Comparative Analysis of Animation Movies: Moana and Mulan

Moana by Walt Disney is a fantasy and action Disney movie that follows the story of an island princess who is strongly willed to save her island from natural disasters. Mulan, on the other hand, is an animation where Mulan takes the role of a male in order to join the Chinese Army, to fight the invading Huns in place of her fragile father. This, she does with the purpose to save her family and homeland from an enemy invasion. The two animation movies describe stories from different societies and eras through the Disney focal point almost two decades apart.

Mulan and Moana: a comparison

Moana, one of the latest Disney’s animated movies has been perceived by the viewers as one of the most beautiful films in terms of morals, visuals and as well as character development after the animated movie, Mulan.

The movie can be perceived as the new Mulan of the current generation, due to the movies having significant relations in many ways. Over the years, the animated Disney movies, particularly the one starring princesses, have all followed a familiar formula to the audience. Both movies (Moana and Mulan) by Walt Disney have shifted these stories by not allowing the protagonist falling in love to be the main purpose for the movies (Zurcher et al. 47).

Although in Mulan finding the prince is not the main focus, she does in the end of the movie. As much as love may be discussed in the two movies, the portrayal is uniquely different. The director of Moana believed that the creation of this movie will provide strong role models for young women since it is a story that focuses on finding the inner voice of an individual and not letting any other individual define who they are.

The movie addresses an approach that the young girls need to live within the modern society where equality based on gender has been limited. In the case, Moana being made to fall in love with Maui at the end of the movie would represent a counterproductive of the message disney was attempting to put forth. Both animated movies by Disney thus, compares in various ways by considering the themes such as the era, morals, love, protection, and character development.

Love is a fundamental theme in both animated movies. Although finding the prince is not the main focus of the protagonist in the movie Mulan, the princess nonetheless finds her prince in the end. In the movie Mulan, Mulan is depicted as an oppressed woman, who must find a prince in order to find her worth (Zurcher et al 47). However, as the director of the movie, Tony Bancroft, desired for the character Mulan to portray a different role in order to be perceived as a unique heroine for Disney and as well as to set a strong example for his daughters.

The director desired Disney to portray her as a strong and independent woman without her fate being controlled by a male character. There, the plot of the film does not revolve around finding the prince even though she does find her prince in the end (Yerby et al. 32). In the end, love being portrayed in the movie and the dependence of the woman figure on a man is also contrary to the plot that the director had considered and desired for Mulan to portray.

On the other hand, Moana does not show interest in falling in love but ensures that the prince supports her desires and unlike in the first case where Mulan strives to show dependence on men, Moana does not. The primary difference between the two movies is that the Moana does not show any romance, and Moana does not fall in love with Maui.

The character Maui, who is the demigod in the animated movie, aids Moana to achieve her goal and eventually triumph in her mission (Keech et al 78). Although, the setting provided moana and maui with the opportunity to fall in love while they travelled together, the romance is not once a consideration in the movie. Moana does not allow love to divert her attention from her quest, and this holds a difference both movies.

Moana and Mulan have the motivation, where they desire to protect their families and land. For this reason, Moana sets on a journey and explores the ocean. She has a great understanding that as the future chief, it is her responsibility to protect her family and land since they need to be safe in uncertain times. Mulan, on the other hand sets on a journey when she realizes her father is in danger. In this journey, Mulan has a desire to save her family and land. On this note, the two characters denounce what they want in life, in a bid to protect their families and land. Due to their selflessness and growth, Moana and Mulan get rewarded with what they wanted during their journey, where Moana leads her people to be explorers again, and Mulan finds the peace that she was looking for, within herself and that of her family.

The two movies also illustrate the morals in society, especially on gender equality and independence. Based on the director of Moana, the film is of high relevance to the young ladies, especially in a modern society characterized by gender inequality (Keech et al. 78). The story is tied in with finding the inward voice and not allowing different people to characterize it. In the case, having Moana fall in love in the movie would have been counterproductive to the message.

On the other hand, the director of Mulan also attempts to establish the same feeling among young ladies, especially having her daughters. He intends to discourage the women from the dependence on the men and thus encourages independence and focus of their abilities. The director initially conceived Mulan as an oppressed woman, and he wanted her to stand firm and independent. He wanted her to establish unique character and become a heroine of a kind in Disney movies, but this does not happen in the end. The woman ends up falling in love with the prince in Europe.

The two films thus show the kind of oppression and the moral decays that takes place within communities. They strive to depict that women are oppressed and are the subject of men and that they need to rise from the concept (Yerby et al. 30). As much as Mulan fail to live to the expectation, the initial idea of the director was that the women enjoy some independence that would not be determined by the man as with Moana who does not want anything to come her way until she achieves her quest. Moana and Mulan set changes to how Disney represents otherness. This means that the two films initiated an exciting juxtaposition of narrating stories from different cultures (Anjirbag 2). For instance, the narratives are appropriated, which depicts an image of decolonization. Mulan a 1998 animation, was intended to stamp a change from the past narrating of the “princess” like character. Moana, on the other hand, almost two decades later, portrayed how the animation studio could evolve in telling diverse stories. For instance, Moana, despite being a “princess” possess an average body, unusual long limbs, and does not have a tiny waist.

The two movies were set in two distinct eras. Moana, a fictional movie was set 3000 years ago in the islands of Polynesia, an area that was composed of Tonga and Tahiti and mainly depicted a culture that aimed to discourage the oppression and disregard against the women within the society(Yerby et al. 30). The movie is of high relevance to the modern society that seeks to bring equality with no discrimination of the women being the protagonist and heroines. It encourages a just and unbiased society (Yerby et al. 30). On the other hand, Mulan was released in the Disney Renaissance, and its story can get traced back to the Ballad of Mulan (Anjirbag 2). In essence, tracing back to the earliest stories of the legend, it is stated that the Ballad of Mulan lived between 386 and 534, re Northern Wei dynasty.

However, another rendition of the ruler was delineated during an era of the Emperor Yang of Sui China, who reigned between 604 and 617 (Yerby et al. 30). The movie attempts to illustrate the traditional society that did not encourage the independence of women. The individuals were portrayed to be the subject of men, and this is why Mulan goes contrary to the expectations of the director by fleeing to Europe to be with the prince despite wanting her to be a heroine characterized by strength and independence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the primary differences between the two movies are the absence of romance in the Moana film where the princess does not fall in love with the prince despite being in the journey for the two. Also, there is a difference in how the just society of the women in the two movies is exhibited.

Despite Moana clinging on her dream to fight for her quest and does not want any barrier on the course, Mulan goes on the contrary to the expectation and encourages dependence on men, something that the director attempts to condemn initially. However, the two movies have illustrated some aspects of love and also show the moral decay within the societies and widely shows the development of the characters, especially on how Moana is focused in achieving her dream and how Mulan is corrupted by love and fails to deliver the expectations of the director.

References

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