Saturday Talkie Tuesday: Moana

"I am Moana."

Hello everyone!

So, alright, I have to admit that, usually, I don't let anything or anyone deter me from making a blog post, but this past Tuesday I was SO exhausted like someone had taken my body and used it for a punching bag, for some reason or another. 

Not to mention, my eyes also decided to take a sudden, unexpected break, and wouldn't even allow me to look into the screen for too long before they watered way too much.

So, unfortunately, I had to postpone my Tuesday blog post and switch it up with the Saturday snippet bit, because there was no way, at the time, for me to get even close to focusing properly on typing anything up that would make sense, one way or the other.

Which is why I'm typing this right meow.

See what I did there.

Anyway, before I digress any further, allow me to say that Disney has absolutely found its groove again with its newest cartoons, and Moana is no different!

First off, I would have watched the cartoon solely for the reason that Dwayne Johnson voiced the demigod Maui, because COME ON. The guy is HYSTERICAL. And he fits the role perfectly, really, not to mention he can sing!

Since then, however, I've also watched the Academy Awards and seen the girl who voiced Moana proper sing live in front of a whole bunch of people in monkey suits, and let me tell you, I would have wanted to watch the cartoon for her, then!

Dang, the girl has a set of pipes on her!

But let's get going, from the beginning, shall we?

We open up with a sort of bedtime story - er, legend. Whatever.

Moana's grandmother tells the story of how Maui, the demigod, stole the heart of the nature goddess which unleashed a very angry very hot lava spirit that's been terrorising the seas ever since, and without the heart, the goddess can't really do anything in nature which means that nature itself is dying off.

Back in present day, Moana's father, the chief of the island and its people, assures the children that there is NOTHING to be afraid of, and that the story is just a story.

They're all safe on their island, never going beyond the reef.

Moana grows up with a desperate wish to sail further out into the sea (probably only augmented by the fact that her father so adamantly refuses to allow her ...), but she gets distracted by learning how to take over as chief someday, and also because her mother explains that her father HAD in fact gone beyond the reef ... but the ocean is so wild out there that he barely survived, and his best friend didn't, something he still blames himself for.

But as Moana grows, things start going from bad to worse, as the island slowly starts dying off, and her father still won't allow anyone to venture further out for more fish.

Moana's grandmother shares a secret with her granddaughter: Moana is actually the descendant of sea voyagers, but after Maui stole the heart, and the sea became violent, the boats they sent out no longer returned, causing the ancient chieftains to forbid voyaging. They hid their sea boats and settled down to be content on their one island.

Moana knows they'll die out if they continue, though, and goes to her father to beg him to let her go, especially since her grandmother had shown her something she saved from a long time ago, when Moana had been just a toddler: the heart that Maui had stolen.

The ocean had chosen Moana to be the one to find Maui and return it, which requires sneaking off and running away in the dead of night, not even knowing how to sail properly ...

with only a chicken for company.

And I thought that I'd seen everything with Scrat in Ice Age.

Anyway, knowing her grandmother has also fallen ill now, Moana is guided to her destination by both the ocean and a manta ray, which is actually a reincarnation of her deceased grandmother.

She finds Maui, alright, but the demigod has zero interest in helping her - he just wants his magic hook back. Luckily for Moana, the ocean won't let her stay behind even when Maui locks her up, and they strike an uneasy bargain: she will help him get his hook, and he'll teach her how to sail. Together, they will return the heart to Te Fiti, the goddess.

Things don't really go smoothly, however, as they are first attacked by pirates in the form of coconuts - yeah I know, sounds not so scary, right? Well, the little dudes pack narcotic arrows!

Also, the chicken swallows the heart and ends up almost dead. Natch.

Managing to rescue themselves out of there, Maui and Moana then set sail to find the demigod's hook, which is located in the lair of the bigges sea scavenger ever (think the Disney world Niffler), a huge crab. Who really loves to talk about himself. Who ends up on his back and unable to get back up as the duo grab the hook and hightail it out of there.

We totally would have helped him if he had a Jamaican accent and his name were Sebastian.

Teaching Moana how to sail, Maui then leads the way towards Te Fiti, or, well, Te Ka, considering the demon is the one who rolls out the welcome mat, and Maui manages to deflect one blow with his hook, but is afraid that it'll shatter with another one, and orders Moana to go back. She doesn't listen, and in anger, Maui abandons her.

Sad and frustrated, Moana begs the ocean to take the heart back and pick someone else, when she sees the spirit of her grandmother, who urges her to decide who she REALLY is.

In the epic Disney revelation moment, the girl decides she's doing this, howver long it takes, and goes for the heart before setting sail back for Te Ka.

She's not alone, either - Maui comes back, having had a change of heart.

Together, they manage to get beyond Te Ka, only to lose Maui's hook, and for Moana to realise that Te Ka is actually Te Fiti, in a darker iteration without her heart, and she calms the demon down enough so she can return the heart to its proper place.

Maui apologises for stealing the heart from Te Fiti, saying he had only wanted to give it to the humans as a gift, and she returns his hook to him.

Moana returns to her island, and her people once again venture out beyond the reef to sail the seas and find new islands to live on; they're accompanied by the manta ray and Maui in bird form, and they keep a weather eye on the horizon.

The end!

I loved the whole concept of the movie, and especially the songs which were written for it. My personal favourite is the one I already posted, 'We Know the Way', although the entire thing is fabulous.

Plus, the chicken. If it isn't falling into the ocean, it can't even find the seed to munch on.

It doesn't get any better than that!

xx

*images and video not mine