Moana 2

The quality of Disney's animation works in recent years is really worrying. The story routine is directly worn as a coat, and the body is also skinny. Every time they make animations, they are free to follow the formula. Encountering difficulties + marching forward + retreating after setbacks + spiritual growth + overcoming difficulties + super happy ending = "Moana 2". This film is even more sloppy and hasty. The main characters have a clear division of labor and lack novelty. The villains have no sense of oppression, and they are just here to play a supporting role, with very little face time. The growth of the protagonist is exactly the same as the first one. Last time, Moana helped Maui untie his knot, and this time, Maui helped Moana achieve sublimation. Both of them drank a sip of chicken soup, but in the final analysis, it is still the same bowl of soup. The only bright spots are the supporting animals, which can make people laugh accidentally, but it's just a laugh, and this is the style of Disney animation. If not, the watchability will be greatly reduced. Comparing "Inside Out" and "Oceans", Pixar is more stable, thoughtful and progressive, while Disney is conservative and will only ruin its reputation. Just listen to the movie songs.

I personally think that since 2010, with the pace of the times and women's new hopes for the old identity of "princess", Disney has moved towards a new story of "princess" heroines, which was opened by three major "magic" films. The first is "Tangled", a familiar old bottle with new wine, but it is Disney's first innovative start for female stories. The heroine of this story breaks through the original conventional "princess" shape, carrying a frying pan as a weapon, running around barefoot and calling for freedom, like a new woman 10 years later, eager to escape from the whirlpool of patriarchy, but repeatedly falling into the trap. But it doesn't matter, self-drive will still make us brave. This is also the innovation of "Tangled", the heroine who shouts for freedom, looks for the future and love on her own, and voluntarily abandons her beauty and struggles to move forward. However, it may be the first time that Disney has broadened the boundaries of princesses, so some plots seem more restrained, such as the common villain old witch, the "good couple" male protagonist, the inevitable princess identity, the princess who needs to be saved, and the dedication for love. But what cannot be ignored is the heart that yearns for freedom and courage, and this heart is solemnly given to a princess, a woman. The good box office also inspired Disney to firmly make the heroine and the brave heart big.

The second is our blockbuster work, the undisputed box office champion "Frozen". The success of "Tangled" and the evolution of the times have made Disney ready to explore a new image of women, a lonely, self-restrained and bravely freed powerful woman, a "princess" who breaks through the shackles of the times, a queen, the great Elsa. Her existence is groundbreaking and epoch-making. Her story is sung in the streets and alleys not only because of the excellent painting, special effects and stories, but also because of the new Disney heroine image she has created, the "queen" who is widely praised, and a ladder for consciousness and power climbing. She tells girls that you can break away from the framework of "princess" and become a powerful queen. You can "Let it go~" to be yourself without listening to the constraints of others. You don't need love, you don't need help, you don't need to tremble and pray for the future. You can control your own destiny and be self-reliant and strong, presenting a picture of the future of powerful women. At the same time, it also shows us the connection of women in the new era. Women in the same frame no longer torture, belittle, divide each other into good and bad, and divide boundaries. Instead, they stand on the same front to encourage, understand, help, and love each other. "True love" exists not only between men and women, but also between sisters, besties, comrades-in-arms, mothers and daughters, and friends. "Love" truly breaks away from the traditional heterosexual love narrative structure of men and women. What is wonderful is not only these powerful ideas, but also the irony of the image shaping of the old story, the call for women in the new era, the deconstruction of love, the new writing of the male image, the new adaptation of the traditional story, etc. The greatness of "Frozen" is endlessly excellent, but more importantly, Disney's rewriting and innovation of the old "princess" image, the birth of the "queen", and the continuation of the female story.

With sufficient accumulation, a woman with strong heart and body appeared, Moana in "Moana". This time it is no longer a story of new wine in old bottles, no longer a rehash of old IP, but a new story, new characters, and new perspectives. "Moana" has given a new image to the original story of the heroine, the dissolution of love, the breakthrough of race, and the brave adventure. Starting from the small tribes and small nations on the small island, a chief, a leader of the nation, a pioneer of the border, a breaker of shackles, and a "hero" image with a human body but comparable to a god is constructed, that is, a female heroine. Finally, Disney went from "princess" to "queen" to "hero". "Tangled" is no longer a stereotyped prince saving a princess, "Frozen" no longer simply creates the image of a brave princess, and "Moana" no longer portrays the inherent image of a male hero, but makes women "heroes" and heroes who dissolve patriarchy. Let more girls discover that our image of women can be expanded to this, that they can be brave and fearless, intelligent and sensitive, with strong arms, thick thighs, thick feet, strong hands, a powerful body, curly hair with the smell of sunshine and sea salt, and wheat-colored skin to fly into the sky and the sea. Grab the rough hemp rope of the sailboat, listen to the old sounds of the matriarchal society, kick open the paper cage of the patriarchal society in the name of "protection", and rush to the vast sea to redeem the mistakes and save mankind! Finally, this kind of "hero" story is given to women, and finally this kind of "destiny" is no longer circulated in men. Finally, we are no longer delicate, elegant, beautiful "princesses", but wildness full of life freedom. This kind of life wildness is in Moana, and it will also be rejuvenated in more women. At the same time, the story of female heroes has not fallen to the footsteps of the old heroic stories. On the basis of bravery and strength, the heroine has the unique sensitivity, gentleness, and compassion of women, and has "another way".

So what did Moana 2 do after the female story has been rejuvenated? I think she is expanding the boundaries of female stories, broadening the current ideas of feminism, and writing "another way". As mentioned at the beginning, the story of the new era will be written by "her". She is not a princess, but a chief, a heroine, and a leader of mankind. With Moana's efforts, her father and the old team leader transferred the power of the patriarchal world to women. But the story does not erase or ignore the help that belongs to "them", such as the leadership of the old ancestors, the tolerance and humility of the father, the help of the demigods, and the active contributions of the old and the young. Then add the assistance of women, the unreserved support of the grandmother and the mother, the wholehearted trust of the sister, and the guidance and promotion of the goddess. This shows a new era and a new path for women and men, and they rely on each other to move forward in unity. I think this is the innovation of Moana 2. When constructing women's stories, think about how to achieve new peace and hope in the current situation where the contradictions between women and men, people and nature, and people and all things are so intense? That is, you and I will all become heroes and heroines, build a new future in a united way, and not abandon the young, the old, the weak, and all living things on the road to progress (the crew in the story includes men, women, young and old, animals and wonderful creatures). It is that all people and things stand on the same front to welcome new hope, face new challenges, and build a new era home. When we are strong, we hope to be strong with more people and stand together in our home on an equal footing. However, fantasy is always beautiful, which is also the original intention of Disney to make animations, to build a happy, peaceful, hopeful and beautiful future for us. There are still many advantages of the movie that have not been written, and the disadvantages are also obvious, such as a small space with a lot of content, too many things to want and want to integrate, and too many things to explore, but often lose sight of one thing while focusing on the other. The eager desire for new content has reduced the steady and innovative nature of the story, etc. In short, the flaws do not cover the merits, and I look forward to the continuation of the third part. Some female friends may think that this story is too shallow and the plot is too obvious. But it doesn't matter, Disney represents the mainstream of the times. The more you write and the more you earn, the more female stories will appear. The success of "little feminist stories" such as "Moana" will bring more "good things" to the table. So my fellow females, please spare no effort to support and encourage. With the impact of quantity, there will always be more "good things" appearing continuously for children, young people, on the screen and in life. (Please don't scold me if you don't like the adrenaline article I wrote in two hours of excitement. If you have offensive ideas, you can discuss them separately. You don't have to refute me one by one. The above ideas are all "personal opinions".)

Disney's works in recent years have become more formulaic, and "Moana 2" is such a routine story. The first 30 minutes set the stage for Moana's search for Motufitu. The opening scenes of the discovery of porcelain, the guidance of ancestors, the formation of crew members and the farewell ceremony, as well as the plot of Maui being trapped in Naro's territory by Batgirl, are bland and boring. Then began the sea adventure, first encountering a coconut monster, then being sucked into a giant clam, several people met Maui, and entered the Gate of the Gods with the help of Batgirl. Moana and several others fought against the sea monster with Maui, and one of the members almost died. Moana's will became depressed, and she cheered up again with Maui's encouragement. Several people dealt with Naro's thunderstorm together again. After several twists and turns, Moana touched Motufitu, but because of the powerful Naro, she fell into a coma. With the help of Maui and the ancestors, Moana woke up. Motufitu finally appeared on the sea and restored the exchanges between the tribes at sea. Moana also gained divine power and reunited with her family.

Through the above plot, we can summarize the formulaic plot: the protagonist's mission is the foreshadowing - team adventure - meet other partners - encounter difficulties - spiritual growth - overcome difficulties - super happy ending, this is the routine plot of "Moana 2". The protagonist group has a clear division of labor and lacks novelty. The villain has no sense of oppression, and even just comes to run a small role, with very little face time. The growth of the protagonist is exactly the same as the first part. Last time it was Moana who helped Maui untie his knot, and this time it was Maui who helped Moana achieve sublimation. Both of them drank a sip of chicken soup, but in the final analysis it was still the same bowl of soup. The only bright spots are the supporting animals, which can make people laugh accidentally, but it's just a laugh, and this is the style of Disney animation. If not, the watchability will be greatly reduced.

The theme of this film is roughly the same as the previous ones, which promotes women's independence, bravery and adventurous spirit, which has also been presented in previous Disney animations, such as "Moana", "Brave" and "Raya and the Last Dragon". In general, Disney's animated films in recent years have been highly homogenized, with nothing new in terms of plot and theme.

It's so refreshing to see a regular movie after those past monstrosities with the black goo and the clown face——nothing unimaginable or overly fancy, just the classic Disney formula and the traditional hero's journey.

As a sequel, there's a decent amount of effort in getting something more out of the universe, whether the creative design of the clam, the Kakamora's nuanced backstory, or the comedy, which is just Maui repeatedly making clever winks at the audience. However, I'm not a fan of the team-up or Matangi's sequence: the former because it's just lazy Disney writing and the latter because it's slightly aimless, as even the narrative forgot about her at the end of the film. While the entirely of the side quests and level-ups in the first film lead up to the characters' being prepared skill-wise and mentally against Te Fiti, there's just a lack of connection among the individual plotlines in Moana 2 especially when it comes to Nalo. Music was meh as well compared to the first, with the only memorable one being "Beyond" (another I Want song that Disney nails). Overall not bad, but that's it.

Actually, I was always distracted until the female spider sang Get Lost, and I didn't really like the musical soundtrack. But I was conquered by Get Lost, I really love it, and I started to sing it alone. Although I didn't let down my guard against her when I watched it, and I didn't believe her as easily as the heroine (because Master Shan said earlier that the female spider can't be trusted...), but this song is really well sung.

My second favorite part of the film is that Master Shan and the heroine both tried their best to complete their mission. They have a deep sense of belief, responsibility and mission, which I feel is extremely rare in real life. So when the heroine was chased by lightning and we held our breath to see if she could touch the island, it was really scary (but in fact, the protagonist's halo should be able to touch it hahaha). I really like this part.

The third thing I liked was that the heroine's sister gave the heroine a small starfish. Just after the heroine used the sea to comfort her sister, she felt, ah, it's really good to have a family like this.

And what I care about most is that Master Shan is really good, responsible, and can directly light up the heroine's passion bar in adversity. He is really awesome. With such a partner behind me, I am not afraid to move forward. (Although both of them failed halfway, as long as I don't regret it, it's the best thing!!) This kind of friendship has been established in 1, which is really rare and shining. Love it.