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Moana: Top 5 Trailer Moments

SO! The trailer for Moana, Disney's latest animated princess movie, has finally landed online! This film has been hotly anticipated by audiences; primarily because of Dwayne Johnson, but also because it promises to be a celebration of Polynesian culture. This is fairly new for Disney - who are usually criticised for their lack of diversity.

   Overall, I really liked this trailer. It mixes amazing visuals with good, old-fashioned family humour. The phenomenal animation also reflects how Disney has progressed since introducing this style with Tangled. However, whilst this trailer looks pretty, it is not flawless. I'll be getting into what I like and I didn't through 5 points that really stood out for me.

Maui
The trailer starts off with a hieroglyphic animation of Maui (Dwayne Johnson) – a Demi-God. This was done both beautifully and stylistically, leaving me in awe. Afterwards it’s shown that the hieroglyphs are actually Maui's tattoos, and that he's narrating his own story. I thought this was a great way to introduce his character. He's cocky and brash. Not to mention, Dwayne Johnson's voice fits so well with the animation that it feels so organic and real. A brilliant job by the animators. That being said... This trailer may have focused too much on Maui; considering he gets almost all of the dialogue. Given that the film is named Moana, you'd think the trailer would try and build on her character instead. But Maui is definitely going to be a fan favourite.

Moana

The first look at the film's title character was perhaps the most bittersweet part of this trailer. On the plus-side her design is fantastic! She's possibly the most physically realistic princess that Disney has ever produced. Whilst she is beautiful, her beauty seems more natural than others such as Ariel and Aurora. However, while it's great to see Moana, she doesn't really speak in this trailer. She does say "Umm...." in reaction to Maui's flamboyancy, but that's all we get from her. The trailer had the opportunity to flesh out Moana and didn't take it sadly. This can be understood though, for the actress Auli'i Cravalho is a newcomer, meaning Disney aren't entirely sold on her audience appeal; unlike Dwayne Johnson who has a huge fan base behind him already.

Moana in Action
In this second long blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot we see Moana in action. Previously, many Disney Princesses have been criticised for being too passive, but Disney are aspiring to change that. First with Merida from Brave and now with Mona, who also appears to be quite active – a lot more than her fellow princesses; showing that Moana will be both a realistic princess that girls can relate to and also a role model for them. Hopefully this isn't the only thing she does for herself though.


The Ocean
This part of the trailer got me so excited. When Moana was first announced, Disney released some concept art for the film. One of them was Moana and Maui on a sail, riding waves, which was stunning and beautiful, largely due to the sense of adventure and excitement that came with it. Therefore, when the sail showed up in the trailer I got excited as it reminded me of that original concept art and how great it is that it’s been incorporated into the film, as sometimes early concept art doesn't come out in the final product.
I'M A BIRD!
Just want to say, I know next to nothing about Polynesian culture. Nor do I know anything about Maui, (who derives from mythology), so when I saw him turn into a giant bird it caught me off guard. I'm not sure if that's something Maui can do in mythology or not, but it was definitely unexpected! That being said, I do like how his fish-hook is incorporated into his wing. It looks really cool!
Overall, this trailer was pretty good! I do wish they put more focus on Moana instead of Maui, but it shows so much promise and I can't wait until this film comes out!


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