One of those things that makes our son Avery happy and quiet is the Disney movie Moana. That movie is literally on the TV in our house every morning. One of the first things mom does when it's time to feed Avery is to put on Moana to keep him happy. He's practically mesmerized by the entire movie. But, as you may have guessed, his absolute favourite parts are at the beginning when Moana is still a baby. He relates to that in rather obvious ways.
I think pretty much everybody in our household has the entire movie memorized by now. My wife could recite the grandmother's entire speech almost verbatim while were riding in the truck to keep Avery happy. So, I could say that I'm in a position to gave a rather indepth analysis of Moana the movie, in how in relates to my baby son, myself, and possibly the world in general. I can't speak for my entire family, but my own personal assessment is........................... it's a good one. I like it.
The very basic elements that make an animated movie good are in place for sure. It's got a rather airtight story about "restoring the heart of their island" in order to make things great again and give us that happy ending. Visually it pleases the eye, both its CGI rendering and its movement. I'm not dazzled but I don't cringe either, so I'm good with that. The voice acting also works. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson aptly portrays the character of Maui and Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho does a very impressive job of voicing Moana herself. Nobody else could have done this better than her. This brings me to what I want to talk about most pertaining to this movie.
There's been so much talk of having a "strong female lead" in movies over the past few years (decades really). So many productions in Hollywood have been pushing for the creation of that "perfect girl boss" with.................. some doing better than others.
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| This.............. didn't happen. |
However, one of the biggest complaints about so many of these attempts is the "Mary Sue" aspect, in that the female lead is propped up as a perfect being that can do no wrong. They attempt to make her "badass" but she just comes across as boring. 95% of the time it's not the actress' fault. The fault lies with, as usual, unartistic producers trying to push something that shouldn't be pushed thus compromising the artists and the entire project.
Moana thankfully does NOT succumb to this trap. She's not a Mary Sue and not at all perfect. She's a hot-headed teenager who is in over her head. The ocean "chose" her to complete the endeavor of saving their universe by returning the heart stone to where it belongs (as reiterated by her quirky but wise grandmother). However, she is not entirely up to the task. As she tells the demi-god Maui, she's a "self taught" sailor and she has only a fair-to-middling idea how to navigate through the ocean by looking at the stars. She's practically an "anti-hero".
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| "Sailing is not so hard. I just unfurl the sail like this and... WHOA! GLAVIN!! HELLO, DEAN!!" |
But, she does possess qualities that do help her succeed in the end. She is both fiercely determined and immensely resourceful. No setback can discourage her and she's able to use whatever is around her to do what she needs to do, most often to get herself out of the
trouble she got herself into. You can absolutely see that in her dealings with Maui even at his most obnoxious and arrogant.
Just watch how Moana deals with the situation of Maui locking her in a cave. Most everyone else would just be doomed to a slow emaciating death. But, Moana quickly finds a way out and is back to her mission in no time.
I don't know about you, but that looks pretty badass in my book. Moana is consistently like this throughout the entire movie, even at the beginning when she's still a toddler. She keeps a baby turtle from getting eaten by covering him with a wide palm leaf. THIS is the reason the ocean chooses her soon afterwards. The ocean can see her potential at being the island's saviour despite her flaws.
I'm glad my son enjoys this movie. In my opinion, Moana is a good fine role model for girls and boys of all ages. Being fiercely determined against all obstacles is something everyone should aspire to. With that in mind, here is a drawing I did of my son Avery standing with baby Moana while enjoying the antics of the chicken Hei Hei.
I'm sure this scenario happens inside Avery's brain all of the time.
Yes, I am aware that there is a Moana 2 in the works. Yes, I'm also aware that it will be coming out in late November of this year. Will I take my son to the theatre to see it? Hmmmmmm, he might be too young for the theatre experience both now and at that time. But, he'll for sure be watching it when it's eventually put up on Disney+. That's a guarantee. For now, let's all watch the trailer together. Enjoy!
