Fairly recently, I revisited the movies, “Moana” and “Lilo & Stitch.”
Honestly, they are fantastic. I love the quirkiness, the effortless beauty of the surroundings, and the loving depictions of the culture there.
Watching an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda on his thinking behind the title song he composed for the movie, I can’t help but feel hopeful about depictions of female characters in the future. He talks about the conflicting feelings he is trying to express in Moana. She loves her people and where she comes from, but she also has something inside her that is calling her to explore (despite her father’s fear for her). That exploration doesn’t mean that she is leaving her home and her people (like the Little Mermaid), though. In fact, she is exploring in order to help her people.
What a great character. She just happens to be the daughter of the chief. I guess that makes her a princess, but she is definitely not in your face about it.
In “Moana,” you see fresh foods (fruits, animals, etc.), gorgeous beaches, lush mountainsides, hear a different language in some songs, and see colorful and hand sewn clothing and gorgeous curly dark hair… I’m sure the more you watch the movie, the more you notice.
Since I was on a Hawaii kick, I watched “Lilo & Stitch” afterwards. This movie also depicted the effortless beauty of Hawaii.
You see the beauty of living in a place where you can have such an active lifestyle- with the ocean as your playground, in terms of surfing, & culturally rich dance groups you can join, etc.
What I also think is ahead of its time is its depiction of a non-traditional family. Lilo’s parents died in a car crash, and her older sister is left to take care of her. Her older sister still has some growing up of her own to do, and some adjustments to make, in order to make things work as a caregiver. That can’t be easy for a young person. You see that.
It’s kind of funny to see social services depicted as a sunglasses and black suit clad FBI-looking figure. It kind of lightens up a scary concept, for kids. He is looking out for the welfare of the child, but the scary part is, that a misinterpretation of the circumstances could lead to the family being broken apart forever. This is a real-life issue. Social services misunderstanding a particular culture’s form of parenting, or misunderstanding a particular situation could lead to disaster. Alien mayhem offsets the seriousness, but this is about as close to a real-life issue that Disney may have ever gotten.
In the pandemic, I have been so grateful for movies and TV, to give me an escape to far-off places that I could not actually go to, safely. Definitely check out these two movies, for a taste of another place, and for entertainment- of course.
