MOANA – Movieguide | Movie Reviews for Christians
Moana is a stunning Disney animated film about a girl on a Polynesian island set 2000 years ago, who feels called to the ocean, even though her people have given up ocean sailing for generations due to the dangers of the sea. open sea. .
Moana is the daughter of the chief and is preparing to one day be the leader of her people on her peaceful island. however, her desire to be in the open sea worries her father, who fears they will kill her. Moana’s grandmother warns her of the imminent death that may befall her people due to a legendary story that has been passed down from generation to generation.
As the story goes, in the beginning, the earth was just water, until te fiti, a beautiful island, emerged from the ground. te fiti brought life to the land and prosperity, and at the heart of the island was a stone that was believed to bestow the ability to create life itself. One day, a demigod named Maui, a trickster and shapeshifter, decides to steal Te Fiti’s heart. Just as he does, a giant lava monster named Te Ka confronts him, and Maui loses the stone and his special ties to the ocean. with the stone separated from te fiti, death begins to creep towards the ocean.
moana’s grandmother warns that the destruction of her home is imminent, unless someone can return the stone to te fiti’s heart. Her grandmother also reveals that the ocean has chosen Moana to be that savior. Moana sees the danger facing her people. Inspired by the history of her ancestors as seafarers, she takes a boat out into the ocean to recruit Maui, the demigod, to help her search for her.
The merciless ocean quickly abandons Moana on an island, but it turns out to be the island where Maui is trapped. When Moana tells Maui about her mission, he immediately refuses, as he wants nothing to do with her. Completely full of himself and all that he has done for mankind as a demigod, Maui thinks that everyone should be thankful for him by now, but in reality, he just doesn’t want to face Te Ka, the lava monster, again. Moana persists and eventually convinces Maui to help her, though she reluctantly does so.
As they face the ocean, Moana must learn who she is, what her calling is, and Maui must become the hero she already thinks she is. Can they save humanity from imminent death?
moana has incredible animation that turns even the ocean into a multi-dimensional character in motion. The bar is continually raised, and Moana meets the standard and then some. Added wonderful voice performances from Dwayne Johnson as Maui and newcomer Auli’i Cravalho as Moana. With catchy melodies and beautiful Polynesian-style music, Moana is a crowd pleaser.
That said, Moana does have some problem areas, mainly because so much of the movie focuses on paganism and Polynesian mythology. a culture of polytheism, there is a demigod as the main character, references to reincarnation and “mother earth”. Furthermore, Moana even converses with the spirit of his grandmother at one point. however, unlike kubo and the two strings, which was practically a sermon for paganism, moana is more of an homage to polynesian culture. Regardless, spiritualism is not worth glorifying, and that is why so many missionaries risked their lives bringing the gospel to Polynesian cultures, which ended up impacting many islands in positive ways that are still having an effect today.
On the positive side, Moana has some moral and redemptive values as a heroine. for example, he exhibits strength, kindness, selflessness, sacrifice, and a desire to protect his people. It also encourages Maui to do his best, a hero who will give up his own interest for the well-being of others.
moana has some scary moments, especially with the lava monster fight sequences and some light bathroom humor. this, along with the mythical pagan elements of the film, requires a caution for children.
editors note: before moana is a hilarious short film about a man with a boring office job whose internal organs come to life in a similar way from the inside out. The brain mainly keeps man going, keeping him safe and healthy, but sometimes his heart wants to take the initiative and do fun things, like swimming in the ocean and eating pancakes. however, the brain imagines that this leads to man’s death. in the end, the brain decides to let the heart take the initiative and give the man some joy.
The short is unique and fun, and even includes shots of a priest praying over a grave with a cross as the brain visualizes the man’s death. the only caution is a bit of toilet humor and maybe a slight romantic emphasis on letting your heart rule you.
