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A Review of Disney's 'Moana' (2016)

 A Review of Disney's Moana (2016)

- Mahek Agarwal

Moana, for me, is a film that is inherently feminist in nature and moves away from conventional fairy-tales in a myriad of ways. To begin with, the protagonist of the film, Moana is of Polynesian descent, moving away from predominant white fairy-tale narratives. Furthermore, she does not have an unattainable Barbie-like figure, with slim waists. Instead, she is given a realistic body type. These two factors clubbed together make the film more representative and inclusive.

Another component that draws me towards the film is the absence of a love interest. Moana is a character who is shown to have love for her island and her people, as opposed to typical male leads. She is the first Disney princess to not have a romantic narrative and is shown as an independent, strong-willed, and powerful female lead who steps out of the “damsel in distress” plot device where the woman needs saving, here she does the saving and further asserts that she does not need a man to be content and happy. She sets out to do what other men in the film feared and ultimately helped save her island and establish their normal course of life. She is not shown as a subservient female, but as someone who is a natural leader. Throughout the move, she kept repeating, “I am Moana of Montunui,” whenever faced with a predicament as a reminder of her strengths and her roots, again foregrounding her strong sense of resolution. Therefore, she breaks free from the shackles of the Disney Princess archetype.

Additionally, the presence of strong female relationships as opposed to stereotypical presence of evil female characters going against the lead female is highly refreshing. Here, it is through the support of the women around her that Moana succeeds in her endeavour, mainly her mother and her grandmother. 

The film is among my favourites as it challenges the conventional rules of patriarchy, masculine hegemony, and heteronormativity, all through the character of Moana. She is portrayed as a fierce, empowered woman and assumes “typical” male-oriented qualities such as determined, commanding, and authoritative as opposed to supposedly feminine traits of submission and passivity. Disney’s rather late attempt towards greater agency and diversity through Moana does however pave the way for more progressive fairy-tales and serves as a manifestation of a woman being enough by herself to complete a story. Moana then becomes a strong representation of her survival, self-sustenance, and identity with no romantic subplots and narratives to deflect the audience from the core of the story — Moana herself. 


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