Review of Moana (2016) by Ron H — 22 Mar 2017

I loved this movie. The animation was lush, alive and gorgeous. I was impressed with how the music didn't focus on melody so much as on lyric. The lyrics were meaningful and advanced the characters and the story.

Having read a few of the reviews of this movie, I'm surprised that my perspective on this movie is entirely different. I saw this movie as a symbolic tale about the birth and rebirth of the Hawaiian Islands.

To me, this wasn't a tale about a girl going on an adventure. It was the girl representing the Hawaiian people over the ages moving from island to island and how Te Ka (tectonics) plays the role of both destroyer and creator of life.

I saw Maui as the force of natural adaptation: shape shifting to adapt to the every changing landscape brought about by Te Ka.