Movie Review: “Moana”

Moana

Just when we all REALLY needed a distraction, Disney brings forth “Moana”, a tale of girl power wrapped up in Polynesian mythos and catchy tunes. “Moana” is a solid successor to the title held by “Frozen”, not just because surely there’s the potential to sell ALL the licensed items but also because the story doesn’t revolve around the standard Disney trope of needed a prince to solve the heroine’s problems.

“Moana” opens on the gentle and stunning island of Motunui, with Gramma Tala (Rachel House) telling an enraptured preschool-level audience the story of how the demigod Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) stole a stone from Te Fiti (the goddess who created the mother island), kicking off a chain reaction that threatens to drain the life from all of the islands in the ocean. A young Moana (played for the bulk of the movie by Auli’i Cravalho) is drawn to the ocean, and the ocean itself encourages this, enticing her out into the lagoon and revealing from an early age the quest she is being asked to complete.

 

Gramma Tala (House) and Moana (Cravalho)

Gramma Tala (House) and Moana (Cravalho)

 

Fast forward a few years, and Moana is growing into a lovely girl whose dreams of the open water are constantly squelched by her father, Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison). Gramma Tala helps show Moana her destiny as a great sailor, and she explains why the people of the island abandoned their wayfaring days for the quiet, sublime, and settled life on Motunui.

As one would expect, when there’s a quest, it can’t be denied, and Moana eventually heads out to find Maui and restore the stone to its rightful place in Te Fiti’s heart. It wouldn’t be a Disney movie without some measure of gag relief, so Heihei (Alan Tudyk) to the rescue–a stowaway chicken who clearly loves Moana and doesn’t have a brain cell to spare otherwise. From this point on, the movie goes along pretty much as one would expect of a hero myth–challenges, danger, cunning, and strategy all factor heavily in the heroine’s success, and while she doesn’t ever act alone the voyage is as much about her own self-discovery as it is about bringing vitality back to the islands crippled by the stone’s absence.

 

Moana (Cravalho) and Maui (Johnson)

Moana (Cravalho) and Maui (Johnson)

 

“Moana” is an unusual movie for Disney, in that they don’t tend to cover a lot of mythology so outright (“Hercules” being an exception), and this movie draws heavily from and is inspired by a mixture of creation and trickster stories. Maui’s description of his exploits, such as “pulling up the islands”, is actually a feature of many stories about Maui across the various cultures that celebrate him. Employing a Polynesian cast was a culturally competent move, and it’s clear that Lin Manuel-Miranda (“Hamilton”) and the other song-writers benefited from their research on the islands as they prepared their work.

At a high level, Moana is a model of a self-rescuing princess–a welcome paradigm shift from the 20th century versions–and Maui is a standard trickster with a heart of gold. Heihei…well, he’s an example of how Disney will ruthlessly use Alan Tudyk for their films in the same manner as John Ratzenberger has been employed for their Pixar movies: any way they can and always to the audience’s delight. The cast is stellar–Cravalho acquits herself well as she displays the passionate and desperately capable Moana, Johnson clearly relishes his role as both babyface a heel (and displays some really good singing chops in the impossible-to-ignore “You’re Welcome”), and House is the consummate awesome grandmother we all wish we had. A key villain–the monster crab Tomatoa (Jemaine Clement)–chews scenery almost as much as he’d like to chew on the protagonists.

The songs are catchy, with Moana’s “How Far I’ll Go” positioned as this year’s “Let it Go”, although Maui’s “You’re Welcome” is the one that will stick in your head for DAYS. (Trust me on this one; I’m speaking from experience.) From a graphics perspective, I didn’t see any new ground being broken, but the visuals are attractive and have a good balance of realism and cartoonishness. Is it worth seeing Moana in 3D? The screening I attended was in 3D, so I can say that it’s not a bad thing to see it that way–although it’s unclear that the 3D was something really eye-popping until you get to the end-credits.

And then there’s the perennial question that pops up when a movie aimed at the family is rated PG: Is “Moana” too scary for my kids? There were definitely a few moments during the movie which I would figure the ratings folks could describe as “brief but intense scenes of peril”. Moana and those around her get into some serious scrapes with bad situations, and some of them–such as the Realm of Monsters, where you meet Tomatoa–could warrant snuggling up close to the littler ones in your party. I’d say it’s fine for 10+, but those under the age of 10 may need a hand to hold at various points. The music, the visuals, and the overall story are worth making this a movie for the whole family, though, and that’s something worth crowing about.

 

Inner Workings

 

Note: come early and stay late! “Moana” is preceded by a delightful short film, “Inner Workings”, which (in any right-thinking world) should be short-listed for the 2017 Academy Awards. It’s a dialogue-free adult version of “Inside/Out”, just with a more organic spin. (You’ll see what I mean.) Also, there IS a post-credits scene for “Moana”, so stick around until the lights are all the way up.

 

4 stars out of 4

“Moana” opens nationwide on November 23, 2016. This movie is rated PG for peril, some scary images, and mild thematic elements.

This election won’t bend or break me

I think we can all admit that it’s been one hell of a week. Regardless of who you supported in the election, there weren’t that many people that truly expected the electoral map to fall out exactly as it did. No one would’ve won this Powerball.

And now we have this situation that so many of us dreaded. I have to note that before anyone decides to go off about how I’m a “libtard” or a “bleeding heart”, please know from the depths of my heart and soul that I will NOT tolerate any of that bullshit, the comments on this blog are moderated to weed out spam and assholes, and if you can’t be civil, then STFU.

I have an immense amount of privilege in some areas, and a complete lack of it in others. I can camouflage. I can hide behind my skin color and others’ assumption of who I am because of it. I have a Western European background–primarily Anglo-Saxon–so I can masquerade and move silently through the crowds as though I’m something I’m not. But I choose not to.

I choose to be out as bisexual because bisexuality chose me and I will not be afraid to live as who I am. (Yes, I’m married to a man. Monogamy and bisexuality aren’t mutually exclusive.)

I choose not to hide that I’m a woman or pretend that I’m meek. I’m not meek. I grew up with examples of women on TV like Colonel Wilma Deering, Jaime Sommers, and Wonder Woman. I grew up idolizing a mother who worked full-time in management and was a full-time wife and was a full-time mother. I knew that if she could do it, I could too. I SHOULD. Meek is for mice.

I choose not to hide that I’m Jewish, although I must admit that I’m not and never have been an observant Jew. To those who hate Jews, though, that matters little. People have already been out on Twitter, loudly offering “tattoos and showers” to Jews. (If you don’t know how unkind this invitation is, do some research on World War II and you’ll see.)

So, what do I do with all my anger for an administration that’s pledged to roll back rights for LGBTQ people? What do I do with my frustration at so many people who think it’s okay that the President-elect has freely admitted to sexual assault of grown women?

I could be meek, but…nah. Fuck that.

Here’s what I do plan to do, and this action plan isn’t the end; there will be more.

  1. Renew my membership in the Southern Poverty Law Center. It’s always important to commit to stopping hate wherever it rears its ugly head, and given the number of hate crimes that have already occurred just in the first 48 hours since the new President’s election, they have a lot of work to do.
  2. Start donating to Planned Parenthood. In general, I try to concentrate most of my donations to food banks and children’s health, but things are about to get way worse for women’s access to healthcare, and Planned Parenthood IS the primary health care resource for many women across the country.
  3. Continue encouraging my kids to be themselves and not let others get in the way of that. Just because a bully has been elected to the White House doesn’t mean they have to be bullies. We always have the choice not to be the things we see that aren’t okay.

I know I lost friends along the way through this election. They took their leave or I dropped them out of my Facebook feed with impunity because this was real for me. I won’t cry for what I didn’t have in the first place. I trust my friends to have my back, as I surely have theirs. Actively supporting someone who has shown no respect for or belief in the humanity and equality of women, Black people, LGBTQ people, Muslims, Jews, or–really ANYONE who’s not from America shows that you don’t have my back. And I won’t miss you when you’re gone.

There’s been a lot of talk about people living too much in their own bubble, how those of us living in urban coastal areas (who overwhelmingly voted Blue) just don’t understand those who live in more homogeneous environments. Oddly enough, no one seems to want to turn that around with an expectation that those who live in less diverse areas try to understand what it’s like being in an area where people don’t look like you, don’t worship like you, don’t love like you. We are the only ones who have to change or understand. That’s utter bullshit. Either we ALL have to get out of our bubble or no one does.

I remember my first few weeks at college, when one of my roommates–who’d never met a Jew before–actually checked me for hooves. She didn’t realize Jews had feet. I’ve seen what that bubble looks like, and if those people don’t try to get out of theirs, they will continue to wallow in an ignorance that more than half the population rejects.

So, I’m going to be more active and work for a better America despite the election of a man determined to tear it down for his own personal profit. And I will teach my children to be better than he is (admittedly, a low bar to jump over). And I won’t be meek. EVER.

Reading a book is NOT the same thing as giving consent

There are some nice benefits of being one’s own Editorial Board, such as the occasional willingness to break the long-observed writing rule of “LIMIT THE PROFANITY HERE, PLEASE”. This is one of those times.

With the revelation that Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump had made comments 11 years ago stating that “when you’re a star” you can grab women “by the pussy”, that “You can do anything”, a slew of defenders have rushed to the aid of someone we already knew was a misogynist, someone we already knew disrespected women.

These mansplainers have come out with the argument that books like “Fifty Shades of Grey” sold by the millions, therefore millions of women must want to be grabbed by the pussy–or whatever it was that the titular dom, Christian Grey, foisted on the meek Anastasia Steele. Fellas, not just no but HELL NO.

Reading a book about sex isn’t the same thing as giving consent to sex. And reading a book about sex sure as hell isn’t the same thing as giving consent to touching from another person. It’s reading. In fact, the book in question–touted by Trumpers as justification for his assaults–is a work of FICTION. Fiction isn’t real. It isn’t necessarily what we want to happen, either. I just finished reading “The Man In The High Castle” and I have zero desire to live in a world where the Axis powers have divided up America and rule with an iron fist.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been sexually assaulted by someone. Too many damn hands go up. When author Kelly Oxford tweeted a request asking for women to post their stories of sexual assault, she figured she’d let it go if no one answered back. Instead, she got millions of responses. Our country has fostered and supported a rape culture of “boys will be boys” that makes it okay to touch, perpetuating the deeply flawed idea that women are property or they must “owe” something.

I still remember all too vividly the assistant manager at a store where I worked in high school–the one who walked me home when it was dark but then wouldn’t let me go inside my house until I kissed him.

I still remember the guy at the fraternity party who thought that my interest in seeing more of his fraternity house meant “I want to be groped” and not “I want to see more of the house.”

I know too many victims of sexual assault–date rapes, in particular–where hanging out with a friend cruelly morphed into someone they trusted to show respect breaking boundaries and violating them.

It’s never okay.

The argument of “But she reads stories with sex” is just another angle on “Did you see how she was dressed?” It’s still bullshit. It’s still unacceptable. It’s still someone violating societal rules that say KEEP THE FUCK OUT OF MY PERSONAL SPACE UNTIL I TELL YOU SPECIFICALLY IT IS OKAY TO BE IN MY PERSONAL SPACE.

We already know that Trump has no respect for the sanctity of marriage, otherwise he wouldn’t have broken his marriage vows with at least one woman he later married. Hypocritically, he beats with a verbal stick a woman who stuck by a husband who cheated on her repeatedly–while flaunting his own infidelities.

It doesn’t matter what women read or don’t read. It doesn’t matter whether they use the words “fuck” or “pussy” in casual conversation. Grabbing ANYONE by ANY part of their body without their consent is assault. Period.

Letting lies stand and perpetuating rape culture bullshit is unacceptable. I’m not surprised to hear that Trump said these things–even a decade ago–and it has no effect on my vote. What it does do, however, is remind me yet again how far we have to come in terms of showing respect for women all over the country. It reminds me that there are still too many people who hold the Neanderthal mindset that women are just two tits, a hole, and a heartbeat…and now these jackasses have Internet access.

People aren’t property, and this whole ridiculous misogynistic rationalization is just another sign that too many people live in a past we should have long since evolved beyond.

It’s on us–as parents–to teach our kids to respect other people and their personal space.

It’s on us–as adults–to call out inappropriate behavior and not let it pass without pushback.

It’s on us–as a society–to stop the marginalization and dehumanization of 51% of our country’s population.

It’s not about “Fifty Shades of Grey”. It’s about misogyny, it’s about rape culture, and it’s about fucking time we put a stop to all of it.