While I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, I did really enjoy Tran's role in Rian Johnson's Episode VIII; to see her "more than sidelined," to use Julia Alexander's words, in Episode IX, was more than disappointing.
But what's interesting to me is that this film, despite the plot summary, is being billed (and marketed, I'm sure) as a princess film.
Let's take a look at the plot summary from IMDB:
"In a realm known as Lumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon."
And from Wikipedia:
"A lone warrior sets out to find the last dragon in existence and save the kingdom of Kumandra from the villainous Drunn."
With the exception of Mulan, and *maybe* Moana, Disney movies don't usually focus on warriors. That is, typically, Disney Animations studios films skew female-centric, with the Disney Princess, Disney Fairies and Frozen franchises anchoring the studio. Pixar, on the other hand, skews predominantly male. While there are exceptions to both of course (e.g., The Lion King for Disney; Brave and Inside Out for Pixar), the generalizations hold true.
And, for better or for worse (and people love to point out the "worse"), Disney princess movies are a staple of American childhood and culture. So it's interesting to me that Raya and the Last Dragon is being billed as a princess movie.
This movie, then, has the potential to be groundbreaking for Disney. Awkwafina, who will co-start with Tran, has already praised the movie's "sisterhood":
Two things to note: (1) the clip features Cassie Steele, a British-Filipino actress who was originally cast in the role -- wonder what happened there? and
(2) sisterhood, on the heels of Frozen, is nothing new for Disney. It's worth pointing out that of 14 (un)official princesses -- only four of them have biological siblings (Ariel, Merida, and Anna & Elsa) and only three of them have sisters (Merida has brothers). The only film where sisterhood features a significant role is, of course, Frozen, as Ariel's sisters are largely irrelevant to the plot. And even in Frozen, Anna was intended to be the lead, with Elsa originally slated for the villain role. Jennifer Lee, thankfully, updated that narrative, and we have the two empowered characters we know and love today.
And while I don't think that Raya and Sisu are biological sisters (plot twist?!), this might actually be *more* important -- because Disney Princesses don't really get "friends." Sure, they get animal sidekicks and they may even get magical helpers, but not *real* friends. The only two princesses who have female friends are Pocahontas (Nakoma) and Tiana (Charlotte) and I would argue that only Tiana and Charlotte are *real* friends (Nakoma is largely a plot device), however historically unlikely their friendship would be.
So if this film deliberately features two female leads (as opposed to an accidental female lead with Elsa), who aren't biologically related, and focuses on their friendship/dynamic and both of them are Asian women? Like I said -- groundbreaking.
But here's where it gets a bit tricky for me...in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kelly Marie Tran revealed,
"She is someone who is technically a princess, but I think that what's really cool about this project, about this character specifically, is that everyone's trying to flip the narrative on what it means to be a princess...Raya is totally a warrior. When she was a kid, she was excited to get her sword. And she grows up to be a really badass, gritty warrior and can really take care of herself."
Okay, what's the problem? How could this be anything less than great?
Fair question. I agree -- Tran's points about Disney trying to "flip the narrative on what it means to be a princess" is important -- and definitely in line with their recent marketing campaigns for the Princess franchise. And trust me -- I am all for strong, empowered, warrior characters.
My concern is that Disney has a tendency to Otherize its Princesses of Color -- to mark them as different from the typical white, European Princesses in significant ways. As early as 2004, Celeste Lacroix was pointing out that Disney's non-white heroines -- Pocahontas, Esmeralda, and, to some extent, Jasmine. Lacroix's point is that the non-White Princesses are often more sexualized and more associated with nature than the White Princesses, reinforcing the normative superiority of Whites. That is -- non-white Princesses don't get to just be princesses: they don't get to wear floofy ballgowns and have servants.
We can see this trend continue in the films that were released even after Lacroix's publication: Rapunzel, Merida, and Anna & Elsa, while all more active and empowered women, still wear ballgowns and live in castles. While Tiana and Moana may not be hypersexualized, they are definitely associated with Nature (Tiana turns into a frog and spends a good deal of time in the Louisiana bayou, and Moana is chosen by the Ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti and give new life to a barren lava field) and don't wear ballgowns or live in castles.
Raya, it seems, would continue this disparity: I'm guessing she won't be wearing a ballgown as a warrior or living in a castle, as Entertainment Weekly also reveals that "Raya (voiced by Tran) is the daughter of the Chief of the Heart Lands, one of the five lands in the fictional kingdom of Kumandra. Years ago, dragons and humans lived in harmony, until monsters known as Druun invaded, forcing the dragons to sacrifice themselves and save humanity. Raya's father was also killed, and the film follows her journey as a warrior to find the last dragon, who she believes can save Kumandra."
This is where it gets tricky: on the one hand, I'm definitely not advocating that we continue telling solely European fairy tales, and the fact that this is a story deeply rooted in Southeast Asian culture is so very important. I'm also not saying that we should impose cultural inaccuracies as an empty gesture just for the sake of "equality." That is, we shouldn't impose castles and ballgowns and pretty passive princesses on a culture where castles and ballgowns simply don't exist. And I'm also not necessarily advocating for a return to pretty princess stories.
But I would maybe like to see some blurring of the boundaries: a White warrior Princess in the vein of Mulan and Moana and a Non-White Princess who does live in a castle and maybe doesn't wear ballgowns, but is unabashedly royal. And those Princesses of Color don't necessarily have to represent a real culture: while Pocahontas and Mulan are based on real people/people of legend, and Moanaseeks to explain The Long Pause in Polynesian culture, Jasmine's Agrabah is fictional (sort of) as is Naveen's Maldonia.
Disney can create fictional worlds which can be ruled by characters of any color -- which I think I would like to see a bit more of. Maybe it would raise questions I haven't yet thought of...
The bottom line is that I'm still really excited about this movie, and I'm probably even more excited about Kelly Marie Tran's starring role. After all the hate and vitriol she received from toxic Star Wars fans, she's deserves a bit of pixie dust.
A friend shared this post this afternoon, and I've found myself reflecting on it a lot.
This is one of the best parts of the movie IMO (although the part that never fails to make me cry is when Moana's grandmother's spirit gives her the reminder and the strength to go on), but I'm not sure I completely agree with it...
There are a lot of valid points here:
I agree that it's important that Moana meets Te Ka with love and acceptance and not violence, and that's what helps restore her.
Yes, violence begets ruin. A violent approach could not have saved Te Fiti.
But I'm not entirely sure I buy the fact that "only women can help other women heal from male violence" -- and certainly not within the context of this film. While I am the first one to insist that Disney movies are not just simply animated fluff, and that they have complex thematic messages in addition to their morals, this goes a bit too far for me.
One of the most striking things about Moana, for me, was its lack of emphasis on gender. That is, Disney went out of their way to tell a story where gender differences weren't front and center. After all, in the initial draft, Moana had brothers (6, I think?) and, as the youngest, she was constantly trying to prove that she was just as good as them and deserving of her father's pride and admiration. (SO glad they took that storyline out.) And, after all, this is the first Disney princess movie, where this isn't a romantic subplot.
So, yeah. I don't think this is a movie about male violence or how women can help each other through it. Yes, women supporting other women is crucial and important, but I don't think the fact that Te Ka/Te Fiti and Moana are women is the point here. Rather, IMO, it's about Moana's humility and good nature -- regardless of gender. It's her act of saving the baby turtle when she was little that made the ocean "choose" her (as Grandma Tala points out) -- her kindness, her selflessness (she gives up the pretty shell), and her strength of character.
It's more of an exchange of female wisdom and guidance. After all, Moana's journey throughout the movie is one of self-discovery and acceptance -- of finding her True Self, which is different from how others define her, namely her father (but, to some extent, her mother and community). They want her to be one thing, and she knows that she's meant for something different (to explore the world and sail the ocean). This is the advice she passes on to Te Fiti when she understands the effect of the stolen heart: she tells her that even though "they have stolen the heart from inside you / but this does not define you." I read this not as "healing from male violence" but as "honoring your true self."
So, I don't have a lot of spare time to go to the movies -- still waiting to see Crazy Rich Asians. And Mission Impossible. And Mamma Mia 2. -- but this is tempting. If only my daughter was a little older, these would be perfect to take her to! While Disney movies can hold her attention like nothing else can -- except maybe Dora the Explorer -- I don't think we're quite at the point where we can sit in a movie theater.
I'm hoping Frozen 2 will be her first theater-movie, but I don't know how she'll do with a movie she's never seen before. Honestly, she's more likely to sit through Moana because she knows the movie by heart.
(1) Alan Tudyk is back! Given that his original character, King Candy/Turbo, was the villain and (spoiler!) got his just desserts, and also given that Alan Tudyk has become Disney Animation Studios' good-luck charm -- I was worried that he wouldn't be in this film. Worries no more.
(2) Taraji P. Henson's character looks awesome.
(3) Perhaps, most importantly, our first look at the Disney Princesses all together is here!
(1) This is awesome. And you will never get me to say otherwise. I imagine this to be some sort of super-cool Princess secret society. Or, resort/spa where they can relax and get away from princessy-duties.
(2) Excluding Vanellope, there are 11 princesses present:
(2a) Interestingly, Anna, Elsa and Moana are all here -- even though they haven't been officially inducted into the princess court.
(2b) All the First Wave princesses are present -- Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora -- even though their voice actors are no longer with us. (I always assumed they'd have different actors, so it'll be fun/interesting to see who they cast.)
Also--Aurora is in her pink dress. Don't get me started.
(2c) 3/5 of the Second Wave princesses are present: Belle, Jasmine, & Pocahontas are there, but Ariel and Mulan aren't. More on this in a second.
(2d) 2/3 of the Third Wave princesses are present -- Tiana and Rapunzel, but Merida isn't. (I'm not counting Moana yet.)
Given the panorama-type view of the shot, it's possible that the three of them are just off-screen (and maybe we'll see them in the trailer tomorrow).
Shockingly, (she said sarcastically), the internet is a little upset about Mulan not being included -- thanks, Buzzfeed!
Which, I know they ask about Ariel in the sub-title, but still. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to count the princesses and figure out that not *every* Disney princess is there -- I counted 3. But there's a lot of ignorance misinformation in this post.
Like that whole jibber-jabber about how Mulan isn't *technically* a princess. Yes. We talk about this a lot in my class -- i.e., how do we determine a Disney princess? Do you have to be born one? Can you marry into royalty? And what about different cultures? After all, princesses are primarily (not exculsively!) a Western concept, especially in the way Disney portrays them. Is Jasmine a princess, as the daughter of a sultan? Is Pocahontas a princess, as the daughter of a chief? (Maui would clear this up.) But I digress. -- The point is: when Andy Mooney created the princess franchise in the early 2000s, they had to come up with some criteria. After all, Tinker Bell was included at one point -- but then they went and did the whole Fairies franchise ($$$), so she was out. Any female character who is included in the Royal Court, is an official princess, regardless of birth, marriage, or any other factors. See below:
All 11 princesses are there -- and yes, this is before Frozen and Moana, but there hasn't been another "induction" since.
So then they point to these cast photos that were taken at the 2017 D23 Expo (which I thought I blogged about, but I can't find it. Which makes sense. I was so. very. pregnant. in July of 2017 and also running around after a 1-year-old.)
I'm just going to ignore this comment from the Buzzfeed post -- But interestingly the voice actors of Snow White, Cinderella, Elsa, and Aurora were not present, even though they are in the shot from the movie. -- because, you know, LOGIC. (Snow White came out in 1937, guys. It's a safe bet that Adriana Caselotti isn't still alive -- she passed in 1997 -- and even if she were, she'd be pretty old.)
So, yeah. Merida and Ariel will be there -- although no one seemed particularly worried about here in the Buzzfeed post 😢 -- and it's a safe bet that Mulan will be too.
So, let's just enjoy the awesomeness of all the princesses together and hope that we see them all in the trailer tomorrow.
One of the things I get asked a lot, once people know about the courses I teach, is whether I'll let my own kids watch Disney movies. "Surely," they say, "you can't talk about what's wrong with a movie like Cinderella and still think it's okay for your kids to watch?"
To which I respond, "Of course I can."
Because even though I can put on my Professor Cap and analyze why Cinderella presents outdated gender roles from the 1950s, I can still also see the good in it. I see a female-driven narrative with a protagonist who is unflinchingly and unfailingly cheerful and hopeful.
And, perhaps what's more important, is that my children will have a wide variety of characters to watch in their Disney [Princess] movies. For the earliest part of my childhood, the only princesses I had were Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora -- homogenous by even the loosest definition of the word. But I grew up with the Disney Princesses -- I was the target demographic for The Little Mermaid, and while I can't attest to how watching that film repeatedly unknowingly influenced me, I can speak to what I knowingly took away from that film. And my children -- my daughter -- will have even more variety than I did, both in terms of racial identity and physical appearance as well as in character and achievement.
Which is part of the reason why we're watching the Disney princess movies in reverse. While Toy Story 3 was my daughter's first Disney movie (mainly because it was on TV over a weekend when I was struggling with some first trimester ickiness), Moana is the first Disney movie she watched when she was old enough to be aware of it.
What really got me thinking of all of this (again) was the other day, when we were finishing up Frozen. My daughter's seen parts of it before -- it's been on TV often enough -- but this was the first time that we actually sat down and watched it. She's also learned who the characters are from several Frozen books we have -- Anna Loves Elsa is her current favorite, I think, but my husband reads her the Pop-Up Adventure book and she loves it -- and connects Elsa with snow (which makes my heart happy).
But then we got to this scene:
You know? One of the BEST parts of the whole movie where Anna has a choice -- she can save herself by running to Kristoff or she can sacrifice herself by running to Elsa and she chooses Elsa?
To be honest, my daughter was a little concerned at this point -- she didn't quite understand why Anna was so cold or why her fingers were turning blue and she had snowflakes on her cheeks. And when Anna froze, and Elsa flung herself on her sister out of grief -- my daughter turned to look at me, as if searching for reassurance that everything would be okay. Yes, she'll learn one day that a Disney movie means that everything turns out okay for The Good Guys, but in this instance, I just chose to tell her that Elsa was worried about her sister, and so she gave her a hug, because that's what you do when you love someone and you want them to know that.
And I watched my daughter watch Elsa hug Anna -- I watched her face as Anna's act of true love melted her frozen heart, and the happy ending arrived. Maybe, to my daughter, it was the hug that melted Anna -- not Anna's selfless act; after all, she's not even 2 -- but either way, she got the gist of it. And, right before Anna punched Hans, my daughter came up and gave me a hug.
Now. Of course my daughter has hugged me before. But it's usually reflexive, or something she seeks out when she falls, or something she does when she's asked, as if to prove that she can do it, like say her name or identify a color. But connecting the act of hugging with a voluntary display of affection...that's been a bit elusive.
Not anymore. Disney helped my daughter make that connection. Why wouldn't I want her to learn that?
I think of all the other lessons Disney can teach my daughter, and they're lessons that I want her to learn.
She loves Moana -- maybe even more than Frozen. (And I'm a proud Mama Bear that she can articulately say Moana, Maui, and hawk -- she wanted to know the words for the pictures she saw.) But I think of all the positive messages that movie can teach her. Like this one. This is her favorite scene in the movie (well, I think it is. She can't really articulate "favorites" yet, but she does ask for the "turtle scene"):
When I watch her watch this part of the movie, this is what I see: I see her anxious for the baby turtle -- even though she doesn't quite understand why, she knows Baby Moana is concerned for it, and she's concerned -- I see her watch Baby Moana protect it and care for it, show compassion for another living creature, and I see her watch Baby Moana save the turtle, reuniting it with it's parents (Squirt from Finding Nemo maybe?!).
And, again: how could I not want my daughter to learn that message?
Yes, I know Disney isn't perfect. Believe me, I know. I spend a good deal of my non-teaching-work-time reading about how awful Disney is for kids and why we shouldn't be exposing our kids to their messages.
But then I think about my daughter's spontaneous hug and watching her learn the value of caring for an animal and...the bad messages don't seem so bad. After all, it's not like she won't have me harping in her ear about why the "bad" things aren't that great ("Remember what Queen Elsa said! You can't marry a man you just met! Remember how Kristoff asked Anna's permission before he kissed her? Consent is an important thing!"). I'm totally going to be "that mom." But I guess, to me, the good far outweighs the potentially bad.
This past weekend, PC and I were able to go see Wonder Woman -- and, full disclosure: to say I am "not a fan" of the DCU movies is an epic understatement. I made it about halfway through Man of Steel before I was bored to tears and maybe about 10 minutes into Batman v. Superman before I decided life was just too short. (<-- And I wish that was hyperbole, but honestly, that's 2.5 hours of my life I would have never gotten back.)
So when the heaps of positive praise for Wonder Woman started to come in, I was skeptical. On the one hand, it wasn't directed by Zack Snyder, so point in the film's favor. On the other hand, it was still a DCU film, and dadgumit if Marvel movies hadn't set the bar pretty high.
Long story short: I loved it. Well, I loved about 95% of it, but that's for another, longer post. There were also, I think, a couple of, if not deliberate, then definitely highly coincidental nods to Disney Princess movies, which given that Wonder Woman is, technically, an Amazonian princess, is interesting. The Disney princesses are often compared to Wonder Woman as examples of...what they could be? Should be? (TBH, I'm not entirely sure why, since Wonder Woman is a demigoddess and superhero, and it's a bit of an apples to oranges thing, but...*shrug*)
ANYWAY. I digress. Point is, while The Little Mermaid parallels are the strongest, I think, the Moana ones are kinda hard to ignore, too. Especially when Diana and Steve arrive at the boat in the middle of the night. I literally leaned over to my husband and whispered, "Moana moment!" Which then got me singing "How Far I'll Go" in my head and really, the song works for either character.
And apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so:
"I know, everybody on this island seems so happy on this island Everything is by design I know, everybody on this island has a role on this island So maybe I can roll with mine I can lead with pride, I can make us strong I'll be satisfied if I play along But the voice inside sings a different song What is wrong with me? See the light as it shines on the sea it's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?"
There are a couple of YouTube videos that play the song over trailer cuts, but it doesn't capture the full effect. So the gifs will have to do for now.
Was at Target the other day (although, to be honest, when am I not?), and I took a stroll down the toy aisle just for kicks.
And guess what? The new Moana merchandise is out! (Yes, even before the film is released.) So if you know someone who's going to want Moana merchandise, get it now before the actual release of the film.
Not the point. The point is that the Moana doll, much like her character looks so much different than a "traditional" kid's doll.
Here she is next to Barbie:
Look at the differences in height (Barbie is considerably taller), face shape, neck length, bust and leg size. Sure, Moana's eyes are unrealistically large, but hey. That's animation these days. Overall, she's more built more "realistically" and her legs don't look as if you could snap them like matchsticks.
For comparison, here she is next to Pocahontas (who is actually the only other Disney princess whose legs you can see in the box):
To be fair, Pocahontas has some fairly well-defined legs (for a doll), but she does run around the woods barefoot a lot so....
Is this progress for Disney & Hasbro? Have we finally moved past the princesses whose waists were as thin as their necks?
The costume allows the wearer to don the "signature tattoos" as well as the rope necklace and the island-style skirt.
The controversy, however, comes from the fact that the "skin" of the costume is brown, leading many (but not all!) online to descry the costume as "cultural appropriation" and allowing children to blatantly practice brownface. The Buzzfeed article, "People Are Angry About This Disney Costume," captures some of the Twitter reactions.)
Before I go any further, let me make this clear:
I do not condone brownface or blackface or cultural appropriation.
We good?
Okay.
What I'm interested in is the line between cultural appropriation and, say, something like cosplay. or even the fact that we live in a melting pot of cultures and the blurring of cultural lines is going to happen. And, as Jenni Avins put it in a piece for The Atlantic, "No matter how much I love cable-knit sweaters and Gruyere cheese, I don’t want to live in a world where the only cultural inspiration I’m entitled to comes from my roots in Ireland, Switzerland, and Eastern Europe."
I'd like to think that I'm not the only one to struggle with this question--and I'd also like to think that my struggle, at the very least, means that I'm not blind to the issue and am aware that it exists.
But when something like this Moana costume incident happens, I don't quite know what to think. My knee-jerk reaction is to say, "It's just a kid's costume," but I realize that that knee-jerk reaction is part of the problem.
Also part of the problem: the fact that the film hasn't been released yet, and therefore, I don't know how Moana portrays Polynesian culture.
The way I understand it, from Nadra Kareem Nittle's helpful article, "cultural appropriation" happens when there's the "unauthorized use of another culture's dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc." -- and usually involves a dominant culture exploiting a minority culture. Nittle identifies cultural appropriation as problematic because it (1) "robs minority groups of the credit they deserve" (due to association with the majority group) and (2) reinforces stereotypes about the minority groups. Nittle also points out that cultural appropriation is particularly egregious around Halloween, when people don stereotyped costumes without knowing the "roots of such dress and the challenges those who originated it have faced in Western society."
The last part is particularly troubling about the Maui costume.
My first thought was that his size was to help portray him as a demi-god -- as larger than life. That being said, I fully realize that I'm saying this from a position of relative privilege as a white woman and not as a member of the culture being stereotyped. If the people from the Polynesian/Pacific Islander culture think it's offensive, end-stop.
So obviously the accusations of Disney using another culture's dress/folklore with authorization have some merit but again, the issue of the Halloween costumes makes me think -- especially the issue of kids' costumes.
I'm not sure what the right answer is -- or if there even is a right answer. But here are some of the things marinating in my mind:
If the costume is offensive, is there an alternative?
What if Disney didn't have a Maui costume? Would they get accusations of being racist for not offering a Halloween costume for a minority character while you can buy costumes for Snow White and Cinderella?
The brown skin sleeves of the costume are a vehicle for the tattoos -- is the answer to offer the costume in different sleeve colors (e.g. a Maui with white sleeves, black sleeves, etc.)?
Would a "white Maui" costume then be subject to accusations of white-washing?
Could they have made the costume sleeves "sheer" so that a child's natural skin color showed?
I have to believe that if a child wants to dress up as Maui or Moana for Halloween, it's because they like the character right and want to emulate him/her? And not because they want to appropriate a culture? But is that how cultural appropriation starts?
When we see little girls dressed as their favorite princess at Disney World, do we call it cultural appropriation?
What if my daughter wants to dress up as Jasmine or Tiana because they're her favorite princess? What do I do then? (I'm assuming we can't have a super detailed conversation about cultural appropriation at three years old, although I have no doubt I will be more "academic" about the Disney films than most parents....)
How is cultural appropriation different from cosplay (which is defined as "the art or practice of wearing costumes to portray characters from fiction, especially from manga, animation, and science fiction")?
Does the "fiction" qualification excuse cultural appropriation? Surely not. After all, fiction and culture are intimately connected so...if an American cosplays as a character from Japanese anime, is it cultural appropriation?
I would honestly love some insight on this topic: what if my daughter, exposed as she will be to the full canon of Disney movies, wants to wear a Tiana dress when we go to Disney World? Or a Jasmine outfit? (Assuming, of course, that my daughter is one who likes princesses and wearing dresses...I didn't when I was 4.) What's the right way to handle that situation?
Her father, Chief Tui, is voiced by Temuera Morrison (notably, a New Zealand actor of Maori descent) and is described as a "gregarious and well-respected" leader who wants his daughter to follow in his footsteps.
Her mother, Sina, is voiced by Nicole Scherzinger (Hawaiian) and is described as "sharp and strong-willed" and having her daughter's back.
Moana's paternal grandmother is also present in the film:
Gramma Tala is voiced by Rachel House (also a New Zealand actor of Maori descent) and is described as Moana's "confidante and best friend" and as "dance[ing] to the beat of her own drum."
A couple of interesting things to note:
Gramma Tala is Chief Tui's mother. This isn't necessarily a strictly patriarchal tribe (Chief Tui wants Moana to rule after him, after all), so it would be interesting to see if Gramma Tala ruled before Chief Tui--which would be kick-ass indeed.
I think it's important to note that, in what is definitely a strategic "we-don't-want-to-be-accused-of-whitewashing" move, all of the actors have Pacific Islander heritage (be it Hawaii or New Zealand) which should (1) mitigate white-washing criticism and (2) bolster claims of diversity.
As I mentioned above, hopefully all of Moana's family remains alive -- I think it's pretty rare in Disney princess (or, human) films for a parent to die onscreen: obviously, Mufasa dies in The Lion King (a move which is mirrored in Pixar's The Good Dinosaur) and Bambi's mother (thankfully not on-screen, although during the movie) but in the fairy-tale films, one or both parent(s) are absent from the beginning.
(The only quasi-exceptions to this, that I can think of, are Cinderella's father who is briefly depicted and then mentioned as passing in the voice-over and Tiana's father who is, again, depicted on-screen and then it's implied (not directly stated) that he died during WWI).
Regardless, the family unit seems to be doing much better in this Third Wave of Disney Princess films, and being a Disney Princess Parent doesn't automatically seem to be a death sentence.
The family unit of daughter-mother-father-grandmother, while relatively rare in Disney Princess films, isn't unprecedented: the same structure was apparent in Mulan, although we don't seem to be dealing with the same issues of gender privilege in this movie. (In Mulan, males/sons are seen as "more" as females/daughters -- although, whether that's the actual message or the false premise of the film is up for debate.)
Likewise, the character descriptions seem to indicate that Moana's parents will be actual, round characters rather than stock fairy-tale characters: more like Merida's mother and father than even Rapunzel's parents (who are actually flatter characters than Sleeping Beauty's King Stefan and his Queen). Chief Tui will also, hopefully, be a King/Father who doesn't fall victim to the pitfalls of the Second Wave Disney Princess fathers -- either strict and overbearing (like King Triton) or weak and ineffectual (like the Sultan).
Finally, Alan Tudyk will voice HeiHei who is literally the village idiot who stows away on Moana's boat.
What's interesting though is that The Nerdist calls Tudyk "Disney's lucky charm" -- a fact which my husband and I gleefully pointed out, kind of made him the "John Ratzenberger of Walt Disney Animation Studios."
Either way--we didn't need the Internet to tell us that he was a good-luck-charm: Alan Tudyk has so much nerd-street-cred already (he's Wash on Firefly!) and I've been rooting extra-hard for him ever since I him at the Central Park Zoo with his (I assume) parents.
I'm really looking forward to this movie now -- so many good movies coming out in November!
You guys. I've said it before -- I'll say it again. Moana is going to be a beautiful film.
It's more of a clip than a trailer -- showing baby Moana (merchandise gold, amirite?) discovering she can control the ocean -- but it's beautiful and gorgeous and I can't wait for this movie.
Please, please, please give us a strong heroine, Disney.
I am beyond excited for this movie -- despite the fact that I know very little about it.
Thoughts:
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA. That is all.
I love, love, love the sequence with the tattoos. It's done in the "traditional Disney" 2D style, and it kinda reminds me of the muses and the Grecian urns in Hercules.
The computer animation is gorgeous as well -- this is going to be a beautiful film.
It's interesting that the teaser trailer features The Rock's character, Maui, rather than the titular protagonist....I'll try not to read too much into that.
Many people are already commenting on how The Rock is of Samoan descent--very important since this is one of Disney's "diverse films." (This hasn't really been an issue for Disney lately -- in their more recent films they have used voice actors that match the ethnicity of the characters, like Asian-American actors for Mulan, but still.
I *really* hope that this princess movie continues Disney's forward progress. They have a great momentum going from Frozen, and I'd love to see Moana be a spirited, independent princess with agency.
And wouldn't it be great if there was no love story?
