children. What\u2019s not to enjoy? Moana is spunky, intelligent, fearless and determined. Not only that, she doesn\u2019t expect any man to fight her battles for her. In fact, the opposite sex is the farthest thing from her mind. Like Mulan and Merida (Brave) before her, she\u2019s not out to land a husband or gain her father\u2019s approval. Moana has an obligation- to herself AND her people- to fulfill her destiny; if it means fighting side-by-side with an egotistical male demigod, then so be it. Just whatever you do, DON\u2019T call her a princess like Maui does at one point. He says \u201cIf you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you\u2019re a princess.\u201d It\u2019s one of the movie\u2019s best lines.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In any event, Moana is an excellent role model for little girls. In her acting debut, 15YO Cravalho does a wonderful job. Her voice radiates grace, energy and great comic timing. She\u2019s also a terrific singer. Johnson is equally great as the huge-muscled Maui, a demigod whose heart is a big as his bod. The wrestler-turned-action star has a knack for comedy and it shows in Moana<\/strong>. A running gag has Maui\u2019s tattoos acting as an illustrated Greek chorus of sorts, either telling parts of his backstory or commenting on the action.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The computer-generated animation in Moana<\/strong> is some of the best I\u2019ve seen in a long time. The things they can do with CA still has the power to amaze. It\u2019s in the small things like the way Moana\u2019s hair moves, the water in the ocean comes to life or the attention paid to tiny details. I won\u2019t lie, I\u2019ve grown bored of CA since it became the norm; movies like Moana<\/strong> revive my interest. The animators, with what they do, take it up to the next level of excellence. The visuals are colorful, vibrant and gorgeous. One of the coolest scenes has Moana and Maui doing battle with a band of coconut pirates. The lava monster may be too awesome a spectacle; I fear it will frighten smaller children too much.<\/p>\n

\u00a0If I have any problem with Moana<\/strong>, it\u2019s this. While very good, the musical numbers aren\u2019t as great as those in Beauty and the Beast or Frozen. None of them stand out like \u201cLet It Go\u201d or \u201cBelle\u201d. Nonetheless, the songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (star and creator of Broadway\u2019s current smash hit Hamilton) and Opetaia Foa\u2019i are very good. Cravalho belts out the girl-power anthem \u201cHow Far I\u2019ll Go\u201d and Johnson gets to do a self-promoting tune \u201cYou\u2019re Welcome\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0One of the best things about Moana<\/strong>, in addition to it being an exciting fantasy-adventure, is that it\u2019s funny. In addition to dialogue, Heihei the rooster is great comic relief. Therein lies one of the movie\u2019s subversive elements. It proves that NOT all animals are smart. This is one dumb bird. There\u2019s so much to love about Moana<\/strong> that I could write a lot more about it. But I\u2019m writing a review, NOT a novel.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019ll start wrapping things up. The movie is preceded by an amusing little animated short called Inner Workings. Be sure to stay through the end credits for a funny post-credits scene. Most importantly, be sure to take your kids to see Moana<\/strong>. That actually goes without saying since I predict it will be another smash hit for the studio that the Mouse built. I\u2019m all for that; Moana<\/strong> is that rare kid-oriented flick that doesn\u2019t pander or insult the intelligence of viewers over the age of 11. Even if it does occasionally resort to bathroom humor, it\u2019s still one of the year\u2019s best family-friendly animated films.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moana (2016)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Disney\/Adventure-Comedy-Fantasy-Musical\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 103 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (peril, some scary images, brief thematic elements)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Ron Clements and John Musker\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jared Bush\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Story: Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell and Jordan Kandell\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Mark Mancina (score), Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa\u2019i (songs)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 23, 2016 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Moana-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9173"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9438,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9173\/revisions\/9438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}