"One day I'll know, how far I'll go..."
Ever since she was a young girl, Moana (voiced by Auli'i Cravalho) has been interested by the sea. The ocean (literally) reached out to her and became her friend. But, she can't go out past the reef thanks to her overprotective father, the Chief of the tribe. Moana's grandmother (voiced by Rachel House), on the other hand, believes the girl will change the world. One day, food starts to become scarce on the island and darkness almost unknowingly begins to spread. After being shown a secret cave, Moana realizes she's the one who has to fulfill a prophecy her grandmother had been telling her since she was a girl: Find the demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and return a precious item he stole, which will determine whether the world will thrive or die.
The animation here is spectacular. The ocean in itself is an achievement. In addition to becoming a memorable character of sorts, it is expertly rendered in a way that's almost real. A scene in the realm of monsters is a visual feast with lots to admire. The characters are fun and nicely-designed, while retaining their "Disney-style" flare. Almost everything in the film is just designed so well.
In her film debut (Disney has cast a lot of new talent this year), Cravalho is very impressive. She's witty, fun, has great comedic timing, and also has an outstanding voice for just 15 years old. Her character is instantly likable, and carries a personality that's tougher and more self-assured than her princess predecessors. She makes Moana more than just what you would expect for someone in the Disney princess line, and that's terrific. Johnson brings his usual can-do attitude and sense of fun to Maui, but also proves to be surprisingly multi-faceted. He's goofy and silly in many moments, and towards the end shows to be very honest and serious. He and Cravalho never overshadow each other, and bounce off each other incredibly effectively. In a way, that's really amazing considering they never met during production. House also delivers as Moana's grandmother.
Disney movies have to have a great supporting character, and Hei Hei fits into that category like a glove. Clucked by new Disney lucky charm Alan Tudyk, the rooster is relentlessly goofy and stupid, but has some of the film's best gags and is engagingly memorable (almost to the level of Olaf from Frozen). Maui's living tattoo, hand-drawn by legendary animator Eric Goldberg, is also a great side character. On the other hand, Moana's very adorable pet pig, Pua, gets shoved aside for majority of the journey, and left me wanting more of him. The film showcases and respects Polynesian culture very nicely, and makes the overall film feel authentic in places.
The music score and soundtrack is overall, very solid. Mark Mancina, who has worked on orchestrations for a few Disney films, brings together music that respects Polynesian culture with some very good setpieces. Lin Manuel-Miranda (Hamilton) and Opetaia Foa'i provide a handful of very good songs. The best number of the film goes to Moana's "I want" number, "How Far I'll Go", and its reprises, which mix Broadway-style vocal and orchestral ranges with island music. The Rock's number, "Your Welcome", is also fun and reminds me some of "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin. Miranda also gets to show off his pipes with "We Know the Way", which plays also at the film's conclusion. Much like "Circle of Life" from The Lion King, the tune utilizes a bilingual approach that works very effectively. I was a bit concerned that Miranda would put in a lot of rap, but thankfully keeps it minimized in the overall film (with the only rap being in Johnson's number).
The film is often very funny, with some laugh-out-loud moments. Disney also incorporates a few self-aware jokes of its' princess movie formula that (fortunately), aren't overused.
On the downside, Moana does take a little while to really get kicking into high gear, but it doesn't ever seem draggy. There are a couple of somewhat overly-silly stretches and a few odd lines of dialogue (an implied Twitter joke is very out-of-place). I also was disappointed with the "villain song", the clear weak point of the soundtrack. For one, it isn't much of a villain song since the character, Tamatoa (while nicely-voiced by Jermaine Clement), isn't the main antagonist of the movie at all. He's also only in the movie for 5 minutes at most. It would have been better to have seen a little bit more out of the character. But with a more modern and R&B sound than the rest of the soundtrack, "Shiny" pales in comparison to the best Disney villain songs such as "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "Be Prepared". Finally, I felt the film's somewhat dark magic and Polynesian paganism brought the movie down a little bit.
Directors Ron Clements and John Musker have had quite a history at the Disney studio, having directed The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, in addition to some lesser-known efforts such as Hercules, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet and The Princess and the Frog. They are clearly veterans and know how to direct with precision.
With their first computer-animated effort, Moana shows that very effectively. Being the studio's third animated musical in the last six years, it had a lot to live up to. Frozen was a monster hit with an Oscar-winning song ("Let it Go"), and Tangled also received rave reception from critics. If one were to compare it to the previous Disney renaissance, Tangled would be The Little Mermaid, Frozen would be Beauty and the Beast, and Moana would be Aladdin.
And that's a fairly safe comparison, as Moana can somewhat be, at times, like a female Aladdin. She's tough, can take care of herself, and uses a powerful being to help her out (Maui then, is comparable to the late Robin Williams' genie). The film follows classic Disney plot points by-the- numbers, while also following the typical "Chosen One" plot lines as well (not without some twists and self-awareness along the way though). But, at the same time, Moana is also unconventional for a Disney princess movie. There's no love interest. She doesn't need anyone to save her. And, the journey is much more a man vs. nature adventure than a magical fairy tale.
With all of this in mind, Moana isn't the studio's most inspired effort. It doesn't have the daring, subverted storyline or messages of Frozen. It also doesn't have the cleverness and old-fashioned whimsicality of Tangled. On the other hand, however, it is more enjoyable than earlier this year's Zootopia, and carries a stronger story, as well as stronger characters and songs than earlier this month's Trolls.
Ultimately, Moana is relentlessly fun, fine-tuned, character-driven and visually-captivating, in the smile-worthy, pixie dust-covered package that Disney doesn't fail to deliver here.
Score: 8.4/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: At one point, Moana blurts out an unfinished "Son of a...". Maui says, "Oh sharkhead!", "screw it up", and "Really, blowdart in my buttcheek?"
Adult Content: None, unless you count just about every male character being shirtless.
Violence: There are some perilous, somewhat scary moments (though if at all, only ever so slightly more than what you would expect out of Disney). Someone is said to have drowned in the middle of a storm (we see some of it in flashback too). Moana is beaten up by the waves and gets her foot stuck in a coral bed (she is shown to be hurt by it). Tamatoa nearly takes out our heroes. A somewhat scary-looking lava monster shoots fireballs and sends our friends miles back. A ravaging corruption of black dust consumes everything it gets to. Hei Hei is thrown about by the boat, swallows large objects, falls, etc. Moana is thrown off the boat several times. Kakamora shoot blowdarts and threatens others also. One main character dies. Someone screams in pain from getting a tattoo.
Drugs/Alcohol: None, though the darts the Kakamora shoot apparently have the ability to knock people unconscious.
Other: One or two pee jokes. Moana disobeys her father. Maui, at first, is very selfish and treats Moana almost like dirt. The film revolves for the most part around Polynesian religion, which includes ancestors, ghosts, and goddesses. Reincarnation is implied a couple of times. While these elements are only used as reference to Polynesian culture, and the implied deities aren't shown to be worshipped in the film, parents sensitive to movies with spiritual content are encouraged to use discernment.
