For this week's assignment, I chose two scenes from ***Moana*** - my favorite Disney animation other than Pixar films. Both these scenes are associated with Moana's grandmother, who acted like a mentor to guide Moana to listen to her own voice and breakthrough the obstacles.
Moana's village locates on a self-provided island, and for generations the villagers have stayed within the shore because they believe what beyond the reef are evil monsters who are going to bring disasters to the island. However, as the time goes by, the ecosystem on the island deteriorates - the coconuts become toxic, plants start to die and less and less fish are available in the shore for people to hunt. Moana, as the next village chief, decided to go beyond the reef to keep the island self-sustained. Yet she has received strong objections from her village due to the "village tradition" for not sailing. Everyone disagrees with Moana except her grandmother, who is the only one who remember the true "tradition" of this village. The grandmother shows Moana the history of her ancestors and it turns out they were indeed voyagers who sailed from islands to islands in order to build their civilizations. And the only reason villagers now decide to stay within the reef is that monsters have showed up in the ocean, and generation after generation the people on the island have forgotten how to sail and what is outside of the ocean. The grandmother is the only one who believes Moana could inherit the legacy from her ancestors and sail beyond the sea to save her island.
Auli'i Cravalho - How Far I'll Go (Reprise/From "Moana"/Sing-Along)
In this first scene I chose from ***Moana***, Moana took her grandma's advice and listened to her inner voice, and decided to voyage beyond the ocean in order to save her island. Almost at the same time when Moana landed her canoe on the water, her grandma passed away. The lights on the entire island extinguished and a glowing stingray appeared in the water leading the way for Moana. In this scene, the only light source are the dimmed moonlight and the florescent light from the stingray. The stingray resembles the soul of the grandma. It lit up the whole ocean and also brightened Moana's eyes. The use of the florescent blue light here gives the audience hope and encouragement that we believe Moana has found her direction and purpose. Also as a cold color, blue light is typically used to visualize the form of souls. However, the glowing blueness of grandma's soul also gives the audience a sense warmness because we know no matter what happens to Moana her grandma will always be there for her.
I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors) (From "Moana"/Sing-Along)
In this scene, Moana was just defeated by the monster. She felt lost and no longer believed that she was the "chosen one". At this moment, the whole scene was dark with only a little moon and star light. It created an atmosphere of desperation and disappointment. Almost at the same time when Moana decided to give up and go home, her grandma showed up again in a blue/purple "ghost" form. The grandma started to brightening up Moana again. She was like the lighthouse in a dark ocean guiding the lost ones. The grandma's light shone on Moana and reminded her who she was. Soon the fleet of the ancestors arrived in the same florescent blue "ghost" forms that lit up the entire ocean. The light drove away the darkness inside of Moana as well. She dived into the pitch dark ocean to restore the stone which was glowing in bright green light. The use of green light also symbolized that Moana had found what she lost - her hope, her purpose, her drive and her heart. Finally she picked up the stone and came back up from the water. The "ghosts" shining in blue light disappeared and a beam of moon light shone right on Moana which set the mood for the final climax of the movie that she was ready for her adventure again.
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