"Moana" is Charming Family Fun

Moana (2016)

With the usual string of terrible family films like Norm of the North, Trolls, another installment of the Ice Age franchise, and plenty of other quickly forgotten animated features, it's always a breath of fresh air when Disney released something new. Moana is no exception. With fun and catchy musical numbers, an admirable protagonist, and even a few jokes at Disney's own expense ("If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you are a princess."), it's difficult to not enjoy this charming family film.

Admittedly, there are instances in the plot which reveal that this is not Disney at its most imaginative. Some elements in the story seem redundant and reminiscent of jokes and scenes from other Disney movies, but the film really makes up for these elements with its two charming protagonists, a sincerely comedic character, and its absolutely stunning animation. Even if you are not particularly interested in family films, if you have a passion for art I cannot recommend this film enough. It's filled with stunning bright colors, amazing animation, and an attention to detail which I have never seen in an animated film before. The world within Moana feels real, and it feels like one which is vibrant and brimming with life, rather than something stilted which only moves and breathes when the plot calls for it.

Another strong element within Moana is its music. Rarely do Disney's computer animated features contain musical numbers (excluding Frozen, which I refuse to speak about at length after the countless tributes and sycophants always available to sing its praises), and it was refreshing and charming to see these characters sing such carefully arranged songs as they happily bounce around in brightly colored floral scenery. The film also contains a character who is essentially a tribute to David Bowie, something which I found to be particularly touching, and his musical number was (without a doubt) the best in the film.

Moana touches on the important themes of friendship and devotion to ones family, while also straying from the typical Disney formula of writers struggling to find a way to force a love interest into the film's plot. Rather than fleeing from her destiny as her community's future leader, Moana embraces it, she loves her family and her people and is determined to honor them instead of flee like so many other women in Disney movies have. Her sense of duty and determination to respect her family's wishes instead of argue against them like a petulant teenager makes her a much stronger role-model and far more likable character than so many before her, she comes across as mature and conveys the sort of drive that is missing from so many Disney women before her - a drive for something bigger and more important than the opportunity to exchange longing glances with her love interest.

Rather than teaching girls to aspire to marry rich or to break away from their family's expectations, Moana teaches them about respect and about how they should strive to be something greater and independent (a moral which Frozen attempted to teach, only to fall flat when it forced a love interest into the plot out of some strange sense of obligation its writers felt). Family and a love and respect for elders is something rarely seen in the plots of Disney movies, where girls usually rebel against their father's wishes to prove them wrong out of spite, but this film communicates these themes in a way which flows so naturally that it's both heartwarming and refuses to make its audience uncomfortable with a lecture.

While Moana is by no means a perfect film, it is exactly the sort of film it needs to be; something charming, sweet, and sincere. Moana is in theaters now, and I recommend you see it on the big screen while you can so you can experience its beautiful bright colors to their fullest potential.