With its latest effort Moana, Disney continues to prove they are without peer in the field of animated features. It is a delightful film, full of humor, heart and stunning animation. While its story beats are familiar, Moana is an overall success, managing to overcome any potential shortcomings by excelling in nearly every other respect.
Ever since she was old enough to walk, Moana has sought adventure beyond the island where she and her family reside. Her father, the island chief, tries to quell this desire, but as she grows older, Moana only grows more and more restless. When her home’s food and water supply begins to diminish – the result of the demigod Maui stealing the heart of the goddess Te Fiti nearly a millennium ago – the ocean chooses Moana to restore Te Fiti’s heart, finally giving her the chance to explore beyond the strict confines placed on her by her father and to save the island and her people.
Moana takes a bit to get going. We spend a good chunk of time on the island while the plot is carefully laid out. Once Moana embarks on her quest and runs into the demi-god Maui, played by the consistently charming Dwayne Johnson, things really kick off in spectacular fashion. The voice actor ensemble does an excellent job, with Auli’I Cravalho making her film debut as the voice of the title character. Co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker and their team of animators successfully capture the magic of Polynesian mythology, and the gorgeous scenery is some of the studio’s most incredible thus far. The screenplay by Jared Bush (Big Hero 6, Zootopia) does an excellent job honoring this mythology, expertly weaving it in and out of the story, which is always involving.
The film also benefits from a great soundtrack. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is currently riding the Hamilton wave of success, composed the score and co-wrote the songs with Opetaia Foa’I, of the New Zealand Oceanic group Te Vaka, and Mark Mancina, who arranged a number of songs for another Disney animated classic: The Lion King. Needless to say, you’ll be humming these songs all the way to the store to pick up your own copy of the soundtrack.
Moana’s overall sense of familiarity is really its only weakness, but this should not dissuade anyone from seeing it. It is a beautiful film fit for all ages and fits in comfortably with the rest of Disney Animation’s impressive roster.
FINAL RATING: 4/5
That’s the rating I look for. I want my kids to watch good things and I make sure the rating is around this for them to see it. I even found some nice shows by Andy Yeatman for them. My sister would rate these shows 9/10 and that is the reason I found it on Netflix and begun with it.
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