The flawless diamond of an ocean sparkles in the sunlight and caresses the pearlescent shell and coral sand on the beaches of volcanic islands that are so real you can smell the lush frangipani and plumeria blossoms wafting on the trade winds. On one of these islands, little Moana (voiced by Louise Bush) is a wide-eyed toddler in a class of Polynesian preschoolers learning their lessons from the self described “village crazy woman,” Gramma Tala (Rachel House).
Illustrating the lesson with tapa-cloth posters, most of the kids are terrified by Tala’s story of the demi-god Maui stealing the island goddess Te Fiti’s heart and losing it and his magical fishhook in a battle against the lava monster Te Ka. Instead of being afraid, Moana feels empowered, and she sneaks out of the schoolroom and heads to her beloved ocean. Lured by the playful water farther and farther from the shore, Moana picks up so many seashells in her arms that she almost has no room for a sparkling green stone with a spiral carving. Returning to the village, her father, Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison) reminds her of the importance of focusing on her training since she will eventually inherit leadership of her village. “Yes Papa,” Moana replies, but casts loving looks towards the sea.
A decade passes, and as Moana enters adolescence (now voiced by 13-year-old Auli’i Cravalho), she wears a chief’s headdress in village celebrations and is consulted about ways to cope with a coconut tree disease and the complete absence of fish within the island’s reef. “Fish the deep ocean,” Moana suggests, but her father yells, “No. It is deadly beyond the reef. We must keep our islanders safe.”
Moana’s mother, Sina (Nicole Scherzinger) takes her daughter aside and reveals that Tai is overly cautious because he and his best friend went beyond the reef as teenagers, and the best friend died when their canoe capsized. Moana (and her pet pig Pua), head to her beloved ocean shore to find solace, where she launches a canoe and sails into the dangerous blue water beyond the reef. A tremendous wave overturns her outrigger and before she can right the craft, Moana (and her pig) are cast on the beach. Gramma Tala appears and guides her granddaughter to a secret cave where the villagers hid their massive voyager canoes a century ago. “Here is the answer to all of your questions,” Tala explains. “And the start of your new life.”
As if the captivating story isn’t enough, in the capable hands of director/writers John Musker and Ron Clements, this animated Disney tale has boldly launched the studio into a “whole new ballgame.” Breakthrough achievements are nothing new for Musker and Clements. Their astoundingly beautiful and creative animated films The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992) broke the 2-D animation mold 25 years earlier.
After forcing themselves to spend month after month researching Pacific Island peoples and cultures on numerous tropical beaches, John and Ron pitched an entirely original story to the studio — a Polynesian girl’s mythological quest to track down the island-forming and mercurial demi-god, Maui, and force him to once again help humankind. Reviewed and approved by experts Musker and Clements recruited to serve on the Oceanic Story Trust, the screenplay went through nine major rewrites over a five-year period. The final result is onscreen where incredible Pacific Islander voice talents add zest to astoundingly lifelike CG-animated characterizations who live their lives in the awe-inspiring grandeur and beauty of the islands and waters of the Pacific Ocean.
And then there is Maui himself. With all the bravado of the former professional wrestler that he is, Dwayne Johnson’s voice brings a swaggering sweetness to the underappreciated demigod thrown away by his human parents and granted magical shape-shifting powers when the gods and goddesses present him with a magic fishhook. This hook is so large it can wrench up the Hawaiian Islands from the seabed, capture the sun and slow it down so the days last longer, and push up the sky so humans can stand upright. Johnson confesses that his singing prowess in Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina’s catchy tune “You’re Welcome” was aided by several shots of tequila — but who cares. The result is toe-tappingly astounding, especially because “The Rock’s” singing is illustrated with the constantly shifting tattoos that adorn his body (drawn in classic 2-D style by master animator Eric Goldberg in consultation with Samoan tattoo artist Su’a Peter Sulu’ape).
My suggestion is to rush, with considerable speed to your nearest theater, and immerse yourself (3-D and all) in Moana. Then, you too, can sing along with Maui:
“And the tapestry here on my skin
Is a map of the victories I win
Look where I’ve been
I make everything happen
Look at that mini-Maui just tippity-tappin’
Well, anyway let me say you’re welcome
For the wonderful world you know
Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay
You’re welcome!”
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