#Moana

Confession time, I love Disney princess movies. I love Disney in general, like am overly passionate about it for someone in their 20's, but those princess movies are where it is at. I know Disney isn't exactly an unpopular thing to like- it's very stereotypical white girl, and I'm okay with that. However, that is not the point of this post. I tell you I love Disney princess movies because I want to discuss one in particular today, Moana.

I feel like the responsible "blogger" thing to do would be to list info about Moana right now, release date, popularity, all that info, but I'm just going to assume you know about Moana and not go into all of that. Moana is one of those Disney movies that came out with such popularity it's almost difficult to not know about it. It easily slid into place as one of my favorites the first time I saw it.

I think the movie was incredibly well done, and honestly there is so much I could go on about why I loved the movie (Hei Hei in general is deserving of his own blog post) but I actually just want to discuss one scene. If you haven't seen the movie then you might want to stop reading now. I saw that partially because of spoilers, and partially because I don't know that you will fully understand what I'm about to describe if you have never seen it for yourself. With that warning in place, let's get on with it,

Picture the big scene. The climax of the movie, Moana and Maui fighting to return the heart of Te Fiti. Maui is serving as a distraction and our heroine is standing on some rocks in the middle of the ocean about to return the heart of Te Fiti only to realize that Te Fiti is gone. Holding the salvation for her people in her hand she looks down and everything clicks. The lava monster Te Ka is roaring behind her, about to approach, and Moana knows what she has to do. Maui has a beautiful moment doing a haka, and right as Te Ka is about to destroy him Moana gets this monsters attention. She holds up the heart of Te Fiti, the heart of Te Ka, one in the same.  

In one of the most visually stunning moments of the film, and an incredible emotional (slightly scary) scene Moana gives orders to the ocean "Let her come to me."As the waters part and Te Ka crawls towards Moana she, in true Disney princess fashion, begins to sing, 

"I have crossed the ocean to find you.

I know your name

They have stolen the heart from inside you.

But this does not define you

This is not who you are

You know who you are"

Moana restores Te Fiti's heart after whispering to the lava monster "I know who you are" and greeting her in traditional fashion. Once the heart is restored Te Ka transformers into the beautiful Te Fiti. The whole sequence is stunning. It's one of those scenes that almost seems to demand a respectful hush in what ever room the film is being watched. It's a scene that was so well done and it leaves an impact.

I cry watching this scene. I know it might seem a bit extreme to some of you, but let me explain. I had seen the film before but during my last summer at camp we all watched it together. Crowded into the chapel, laying on the floor, the scene hit me in a way it never had. I don't know if it's because of all that I was dealing with at the time, or if it's because I was in a spiritual mindset after spending weeks at a Christian camp, but I saw Christ in that scene and it was beautiful. 

I don't want to take away from any meaning the writers, directors, and cultural experts that contributed to the movie actual meant for the film or this scene in particular. I know that there is cultural significance to the Polynesian people in regards to certain aspects of the film. I in no way want to take away from that, but I couldn't help to watch the movie and be stuck by how similar Moana's words to broken, pained, monstrous Te Ka is to Jesus when He looks at us.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Can you see what I am seeing? Te Ka and Te Fiti are one in the same, just one is without their heart. Te Ka is portrayed as a lava monster, causing death, destruction, screaming and thrashing around. Te Fiti, with the heart, is calm, life giving, mother nature, quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. It's a stark difference, a drastic change, and while watching the film I saw what happened to my soul when I was saved by Christ. Like Te Ka I was broken, dying, screaming out in pain, causing destruction, until Jesus transformed me. I believe that at the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit enters a person, kind of like the moment that the heart of Te Fiti was restored. We are made whole, complete, given peace and a purpose when it happens. It is beautiful!

As much as the visuals of the scene hit me, the words hit just as hard. Sitting in that chapel listening to Moana sing I felt like I could almost hear Jesus saying "this is what I did for you, this is what I said to you". I've heard the phrase often in my life that the devil knows your name but calls you by your sin while Jesus knows your sin yet calls you by your name... "I know your name". I believe that all humans are innately sinful, I believe that the only perfect human to ever walk this earth was Jesus, and I believe that we often spend this life wading and basking in sin and destruction instead of seeking that saving grace. We let the sins of this world, our own human desires, consume us and rule us- "They have stolen the heart from inside you". But, the crazy thing is, much like Moana crossed the ocean to restore Te Fiti's heart, Jesus crossed from heaven to earth to save us. He sees our sin and shame and He tells us that it doesn't have to define us. He has paid the cost and His blood can cover all our wrongs. We have been called to more than sin, we have been called to a life abundant in Christ. We are God's creation, His children, His beloved... we are not our sin!

You might think I'm crazy. Either for believing in Christ or for reading that much into a children's movie, but let me tell you- Moana moved me. It wrecked me. I set there crying in that chapel overwhelmed with God's mercy, grace, and love. I have watched the movie quite a few times since. Every time it gets to that part I can't help but smile. I still tear up sometimes. I know it might seem crazy, but I so hope that you get to experience the same thing I did. I hope that you have that moment of just simple doing life and enjoying happy things and the true power and being of God just hitting you. A "God moment" as it's sometimes cheesily called. 

1. I love Moana. I love Disney. But, man I love my God so much more.