Moana

Moana Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne Johnson, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Jemaine Clement

Director: Thomas Kail

What’s Good: A movie called Moana!

What’s Bad: A magnifying glass will be needed, or a revisit with the aim to nitpick!

Loo Break: ????!!!!

Watch or Not?: Silly question, actually

Language: English

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 115 Minutes

User Rating:

This live-action Disney film reimagines their 2016 animation classic, Moana, without consciously trying to surpass or belittle one of their finest animation exercises. Moana (Catherine Lagaʻaia) answers the Ocean’s call after coming to know from her grandmother that her own people from the island of Motunui were originally voyagers. Her people are now scared of the sea for a good reason, and her father, chief Tui (John Tui) has been discouraging her since she was four years old from “going beyond the reef”, as she has to be his successor when old enough.  Moana even tries once to but her ship is wrecked and she somehow manages to return to Motunui safe, spotted only by her doughty grandmother, Tala (Rena Owen). And Tala takes Moana to a secret cavern and reveals a 1000 year-old story. 

The inhabitants worship the goddess of nature, Te Fiti, a living island who, long ago, brought life to the ocean using a Pounamu stone as her heart and the source of her power. One day, Maui (Dwayne Johnson), the shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea, had stolen Te Fiti’s heart to give humanity the power of creation, as he himself has been an abandoned child. This made Te Fiti disintegrate, and later, Maui was attacked by Te Ka, a demon originating from fire, making Maui lose both Te Fiti’s heart and his magic fish-hook deep into the sea.

Food, including fish, is now getting scarcer by the day in Motunui, and Tala urges Moana to go beyond the reef so that she can bring prosperity back to the people. Tala has been given the stolen heart by the ocean, and she gives it to Moana to return it to Te Fiti.

Moana sets sail, and unknown to her, her pet rooster, Heihei, also stows himself in her camakau (a Polynesian boat). They are caught in a typhoon and shipwrecked on an island, where she finds Maui, who boasts about his achievements but is trapped there for a thousand years. She demands that Maui return the heart to Te Fiti, but he refuses and traps her in a cave before leaving on her boat. She escapes and confronts Maui, and shortly, the boat is attacked by Kakamora, coconut pirates, who also seek the heart. After the Kakamora are outwitted, Moana convinces the narcissistic Maui to return Te Fiti’s heart. But on the way, they have to face Tamatoa, a giant crab, and Te Ka. What happens next?

Moana Movie Review: Script Analysis

One of the finest Disney scripts ever (Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller from the original story in 2016, which was credited to seven writers!), the narration does not offer a standardized template wherein a princess (Maui tells Moana that she, effectively, is one) has to deal with evil forces and win the heart of an eligible suitor. Moana is made of different stuff: she is a born leader, courageous enough to put her own life on the line for a greater purpose: the good of her people. She knows she is chosen by the Ocean, which she has loved from childhood, and needs to return the “gift” (if it can be called that) of freedom to be voyagers to her people who love her. 

There is no prince waiting, only her parents and the populace, not to mention her pet pig, the adorable Pua, when she returns triumphantly. But the film’s subtle messages speak of nature’s balance and its vital importance, of human self-belief, humility, selflessness—and unconquerable courage. 

That apart, the script is laced with extraordinary entertainment with crisp, brilliant lines, stunning (a tepid word) visuals, and scope for brilliantly written songs. At 115 minutes, it is one relentless cinematic feat and feast, a seamlessly perfect amalgam of content and form, all anchored by some incredible writing. Maui’s lines are brilliant to the extreme, and the moving tattoos on his body are a novel touch indeed. Emotions are strong, and the susceptible might even get a lump or two in their throats on occasion.

Moana Movie Review: Star Performance

Dwayne Johnson (also one of the producers) is plainly phenomenal as Maui. His eyes speak tomes, not just volumes, and his smile transforms his persona whenever the script warrants it. His shape-shifting exercises are riotous, and during those, his intonations are pitch-perfect. 

The discovery of the season is young Moana—Catherine Laga’aia. Her expressions, her body language, her vocal tenor: they are as if she were born to play this role, and, as the French put it, she is c’est magnifique! John Tui is adorable as the father, and Rena Owen as the grandmother is wonderful. So is Frankie Adams as Sina, Moana’s mother. The younger Moanas (Amaya Masoli and Emma Puahi-Shapazian) look cute and act very naturally. Jemaine Clement’s voice as Tamatoa works very well.