Starring
the voices of Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera
Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, Alan Tudyk. Directed
by Ron Clements & John Musker. (2016, 107 min).
The
second Disney renaissance continues with Moana, and
if you're of a certain age, a sense of deja vu might creep in. You
can't quite place your finger on it, but aside from the CG
animation, there's something comfortingly familiar about the film that recalls the glory
days of the first Disney renaissance.
Perhaps it's because Moana is directed by Ron Clements and John
Musker, the team behind The Little Mermaid, which arguably made
Disney animation relevant again. Despite the relative anonymity of
most Disney directors, there was something distinctive about Clements
& Musker's films throughout the 80s and 90s (which included
Aladdin & Hercules). Though not always necessarily
better, they were slightly more irreverent, the character depictions
more imaginatively exaggerated, the musical numbers more
effectively woven into the plots themselves (as opposed to isolated
set-pieces).
Moana is their first fully CG animated feature, but their familiar stamp
is everywhere and it's easily their best film since Aladdin.
 |
| "Boat? What boat?" |
The
title character is the daughter of Tui, her overprotective father &
the village chief of the South Pacific island, Motunui. Though next in succession to lead their
people, she yearns to venture beyond the reef and explore the ocean.
When the their crops and trees start to mysteriously die, Moana's grandmother tells her why: a thousand years ago, the heart of the island goddess, Te Fiti,
was stolen by the demigod, Maui, who in-turn was defeated by the lava
demon, Te K, and banished to a remote island. The ocean itself
chooses Moana to find Maui so
he can return the heart to Te Fiti before everything dies.
The
story is perfect Disney fodder, fraught with peril and epiphanies. And of course, it's impeccably animated, but at this point, is the quality of Disney animation a bone of
contention anymore? What distinguishes Moana from the likes of
Tangled and Frozen are the distinctive Clements/Musker
touches. The imaginative rendering of Maui reflects the same level of
creativity (from the animated tattoos to Dwayne Johnson's amusing
voice performance) given to the genie in Aladdin. The obligatory
non-human sidekick provides some of the funniest moments (made more
amusing after we're initially led to believe it's the 'cuter' animal
that'll be tagging along). As for the songs, not only are they
memorable, they are a major part of the plot and character
development (you can't really say that about "Let it Go").
And yes, in the context of the film, Johnson can actually sing
without embarrassing himself.
 |
| Future club sandwiches. |
On
a side note, speaking of Johnson...do you wonder if he wakes up every
morning, catches a glance of himself in the mirror and just laughs,
basking in the fact he's Dwayne Johnson? He's almost obscenely
likable and hardly fails at anything, which includes his work here.
This isn't stunt casting; Johnson is a Pacific Islander himself, as
is most of the cast, and he's terrific as Maui. Newcomer Auli'i
Cravalho shines as the title character and is equipped with one hell
of a set of pipes.
Storywise,
Moana adheres to the tried & true Disney formula that has
served them well over the years (though the climax is almost too
reminiscent of the "Firebird Suite" sequence in Fantasia
2000). So while it's not as strikingly original as Zootopia,
Clements and Musker's unique touches give Moana a distinct
voice among Disney's other recent blockbusters..
EXTRA
KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES:
"Voice
of the Islands" - The longest and best of the bonus features,
the directors travel to the Pacific Island region for inspiration. We
get a look at its people and their culture, and how both helped shape
the film. It also made me really want to visit.
"Things
You Didn't Know About..." - The lead voice actors and soundtrack
composers answer rapid-fire question on a variety of silly subjects.
"The
Elements of..." - 4 part featurette on the challenge of
animating such things as water, lava and characters' hair.
"Island
Fashion"; "They Know the Way: Making the Music of Moana";
"Fishing for Easter Eggs" (titles tell all about these
three features.
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - By directors Ron Clements & John Musker.
2
ANIMATED SHORTS: "Gone Fishing" & "Inner Workings"
- The first feels like the usual Disney promotional short, while the
second is original, creative and visually interesting. The latter
also features an introduction by the producer and director.
DELETED
SONG: "Warrior Face"
2
MUSIC VIDEOS: Both for "How Far I'll Go" - One features
Alessia Cara, the other is sung in various other languages.
DELETED
SCENES
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
No comments:
Post a Comment