Why be satisfied with an animated success when a live-action re-working of the same tale might also be a hit at the box office? That’s a question that seems to be on the minds of the folks at the Mouse House these days, and so, after several other examples in recent years, we get the musical adventure “Moana” (Disney).
Director Thomas Kail’s feature debut, a riff on the 2016 original, is largely free of the kind of content that usually raises parental hackles. Yet the film incorporates a number of notions at odds with revealed truth. So, youngsters liable to be confused by such material should be steered elsewhere.
Well-catechized teens, as well as grown-ups, by contrast, can feel free to set sail for this maritime-themed outing.
When a mysterious blight besets the island of Motunui, her fictitious Polynesian homeland, Moana (Catherine Laga’aia), the daughter of Motunui’s tribal chieftain, Tui (John Tui), is commissioned by the ocean itself to remedy an ancient misdeed. To do so, however, she’ll need the cooperation of the mischievous, egotistical demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson).
The movie opens with a creation story incompatible with that found in the Book of Genesis. Later, Moana’s loving and kindly grandmother, Tala (Rena Owen) – who, unlike her son, Tui, supports Moana’s longstanding desire to voyage beyond Motunui’s protective reef – is shown to achieve a fate not provided for in a Judeo-Christian worldview.
In short, indigenous religious beliefs, whether depicted via a correct interpretation or by way of a pastiche, are so closely intertwined with the plot as to be inseparable from it. As for the lessons in Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller’s script that are congruent with Biblical faith, such as the value of teamwork, self-confidence and forgiveness, they come across as Hollywood boilerplate.
Still, those viewers for whom the picture is appropriate will probably enjoy Moana’s quest – especially so as it’s enlivened by a couple of catchy tunes from primary songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. They can treat all the metaphysical miscues in this serviceable retread as at one with Maui’s many tattoos, markings that not only have a life of their own but serve as his conscience.
The film contains pervasive non-scriptural ideas, including reincarnation, references to infanticide, fleeting anatomical and scatological humor, an instance of mature wordplay and a couple of mildly crass terms. The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
