While Moana does adhere to some of the classic Disney princess tropes, it pushes the genre further in the direction of ballad-driven girl power movies set by Frozen. The story revolves around Moana’s journey to save her home Island, Motunui, with the help of her begrudging mentor Maui. She grapples with the decision to stay on her island with her family, or follow the ocean’s siren call she has heard since she was a baby. The focus is on self-discovery. Her mission is to banish a vague “darkness” overtaking the Polynesian islands. Her superpower is the ocean as a “friend”, which takes the form of an anthropomorphic wave that only seems to be present when it’s needed for dramatic or comedic effect. The plot line is cushioned by colorful visuals of water, lush island greenery, and photorealistic hair at contrast with the overblown features of Pixar faces.
“If you wear a dress, and you have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess,” quips Dwayne Johnson’s voice as Maui, the movie’s demigod antihero. Moana is the daughter of a chief instead, and that’s not the only way she breaks the boundaries of a Disney leading lady. Like Frozen, Moana focuses on the relationship of the heroine to her family, her community, and her role in the world. Both movies were directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. There are two significant differences between Moana and most other Disney princess films. Not only is she the first Polynesian Disney princess, her movie is the first in history to not mention marriage or a romantic relationship for the main character. There is a complete lack of romantic love interest.
Moana also made major strides in the representation of the human body. While the ultra-thin waist of Disney princess cannon remains the same, Moana’s arms, legs, shoulders, neck, hands and even feet are proportioned much closer to that of the average human. When we look at the cast of recent Disney Pixar princesses, Moana stands alone amongst thin, white characters.
The main character isn’t the only thing that deviates from traditional Disney. In the past, the company has been called out for racist depictions of characters of Color. Native American characters are referred to as “red” in Peter Pan, and “savages” in Pocahontas. The opening theme from Aladdin called the Middle East “barbaric”. There are questionably racialized characters in the Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, Fantasia, and many more films by Disney. Attempting to discontinue this trend, the directors of Moana conducted research trips to South Pacific islands where they listened to firsthand experiences and perspectives of Polynesian people. They created the Oceanic Story Trust specifically for this task, and checked the details—the patterns of Moana’s skirts, the persona of a demigod in legends, or the uses of coconut fiber—against the knowledge of historians, artists and elders in Polynesian communities. The voice actor they chose to play Moana is Auli’i Cravalho, the sixteen-year-old from Kohala, Hawaii. Dwayne Johnson has Samoan ancestry as well. The soundtrack features some Tokelauan language (as well as Lin-Minuel Miranda of Hamilton and Jermaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords).
However, some doubts were still raised about the film’s cultural accuracy and political correctness. The minor characters of Motunui have accents similar to that of Australia or New Zealand, but the voices of the two characters that speak most, Moana and Maui, both adhere to Standard American English. Disney attempted to sell Moana-themed costumes, but when a full bodysuit of brown skin and tattoo patterns was criticized as a Polynesian version of Blackface, it was pulled from the market. Particular concerns were voiced around Maui’s representation. The demigod appears in real Polynesian legends as both a trickster and a hero, but never comic relief. Cheap humor was used a number of times. “Really? A blowdart. In my buttcheek.” Maui says, after the helpful-yet-elusive ocean wave renders him paralyzed so that he will have to teach Moana how to sail. That sort of humor, coupled with the fast-paced action scenes that have become signature to animated children’s movies, makes for a strange backdrop on which to display a meaningful, accurate representation of Polynesian culture.
This film, even with it’s moments of childish humor or underdeveloped plot, is worthwhile to watch with or without your younger cousin. Go into it knowing that even while Disney took special care to be culturally accurate and sensitive, a profit-driven children’s movie franchise is a difficult framework to do so. Appreciate it’s beautiful backgrounds, a good soundtrack, and nuanced existential character development. It provides the kind of hero we need: a kind, dedicated role model in the form of a strong Polynesian girl.
4 thoughts on “Moana (2016)”
I have seen Moana twice and agree that it does break many of the Disney stereotypical movies that revolve around love at first sight, and the perception of princesses as skinny white girls. I do think Disney has more of a way to go, like you pointed out, but I also think this film is much better than the other “classics.” I think producing a movie that in some ways sums up a culture is extremely difficult to do. There are nuances that a movie aimed towards children primarily, and of course adults, will look over. I believe it’s extremely important for Disney to be rethinking their stance on many of the themes they portray because their audience is so young and very easily influenced by the movies they watch.
I like how you tackle the progressive aspects of this movie while acknowledging that Disney’s marketing and tone sometimes were less progressive than it first seemed. I think this movie deserves more attention for how Moana is never paired off or even teased with a romantic love interest, partially because her only male companion is an adult. Even Frozen, which got a bunch of acclaim for mocking the haphazard Disney love plots and having the first princess to not have any partner, still put a lot of focus on romance and had a sort of superfluous romantic plot with the other princess.
I also noticed how this may be the first princess movie taking place in a non-Western culture where the culture isn’t seen as barbaric or stereotypically repressive. In Aladdin and Mulan, the “princesses” had to rebel against their culture, but in Moana, she is proud of her community and actually goes out of her way to defend it, and the ones holding her back have personal reasons, not just “traditional” reasons.
The story is sort of a basic hero’s journey type and you’re right that the comedy can be a little cheap in a way that conflicts with the overall tone and environment, but in general I consider it an important and powerful movie.
I have always hated Disney’s princess films because of their unrealistic representation of women, absolute focus on romance and many racist depictions. After reading your review I find myself intrigued. You addressed all the reservations I had. It sounds like Moana is a big improvement for the genre. However, based on the fact that some still questioned the film’s political correctness and my own past experiences with Disney princess depictions, I am still inclined to believe that the film does not accurately portray Polynesian culture. With all that said, I am pleased to hear that Disney put a lot of effort into make a more acceptable/realistic princess movie.
Moana really does set a new standard for animated film makings. I agree that it does have its moments of childishness, but I can’t agree that it takes away from appreciating the Polynesian culture that it is trying to emulate. When watching a film like this, one has to remember the audience that the film is designed for: kids. By adding the humorous moments, while still portraying Maui as a strong and powerful hero, the film is simply ensuring that it is still captivating the attention of its viewers. We can criticize Disney for inaccuracies of the characters, but we shouldn’t criticize it for introducing a new culture to children and ensuring that those children still continue to watch the movie in a world where something more interesting is never more than a foot away.
I do agree with your other points, though. The accents still needed a little more work, and the costumes definitely should not have been sold in stores. With a little more work, Disney can really revitalize animation as a whole and bring it into a new, less racist modern era.