Edgar Cochran ✝️’s review published on Letterboxd:
Imagine a spirited and enthusiastic child whose father is Whale Rider (2002) and the mother is Song of the Sea (2014). What a surprise from the Walt Disney studios! A visually enchanting and intrepid adventure film which mythological weight does no more than adding substance to the film and building believable character conflicts and arcs, with Moana in the centerstage of the multifaceted Polynesian culture, where the full introductory chapter shows enough context for the culture she was born and raised in, with her curiosity spirit leading her to amazing discoveries about the past of her ancestors and her very own culture for a subtle commentary against a fundamentalistic conservation of the “unbreakable traditions” of the past. I wish this first chapter had existed in Encanto (2021), a film that holds a special place in my Latin American heart and yet leaves me empty as it focuses more on a family privileged by magic without focusing on the inspirationally rich Colombian culture and its inhabitants, and how this culture is affected by the Madrigal family.
Here comes Moana, a princess more ground to earth than the typical fantasy film, but with a solid sense of moral for the greater good that finds no fault or sin in dreaming higher. Respect to Dwayne Johnson who gave the proper respect to voice and singing actors and trying to make the best delivery for the Demigod Maui, a pair with few precedents. Respect to the animators that made everything look deliciously stunning, beginning with child Moana’s discovery of the effect of the stone as the sea opens for her.
Arcs exist for the most important characters, an aspect I’ve been paying a lot of importance to lately. I insist: what’s the point of a spoiled character that doesn’t learn relevant life lessons in between and reinforces those beliefs when she’s confronted with him/herself? Being impotent is no sin, but in those circumstances, we’re called to accept our reality and realizing what is at hand’s reach for a contribution to our lives and everybody else’s, no matter how marginal it is. Plant a seed and a tree will grow, but only with time and the proper resources and circumstances.
The ending reaches unexpected mythological proportions that will remind us of Miyazaki’s epic-scoped fantasy adventures. The humor scattered throughout is as effective as an aggressive sea wave, the chicken is the stuff of slapstick comedy legends, and the musical numbers do not reflect the obsessive Frozen syndrome where you need to sing about every freaking event to spoon-feed the audience. In the same train of thought, this film does have an excuse because some songs are really moving and exciting.
Did I mention that the giant neon shiny crab Tamatoa is the stuff of legends for more than just being inspired by Sebastian?
I cannot stress enough the importance of the two main sources of inspiration I personally spotted for this, so I’ll give myself permission to repeat them, apologizing in advance. If you want to take a look at the thematic mother from New Zealand that gave birth to this son, watch Whale Rider (2005) by Niki Caro, one of cinema’s heroines that fell into the dark abyss 15 years later and remade Mulan (2020). If you want to take a look at the father who tells a wonderful story about the sea and places a little princess in the middle of a fantasy tale, watch Tomm Moore’s Song of the Sea (2014). Both are superior films in their own regard, but Moana is the more-than-modest child that came to surpass expectations in an era plagued by sequels and satanic Emoji Movies.
77/100
