Disney's Moana movie review

Disney has done it again in their latest animated movie, Moana. I am not expecting much about the movie but they never fail to impress me. It is the third time Disney doing a 3D animated movie without PIXAR and the animators just get better project after project.

Photo credit:Walt Disney Studios

For the character design, they are still similar strokes you are familiar with since Tangled but they did great design and the characters appear Polynesian. But what made impress about the movie was the culture of Moana’s society.

As any historian and anthropologist might say, our ancestors, in any civilization, knew how to navigate the oceans with knowledge of astronomy. They can know the directions of where they are going with the position of the stars. They are not primitive as anyone might think.

As for the key characters, Moana is a chieftain’s daughter which means she can be the newest addition of Disney princesses and not just because she has a pet pig and chicken. Just like her predecessors, she also has the same courage and strength a Disney princess should have. Unlike her previous predecessors, who are mostly westernized, she can be a chief. Her society is more inclusive.

For the demigod Maui, there is more to him than just a name of popular beach apparel which he was named after. Demigods are not just a Greek thing because there are many legends across the globe that has their own demigods. Since Disney made a version of the famous demigod Hercules years ago, I am going to compare him to Maui. Unlike Hercules, you can see Maui’s demigod being that he is not ordinary human. He is not proportioned like any human. He is like a giant like the offspring of the angels that mated with humans in Genesis.  Dwayne Johnson did very well in voicing Maui.

Maui is more similar to the real Hercules unlike the Disney’s Hercules. The real Hercules was not a heroic type. He just did the 12 labors that made him famous. This is also similar to what Maui did. What made Maui cooler than Hercules was he had an enchanted hooked weapon that enables him to shapeshift.

The songs are Disney trademark is the soul of the movie. It gives us something memorable and last song syndromes. The theme song “How Far Will I Go” is something that audience will remember for the rest of months to come. Although it was sang as part of the movie, it was also released in Asian interpretations and the English version sang by Janella Salvador from the Philippines was a better interpretation than the U.S. version. The different interpretations in Asian countries are good because we have more in common to the Polynesians than the westerners. Maybe they originated from this region before exploring the Pacific Ocean.

Watching it in 3D is always an immersing experience especially if it’s a Disney masterpiece. Be sure to watch it in a good 3D cinema. The 3D cinema in Mall of Asia where I watched was quite sufficient for the movie. For more animated movie reviews and more, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.