‘Moana’ Is Just the Latest Feminist, Progressive Disney Hit

Moana

The box office success of “Moana” confirms Disney’s status atop the pecking order of major studios.

It owes its apex predator status to the way it has deftly bolstered and built on the power of its suite of cinematic brands, as well as its ability to create stories featuring diverse protagonists that reflect the changing face of the moviegoing public.

“Moana” is the latest Disney film to be based on a strong female protagonist. Though the studio has long featured women in lead roles dating as far back as 1937’s “Snow White,” and has minted money from its “Princess Collection” of consumer products, its female characters have adopted a more assertive and empowered stance over the past few decades. Whereas earlier Disney heroines waited around for their prince to come and save the day, Moana takes it upon herself to embark on a perilous oceanic voyage in order to lift her island home from a curse. It’s the kind of adventuring that would have been left for the guys in Disney films of yore.

In another feminist twist, “Moana” is one of the first animated films not to feature a love story. Her journey is about finding herself, not landing a husband.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story..L to R: Alan Tudyk (K-2SO), Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso), Diego Luna (Cassian Andor), Donnie Yen (Chirrut Imwe), Jiang Wen (Baze Malbus), and Director Gareth Edwards on set. ..Ph: Jonathan Olley..© 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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Nor is “Moana” alone in its progressive nature. “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” and “Brave” are just a few of the recent animated offerings to have focused on women and girls who are assertive, emancipated, and the equal to any man. Moreover, “Moana” is populated by Pacific Islanders, a far more diverse set of people than the ones who pop up in the lily white worlds of the original “Cinderella” or “Beauty and the Beast.”

“We’ve had a series of films with empowered women doing amazing things,” said Dave Hollis, Disney’s distribution chief. “There’s something in that that’s sticky and resonates with a broader audience. It’s fresh and different, but there’s still something familiar and relatable to the movies we’re making.”

It also comes at a time when the consumer base is diversifying. Studies show that black and Hispanic moviegoers over-sample as a portion of the population and the film-going audience remains majority female. Moreover, the movie business is increasingly a global one, with more than 70% of revenues for most major Hollywood blockbusters…