The Arrow Scale

Animation/Adventure. Moana is chosen by the ocean to save her island. The theme is finding who you are. The songs are great.

Some spoilers below about the characters and the relationships.

The characters

Moana, 16, is the main character. She’s the daughter of the chief of Motunui, a Polynesian island. She’s torn between her love for her people and her longing to explore the seas. She’s daring, caring, and determined. She’s fierce, and she’s proud of who she is. “I am Moana” is one of the lines of the movie that stays with you, and it’s exhilarating to see someone who has such a strong sense of self.

Maui is the male lead. He’s a demigod who’s centuries old. He stole the heart of Te Fiti a thousand years ago, which cursed the islands with darkness. Moana has to find him and make him restore it. He thinks he’s great and is kind of an asshole for most of the movie, but he’s so ridiculous and non-threatening, you can’t help but find him charming and like him anyway. His introduction song is amazing.

Moana’s grandma is also an important character.

The relationships

There is no romance whatsoever.

Although Moana shares most of her screentime with Maui, I would argue that her most meaningful relationship is with her grandma. Her grandma has always encouraged her to listen to her inner voice, and her support is what propels Moana on her journey.

Moana and Maui. I was very surprised by their relationship. I wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be a father figure or a love interest. Turns out, he’s neither. For most of the movie, they have an antagonistic relationship. Or rather, Maui is antagonistic towards Moana. He keeps throwing her off the boat and talks down to her. What makes them work as a pair is Moana’s strength. At no point do you feel like she’s in danger, so while on paper he sounds terrible, he doesn’t seem so awful on screen. Maui tires of trying to get rid of her and gets on board with their mission. They gain an understanding and an appreciation for who the other is. It’s a good partnership. They help each other believe in who they are.

My rating on the arrow scale (from 0 to 5) 3 arrows – aromantic-friendly

A 3/5 might seem like a bad rating, but on my scale anything above a 0 is a step in the right direction. The reason I’m only giving it a 3 is because I want to make a distinction between a movie that simply lacks romance (3) and a movie that rejects romance (5). The age and gender of the characters are also factored in, as well as the target audience.

I think the movie did a great job of portraying relationships that don’t usually get the focus. The grandmother-granddaughter relationship really stood out. The male-female relationship went from antagonistic to supportive without having to become romance. And I liked how long it took for Maui to fully get on board. It felt realistic and made it so much more rewarding. I’m probably not properly expressing this, but there’s something about their dynamic that just works. Maybe it’s because of how imperfect their friendship is, or how open both characters are with their feelings, or something in the general execution.

Aside from that, the movie touches some universally appealing themes like finding who you are and believing in yourself. It also says that while it’s important to know your history, it’s okay to break from tradition and follow your dreams. The ending was a bit convenient for Moana, but I like a happy ending, so I don’t really mind.

Can anyone be read as aromantic? For sure. Moana and Maui don’t have any love interest, so they could be. Especially Maui who has lived for more than a thousand years and doesn’t seem to find his own company lacking as he is mostly solitary and does his own thing. He just wants to be accepted as he is.

I would recommend this movie to people who like - Movies without romance - Female protagonists - Delightful family movies with nice songs

Action/Sci-Fi. Giant alien monsters from the seas VS giant robots piloted by humans. End of the world. Teamwork. Drift compatibility.

Some spoilers below about the characters and the relationships in the movie.

The characters

Raleigh Becket is the male lead. Late 20s. He quit the Jaeger task force 5 years ago and is still damaged from his last battle. He gets recruited back since he is the only experienced pilot available for one of the four robots left to defend humankind. At first, he seems like the stereotypical white alpha male hero, but he’s really not, and I was surprised by how much I liked him. There is a certain quietness to him that is refreshing, and he’s very supportive of Mako.

Mako Mori is the female lead. Early 20s. Japanese. Working in STEM. Her introduction is incredibly cool, and she is all around amazing, especially for an Asian character. I was particularly taken by her ambition and her determination, and while she is bold, she is also humble. I also loved how they incorporated her Asian background in her character, not by her speaking in Japanese, but with what she would say or how she would act. The line “It’s not obedience, Mr. Becket. It’s respect.” was especially powerful.

There is also Stacker Pentecost, the leader of the Jaeger program and Mako’s mentor/father figure. Two scientists I didn’t care much about. And the other pilots, one team from Australia, one from Russia, and one from China. The international feel of the movie was great, but it’s a shame the least interesting team got the most screentime. Mako is also pretty much the only speaking female character of the movie.

The relationships

Now, let’s talk about my favourite concept of the movie: drift compatibility. It’s not about feelings really, it’s about connection and how naturally in tune you are with someone else.

So, to pilot a Jaeger (giant robot), you need to meld your mind with the body of the robot. However, the mental load is too much to bear for one single person, which means that multiple people, usually two, have to connect their minds before melding with the robot. The drift is the empty space where the minds meet, and drift compatibility refers to the strength of the mental bond between the people involved. The stronger the bond, the better they control the robot, and the better they fight.

The first part of the movie is about finding Raleigh a co-pilot. Him and Mako are found to be drift compatible. Whether or not their relationship is portrayed as romantic is debatable. I think it’s fair to say that there is nothing explicitly romantic between them. In any case, it’s not the point of the movie. My favourite part of their relationship is how much he champions for her to become his co-pilot once he discovers how strong their connection is. I also liked how much of a silent companionship they had. They had a deep understanding of each other and were simply comfortable to be together.

The other major relationship is the one between Mako and Stacker Pentecost. I won’t get too much into it, but it was nice to see an adoptive family consisting of a black father and an asian daughter.

My rating on the arrow scale (from 0 to 5) 4 arrows – very aromantic-friendly

My first thought when I finished this movie was they did not kiss. I absolutely expected them to kiss even though there wasn’t really any lead up to it. It just happens so often, especially with action movies, that the hero is rewarded with a random kiss, that I thought this would go the same way. And I was so happy when they did the forehead touch instead. It’s honestly hard to like action movies and identify with female characters because they usually end up being disappointing. Well, not here! This ending was perfect. And I think that the fact alone that they don’t kiss singles it out as a unique movie.

The aromantic-friendliness of the movie doesn’t just come from a lack of kissing though. It comes from the general lack of importance put on romance, and the emphasis on drift compatibility. The movie also portrays a lot of different types of relationships, and all are shown as equal. Mako and Raleigh are friends. Mako and Stacker Pentecost are mentor-mentee/adoptive family. The Australians are father and son. The Russians are a couple. The Chinese are siblings.

The reason I don’t give this movie a perfect score is my take on the platonic vs romantic portrayal of Mako/Raleigh. I’m annoyed that it can be read as romantic, and that, in my opinion, it was made purposely so. The movie uses tropes that are used to set up a romantic relationship from their first meeting to the combat banter. Which doesn’t mean that their moments were romantic as I, for one, see most of their interactions as Mako being intrigued by her study subject/hero, but I think they left the door open for it to be made romantic. After that, it’s like the movie decided to portray them solely as platonic (except for that one moment when Mako is smiling because she thinks Raleigh came back to talk to her, and that moment felt so out of place). It doesn’t help to distinguish between platonic and romantic as the movie has the super cheesy dialogue most action movies have. And I realize that something that might be romantic for someone might be platonic for someone else and inversely, but I just wish we could’ve had a movie that I feel is consistent in its portrayal instead of one that tried to have it both ways.

At its core though, the movie gets points because drift compatibility is the only thing that matters, and the ending explicitly allows us to read their relationship as platonic, which is unfortunately rare.

Do I read any of the characters as aromantic? Honestly, not really. But there is absolutely nothing that would prevent a reading as such because none of them has a romantic relationship. I just don’t feel like any of them has been sufficiently fleshed out on a personal level to be able to say they are, and I personally like my headcanons to have some substance. Raleigh would be the one I’d say is the closest, as he’s been a loner for 5 years, and before that only seemed to be into Kaiju fighting alongside his bro, but then again, we haven’t seen a lot of his past.

I would recommend this movie to people who - Like giant robots. Each of them has a badass name and unique fighting style. The production value is great, the music is epic, and the experience is immersive. - Want good Asian representation. Mako Mori is awesome. - Like the concept of drift compatibility.

Animation/Adventure. Princess Merida wants to control her own fate whereas her mother wants her to get married. Archery. Magic. Bears.

This got way longer than I thought it would be. Some spoilers below.

The characters

Princess Merida is the main character. She is 16 years old. Her hobbies include riding her horse in the forest, climbing mountains, and other unladylike activities. She’s also very skilled at archery, and she has the most badass line of the movie: “I am Merida. Firstborn descendant of Clan Dun Broch. And I’ll be shooting for my own hand!” She does not want to get married. I really liked her stance on freedom to choose how to lead your life and her fierceness in defending her views.

Unfortunately, she’s also portrayed as immature and whiny, which really put me off, so I couldn’t wholly appreciate her as a character. Maybe I’m just too old for this movie.

Queen Elinor is the secondary main character. She’s Merida’s mother and she’s very set on traditions. She’s been trying to groom her daughter into the perfect princess. She may seem controlling, but she’s shown to care, and she really loves Merida.

The relationships

There is no romance. Instead, the movie revolves around Merida and Elinor’s relationship. At first, they have the typical rebellious teen daughter/nagging mother dynamic but through their adventures, they develop an appreciation for one another. They realize they love each other, and that their differences are minor in comparison. The betrothal thing is off, and everything is well. I found it cliché and a little unrealistic but then again, it’s a movie aimed at children. It was nice though to see Elinor embrace Merida’s adventurous side and let herself be more carefree and “unladylike” at the end.

Before we get to the interesting part, I just have to say that the movie didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Even if Merida doesn’t have to marry ever and can pick whomever to become her heir in the future, at the end of the movie, she is still on the path of becoming Queen. And this feels wrong to me because we’ve been shown that she doesn’t find anything appealing about ceremonial duty and ruling a kingdom. In my opinion, she’d be way happier abdicating and living in the woods with her horse, bow and arrow. She could become a bow crafter. Or put those leadership skills to use and become the archery trainer of the kingdom’s army and head the archers’ division in battle.

The movie makes it seem like Merida’s fate was reduced to her getting married whereas I see her fate as grander than that, as becoming a ruler since she is a princess, and marriage being only a part of that. So, while she demonstrated bravery in standing up for herself regarding marriage, I don’t think she wholly stayed true to herself as I don’t think she actually wants to become a ruler.

My rating on the arrow scale (from 0 to 5) 5 arrows – extremely aromantic-friendly

Merida doesn’t cave to the kingdom’s expectations, she doesn’t get married in the end, and it’s very satisfying. She doesn’t fall in love either, which I believe is a first for a Disney princess. There is no romance and the main relationship is a familial one between mother and daughter. Moreover, the movie addresses Merida’s refusal of getting married and doesn’t stray from showing that she’s the one who’s in the right in their conflict. Elinor is the one who comes around and changes her mind. Plus, the message of the movie is that if you stay true to yourself, you can change your fate, which I think resonates a lot with the experience of being aromantic and rejecting the Life Script.

Furthermore, you can also read Merida as aromantic as she is not romantically interested in anyone in the movie. About marriage, she also says “[…] the Princess is not ready for this. In fact, she might not ever be ready for this”. Since there is no dating in Merida’s world, I think it’s fair to compare her getting married to us getting in a romantic relationship. And that line brought me back to how I was feeling when I didn’t know aromanticism was a thing and thought that I’d eventually have to be in a relationship or look for one. I also strongly related to her despair at the idea of losing her freedom if she got married, as I know I’d be miserable if I had to be in a relationship.

Regarding her speech at the end, when she’s rejecting her suitors, she says something along the lines of “let us follow our hearts and find love in our own time” and I don’t think it negates a reading of her being aromantic. I could argue that she’s only interpreting what her mother wants her to say, so it’s really her mother’s message. Or, that the speech is supposed to appease the other clans, so it was best to leave out some hard truths (“some people don’t want to find love”) and keep the message light. Or again, that she’s talking about all of them, and most people do seek romantic love, so she’s appealing to their own desires to get her point across. I myself have told many people that I’m not looking for love “right now” instead of “ever” simply because others easily accept that answer, so I’m not bothered by her choice of words. However, I choose to interpret Merida as an aromantic who doesn’t really know about aromanticism yet. And she’s happy to have come up with the concept of choosing when to love because it delays the marriage issue, which is a relief for her. She will eventually realize though that it’s not that she’s not ready for marriage/love, it’s that she doesn’t want it.

(By the way, when I say "love" I imply romantic love since that’s how the word is used in the movie.)

All in all, I think the movie does a great job of capturing the aromantic experience, or at least it did for me, and also that it should be shown to all children so they know they can go against societal expectations and choose to date no one.

I would recommend this movie to people who - Want to watch something without romance - Like female protagonists - Like animated movies

Action/Adventure. Lara Croft travels to an island to discover what happened to her father who disappeared on the way there 7 years ago. People try to kill her, and mystical tomb stuff happens. She kicks ass.

Some spoilers below about the characters and the relationships in the movie.

The characters

This probably has a lot to do with being based on a single-player video game, but the movie doesn’t spend a lot of time on characters other than Lara. She’s the clear focus of the movie, and I believe she’s in all the scenes.

She’s 20-something, feels a little lost at the beginning and then finds herself through her journey. She’s a survivor and she’s very resourceful. She’s smart, can shoot arrows, knows how to fight, and is in amazing physical shape. I also appreciated that she’s never sexualized and wears practical clothes at all time. I didn’t find her particularly relatable, except maybe clothes wise, but I was inspired by her determination and her athleticism.

The rest of the cast is very male heavy.

There’s Richard Croft, Lara’s father. I didn’t find him particularly interesting. He’s a good father who introduced Lara to puzzles. Then there’s Lu Ren, Lara’s travelling companion. We don’t see them interact all that much, but they’re kind of similar people and Lu’s storyline parallels Lara’s so they share an understanding. He’s cool.

The relationships

There is no romantic subplot whatsoever. The main relationship is between Lara and her father, and the movie spends time showing their past relationship through flashbacks as her love for him is what motivates her to go on her first tomb raiding adventure. I personally didn’t care much for their bond, but I guess the movie wanted to “show depth”.

The more exciting relationship is the one she has with Lu Ren. It is completely devoid of attraction and that is so refreshing for a partnership between a man and a woman. They get off to a shaky start, but they’re both loyal people and they make a good team.

Lara is also shown to have regular friends in the beginning, but they don’t interact much.

I would argue that all the relationships are peripheral though, and that the movie is more about just Lara doing her own thing and kicking ass.

My rating on the arrow scale (from 0 to 5) 5 arrows – extremely aromantic-friendly

I find this movie completely ground-breaking from an aromantic standpoint and I don’t understand why nobody talks about it. This is a big budget Hollywood production, portraying an adult female protagonist, and there is no romance! How rare is that?! And I can hear some of you saying, well yeah, she’s an adventuress, she has no time for love, but let me tell you… they could’ve easily shoed in a scene with a lover at the beginning or started a romance with Lu Ren, but they chose not to. Instead, the movie promotes independence, determination, and loyalty.

Plus, Lara could easily be read as aromantic as the movie doesn’t show any love interest, either past or present. She is also not portrayed as lonely and miserable due to the absence of romance. In fact, she leads a normal and balanced life with a job, friends, and hobbies. There are comedic moments at the beginning that show that she isn’t a cold person incapable of love, and I found her likable. She’s also shown as desirable and interacts with people of all genders so her being single feels like it is by choice and not uncontrollable circumstances.

I would recommend this movie to people who - Want to watch something without romance - Like female protagonists - Like action (the jumping/climbing/fighting scenes are awesome)