When Walt Disney premiered Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, he also inadvertently (or possibly entirely intentionally) launched one of Disney’s most successful pseudo film franchises and merchandise lines; the Disney Princesses. In more recent decades, the very definition of what constituted a typical Disney princess character had been pushed outside the limited box of Disney’s earlier princess films.
While the earlier Disney princesses were little more than one-dimensional lovesick damsels in distress like Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, the recent crop of new heroines were crafted as more independent, intelligent, and skilful young women who could inspire the next generation of youngsters to challenge the idea of what’s expected of them. We were even gifted with Disney princesses of non-caucasian descent, courtesy of our first Black, and Native American princesses in Tiana, and Pocahontas respectively.
While 2002’s Lilo & Stitch had presented Hawaiian culture and its people in a Disney animated film for the very first time, the film hadn’t blessed the studio with a Polynesian princess to add to its growing lineup, which had recently expanded to add two new white princesses in Tanged‘s Rapunzel and even its first Pixar princess in Brave‘s Merida. Enter directors Musker and Clements, the men responsible for the creation of one-third of Disney’s 11 princesses and the perfect choice to craft another iconic heroine to join the princess roster.
After completing the Princess and the Frog, Musker and Clements began developing an animated adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s 1987 fantasy novel Mort. After working on concept art and a draft script, the directors ultimately failed to attain the film rights from Pratchett and the project was abandoned in 2011. To avoid further rights issues, the duo pitched three original ideas to Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios John Lasseter, including one centred on Polynesian mythology.
Musker had recently been studying the history of Polynesia and was particularly struck by the heroic exploits of the demigod Māui, a culture hero and a trickster who was famous for his cleverness and brash attitude, and, amongst other achievements, was credited with bringing fire to the world. The director felt the rich culture of Polynesia and the story of Māui would make the perfect subject and setting for an animated feature, with the director writing a story treatment with Clements to pitch to Lasseter.
While Lasseter loved the concept, he felt Musker and Clements should further familiarise themselves with Polynesian culture and commissioned the duo to take research trips to Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti. Poor boys. In 2012, the directors spent several weeks on the three islands to meet with the locals and learn more about their culture, which spanned back hundreds of years. It was during the research trip that Clements realised it would be best for the film to focus on the young daughter of a chief, with Maui reworked as more of a supporting sidekick character.
During their study of Polynesian history, Musker and Clements became fascinated by the navigational traditions of Polynesia that actually predated those of European explorers, which strangely came to an unexplained abrupt holt around three thousand years ago. While scholars have surmised this may have been the result of shifting ocean currents and wind patterns caused by climate change, the directors felt it would make the perfect narrative setting for their film, with a more mythological cause behind the cessation of ocean exploration.
THE STORY
On the fictional island of Motonui, the people used to be explorers and voyagers, and they worshipped the goddess Te Fiti, who brought life to the ocean using a pounamu stone as her heart and the source of her power. But when shape-shifting demigod Maui attempted to steal the heart, he is attacked by the volcanic demon Te Kā, causing the heart to be lost to the depths of the ocean. Without Te Fiti’s heart to protect the oceans, the people of Motunui refused to journey across the seas and hid their expansive fleet in a secret cave. When we meet Moana centuries later, Te Kā’s darkness is poisoning her island home, leading to Moana bravely setting off on a daring voyage to find Maui and force him to restore the heart of Te Fiti to save Motunui from ruin.
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In a further bid to strengthen the film’s authenticity, Clements and Musker enlisted a cast of voice actors with Polynesian roots, including part Samoan Dwayne Johnson as Maui, part Maori Temeura Morrison as Tui, part Maori Rachel House as Tala, part Hawaiian Nicole Scherzinger as Moana’s mother Sina, and part Maori Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa. After an exhaustive worldwide search for the voice of Moana, where the filmmaker auditioned hundreds of actors, 14-year-old high school student and Hawaiian native Auliʻi Cravalho won the role. At the point of her casting, the character design of Moana was already complete, making Cravalho’s physical resemblance to the character purely coincidental.
MY VERDICT
Ten years after the studio’s first true foray into the computer-animated world, Moana represented the pinnacle of Disney computer animation. It is a beautifully crafted piece of cinema, with some of the most detailed and photorealistic backgrounds ever seen on screen. From the spectacular water designs to the lush tropical backdrops, Moana is an eye-popping display of the stunning capabilities of computer animation and another example of how far Disney had progressed in only a decade.
If Frozen broke the mould on what a female-centric Disney film should be, Moana shatters it even further. Witness a Disney Princess without a love interest, or any desire to find a love interest, for that matter. Moana is not searching for a prince, but rather for herself and her place in her world. And while she may battle coconut pirates, a giant crab, and a lava god, the toughest opponent Moana must overcome is her own self-doubt. What a bold statement that is for any youngster to take in.
And, much like Frozen, Moana also succeeds by playing to Broadway sensibilities, which are provided by the toast of Broadway in Miranda. His compositions are fresh and lively with plenty of raw emotion, echoing the music of Disney’s renaissance period of the 80s and 90s. But it’s ultimately when Maui enters the film that Moana truly comes to life, thanks to a sublime performance by Johnson, who perfectly captures Maui’s cocky, selfish attitude that ultimately evolves into something entirely endearing. Johnson’s banter with Cravalho is a delight and their evolving relationship is the film’s true heart. To say nothing of the fact that Maui has one of the two best songs in the film, which my aunt is still citing as the world’s greatest ear worm.
Sure, Moana features many typical Disney trademarks; the physical and emotional journey of its heroine, the “I Want” song of yearning, the cute animal sidekicks (Pua the pot-belly pig is beyond adorable and Hei Hei the rooster is a fabulously bizarre little creation), the “all hope seems lost” moment. But Moana sets itself apart by delivering a strong, intelligent, independent heroine children can and should truly hold as an aspirational figure. Moana is a new Disney Princess for the ages and the film was like a refreshing cool island breeze that was so lacking from Disney animation.
Is Moana a Disney Classic? With Moana officially added to the Disney Princess line-up in March 2019 and no signs of Disney relenting on tie-in merchandise, the film remains one of the most popular releases of the last decade. It blessed fans with a new inspiring heroine and played on the musical sensibilities that revived Disney in the late 80s. The animation remains as dazzling as it was four years ago, the film is without question a true Disney Classic.
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