I have been so excited for Moana ever since I first saw the trailer back in 2015. Not only was I excited to have a new Princess in the line-up, but I was also thrilled that Disney was including another non-white princess. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ariel, Rapunzel and the other Caucasian princesses, but it’s refreshing to see some diversity in our beloved Disney films. It also just seemed like a really epic film in general. And my expectations were exceeded! Moana is easily my new favorite princess. There are a million reasons why Moana has moved to the top of my list, but I’ll just list a few of them. (Spoiler Alert if you haven’t seen the movie yet!)
1. Moana is such a cutie.
Let’s go ahead and get the superficial out of the way: Moana is freaking adorable. She’s charming, quirky, funny, and awkward. Not to mention the opening scene with baby Moana: I almost died from the cuteness.
Moana also has a different body type that the other princess. Instead of being thin and lanky, she’s short and kind of stocky. Moana also has muscles. Her arms and legs are much thicker than we’ve seen on any other princess, and it makes sense. To sail the way that the Islanders do, you have to be really strong, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to have thin arms. It’s also just really nice to see a princess with a realistic body-type.
2. The music
I’ve recently jumped on the Hamilton train and, after I listened to both the Hamilton and Moana soundtracks, I could definitely tell that Lin-Manuel Miranda produced them both. He has a certain style that can clearly be heard in both productions. Miranda also sings a song in the film (“We Know the Way”) that he produced with Opetaia Foa’i, a native Samoan. Disney clearly went out of their way to have music that was authentic to the Polynesian culture. The soundtrack of this movie flows so well because most of the songs have similar backgrounds and melodies. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson even sings a song (“You’re Welcome”) for his character, Maui, which is just really fun and catchy.
3. Maui
Maui is just an all-around fantastic character. Maui himself doesn't come from just one legend, but is rather based on similar legends from several different cultures. The Rock really brings him to life and adds his own personality into his voice acting. Maui also goes through a lot of personal development throughout the film. When we first meet Maui, he is selfish and extremely vain. By the end of the movie, Maui is a lot more humble and even owns up to the mistakes that he has made. He certainly isn’t perfect, but that’s what makes him such a great character: he’s relatable. All he wants his to be loved and appreciated, something I think everyone can understand. But, he learns from his mistakes and comes out a better person.
4. Moana is a really strong person.
Moana goes through a lot during this movie: her father is constantly putting her down, one of her family members passes away, she capsizes her canoe on more than one occasion, she has to take on a villain by herself, the list could go on and on. At one point, she almost gives up and goes back home. But, she realizes that she isn’t doing this for herself, she is doing this to protect her people, and that is what keeps her motivated. Even after Maui gives up on the mission, she continues on and decides to fight by herself. I believe that Moana is the perfect role model for little girls (and boys) because she shows them that you don’t have to be big and powerful to be strong. You can be strong in your own way.
And finally…
5. There is no romantic sub-plot.
I hate when movies have an unnecessary romantic sub-plot. I saw this movie for the first time with my mom, and she said that she was also really glad that Moana didn’t have a “prince” character. She said, “The great thing about this movie is that Moana did not have to rely on a prince – or any man for that matter – to come in and save the day. There were a few times when Disney seemed to hint that there might be romantic feelings between Moana and Maui. To my great satisfaction, this did not play out in this film’s plot.”
(Special shout-out to my mom, Tina, for giving me a quote to end this article.)
