Moana Film Analysis

I have chose to write my final discussion on the newest Disney movie Moanna. Moanna was the classic example of someone going through the Heros Journey. Although she already is held higher than most though because she is the daughter of the chief, so ultimately the next leader. She always longing for more. Her grandmother is the one that pushes her to go follow her heart, When the tribe is in trouble Moanna goes to the call of the journey to find Maui who is a shapeshifter. Maui was all about himself and did not care to help Monna help her tribe. Monna ends up helping Maui when he needs it the most, he teaches her how to sail and continue their journey. They are defeated though by a monster. Maui goes on about his way and Moanna is lost. Defeated

Now that the young girl is in the sea, we being to hear the theme of

“Without my [fish] hook, I am nothing!” (Moana 2016). Moana is about a young Polynesian woman, who is the daughter of the chief of her tribe. One day, the island’s fishermen are unable to catch any fish and the crops fail. Moana learns that many centuries ago, a demigod named Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti, a goddess, and this is the reason why her island is suffering. The only way to save her island is to find Maui and persuade him to restore the heart of Te Fiti. Moana leaves her island and travels across the sea to find him, an act that is prohibited on her island. Moana contains the elements of transcendentalism, such as the idea of nature being an escape, and inner spiritual connections.

He is able to use these parts to manipulate the audience’s emotions. The music playing from the car is an on-screen sound. As the man gets attacked, the volume increases. The sound helps intensify the scene that has been created by the film’s visual elements. The audience then subconsciously forms ideas, opinions, and feelings about what they are seeing. The viewers develop scared feelings as the scene intensifies to the happy upbeat tune. The increasing volume of the cheery song reflects the violence and the sinisterness of the scene. The song stops with the slamming of the car’s driver-side door as the man is abducted. There is a moment of silence and then a new song abruptly entered the silent scene. The music is non-diegetic and is an offscreen sound. The song is screechy, high pitched, and jagged sounding at first, continuing the anxious and scared mood. The song shifts into a sort of soulful hymn. The tone shifts along with the song. The audience begins to feel relieved and relaxes to the peaceful song.

A composer depends entirely upon the nature of the film for all the clues needed to write a suitable score for a film. Brought into the production after a certain amount of film has been shot, the films concept will dictate how the composer will write the music. Whether based on the story line, or providing information by setting an atmospheric state, film music will always have different purposes between different films. Penguin Ballet by Nigel Westlake was composed to focuses upon the graceful, almost ballet like movements of the penguins underwater. Whereas, Writings on the wall by Sam Smith conveys ideas and messages which will be expressed throughout the film, especially through the use of lyrics. Although positioned within the film to provide contrasting messages, both these songs use similar musical elements to support the piece, and its position with the film. The discussion of this essay is that there are similarities between the musical elements that support the lyrics in a song and the action in a documentary. Through this, we will discuss the musical element’s of pitch, and timbre and texture.

The song incorporates a slow-mid tempo, complex harmonies, appropriate use of legato and staccato, slightly swinging rhythm, warm and thin timbre, minimal vibrato, smooth melody, and a calm dynamic performance. The instrumentation of this song is composed of mainly R&B instruments such as: electric guitars, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, organ, electric pad, keyboard, strings, and a drum set with auxiliary percussion. The song is comprised of mostly minor notes and high pitches, making the vocals vary in range. The use of these musical elements makes the song delightful to listen.

During a later part of Scene Two when the cast is dancing the movements match the music, they appeared to be doing the Waltz, so the music had abrupt changes. In Scene Three: Cadiz, the orchestra plays some sad and somber music at the beginning. As the scene progresses the music goes from dark and dismal to happy and cheerful. During one of the songs of Scene Four: Paris the Old Lady, Cunegonde and Candide were discussing a flight and the music being played by the orchestra matched the lyrics bringing the idea of a flight to life. The Old Lady has a mezzo soprano voice she executes all of her notes well in the song. At the end of scene three Candide, Cunegonde, and the Old Lady leave to go to a new place and in the song they sing there are rounds, which were well executed. It helped change the mood again which brightened up the audience.

As the man confesses his love to the woman, the music is light-hearted and fairy like. Then, as the woman is standing by the side of the ship alone, a boat comes into view. The music matches the approaching visitors and their mysteriousness. It becomes slow, low, and dark. However, as the people on the boat take the girl the music speeds up and crescendos and then finally tapers off as they leave in the boat.

Avatar is a blockbuster film from 2009 and one of my most favorite Sci-fi films of all time. The film was directed by James Cameron, who is known for directing films like Titanic (1997), Aliens (1986), and the Terminator (1984), all of which helped shape the film industry into what it is today. Although at the time, there was a recession and people were trying to save money, this movie became the highest grossing film in at the time. The movie provided stunning 3D technology unlike any other movie and this was one of the reasons that made people want to go watch the film. From visual effects to the camera angles, James Cameron directed this movie to make the audience feel like they are in the movie. Although the film looked amazing, there were messages and themes inside the film that made it such a success. The film provoked discussions about various messages and themes embedded inside the film, such as terrorism, Imperialism, religious connections, and connections to current world. Such messages can be clearly seen throughout the plot of the movie.

For every scene, the music would change. In the beginning, different events such as bull and bronco riding and calf roping, were introduced to the audience as a preparation for what’s to come. The hard-hitting percussions and loud piano truly gave that feeling of excitement because at that moment, no one really knew what to expect. Although it was difficult to obtain the set list, it is safe to say that retrieving the names of the tracks were not at all important. The film and live score blended together so beautifully, and the meaning behind the slow-motion documentary was more

Music is an immensely powerful tool in films, as it can underscore critical themes of a film in a melodious way and augment the emotion on screen. Songs can set the tone of a movie with or without lyrics. For example, the soundtrack of the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever includes groovy songs that complement the tone of the film. The suspenseful notes of the Jaws theme suggests that danger is approaching. The soundtrack to Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby is a tasteful collection of songs from artists of different genres. Through this amalgamation of genres and lyrics, the integrity of the F. Scott Fitzgerald’s piece is well maintained.

When most people think about Disney movies, their mind often goes to the stereotypical princess movies in which the protagonist wears a pink ball gown. Time and time again these princesses must fight their way through the story in a luxurious ball gown in order to end up with a prince. However, there are many Disney movies that work to challenge these gender stereotypes. The movie Moana is a recent example of a Disney production that works to break the imposed stereotypes placed on children from an early age.

Spirited Away is an Oscar award winning, 2001 animated film from Japan, written, directed, and animated by Hayao Miyazaki (IMDb: Spirited Away). The story follows Chihiro, A young girl who is dealing with separation from family, tradition, and self-identity. Studio Ghibli films often have younger protagonists in their films, but in an interview with Miyazaki commented that “[he] felt [Japan] only offered such things as crushes and romance to 10-year-old girls” and that “ [Studio Ghibli] has not made a film for 10-year-old girls, who are in their first stage of adolescence” (Miyazaki 2001). Here, Miyazaki is signifying the lack of, what he sees to be, a proper presentation of a tweenaged girl. Miyazaki refrains from making the main plotline

In the Disney movie, “Moana,” the main character demonstrates her personal strength as a woman capable of determining her own future. “Moana” breaks the typical Disney mold of a princess being associated with a prince as the main character. Moana realizes she has the sole power within herself to take the lead role to save her village by returning the Heart of Te Fiti. The Heart of Te Fiti is what gives the world and most importantly her people’s island life. When the Heart of Te Fiti was stolen by demi-god Maui the world fell to darkness and the island began to deteriorate. The pop culture aspect of female empowerment is exemplified in the scene where Moana is visited by her deceased grandmother, Gramma Tala, after a moment of self-doubt about being able to return the Heart of Te Fiti in order to save her people and island. In the scene Gramma Tala is deceased but visits Moana in the form of a vision. Moana envisions her people sailing the sea and her father upon one of the ships. Moana was struggling with finding her inner self and utilizes her visit from Gramma Tala, to acknowledge her self-power. In the movie Moana, the “I am Moana” scene exemplifies the current cultural theme of female empowerment being actualized when the main character, Moana realizes her own inner strength after understanding her cultural heritage, receiving inspiration from her grandmother, and embracing her role in building her future.

Most of the science fiction works contain a crucial message that the writer wishes to convey to the viewers. There are two categories of film message, one is positive and the other is negative. A positive message is one that is expected to have favourable outcome to the audience, and continuously aiming to promote better societal changes. In contrast, a negative message is one that could deliver threats or unpleasant information to the audience, which could have significant impact on the normal order of the society. This essay will argue that if the message contains positive elements, then it is not a bad sign to embed science fiction works with a message. First, this essay will suggest that the well-integrated message within a particular