'Moana' Movie Review

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   Moana is the latest film from Disney Animation, and it features the voice talents of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Auli’i Cravalho, Rachel House, and Temuera Morrison. It tells the story of Moana, the daughter of the leader of a tribe of people living on an island in the Pacific. When food supplies dwindle and the island starts dying, Moana sails across the ocean seek the demigod Maui for help.

    Moana was a heartwarming film that fits extremely well with the other Disney “Princess” films. Disney is known for their fun animated films. Moana is a film that follows that trend, but it stills stands on its own. Disney makes great animated films that are similar, yet they are different enough to be their own entity. They don’t recycle all of their material from film to film. Disney’s originality is what makes films like Moana incredibly enjoyable.
    Disney has done a fantastic job making their “princess” films take place throughout a variety of places with all sorts of people. Moana takes place throughout the Pacific Islands. Not only that, but they also enlisted Pacific Islanders as the leads in the film with “The Rock” as Maui, and newcomer Auli’i Cravalho as Moana. Disney was able to really capture a Pacific feel in Moana. It didn’t feel like a Disney Princess film featuring islands. Disney was able to portray the cultures of the Pacific Islands very well through this film.
    As with almost any animated film from Disney, Moana features many different songs. These songs, in my opinion, were one of the standout parts of the film. They don't all hit it out of the park, but there are several songs from this film fantastic. In fact, after seeing this film, I was compelled enough to even purchase one of them to listen to. Also, “The Rock” does sing in this film, and he is actually a really good singer. Though, I wonder how much of it was actually him. If it was edited later on, Disney did a really good job making it convincing.
   The only real complaint I have with this film is a character that shows up about half way through. They show up, sing a song and everything, and it was blatant that they were just to make kids laugh. For lack of a better word, the character was a little cringe-worthy at times. Granted, this character appears again at the end of the credits for another short laugh, and the joke made is actually really funny.
   There are a lot of really good messages throughout this film. Moana portrays really well how to be an individual and chase your dreams, while simultaneously loving and appreciating your family. However, there’s much more to this film than that. There is a lot more to be said about the themes in this film, but that would be heading into spoiler territory. This film is one that can pleasantly surprise a lot of people by the amount of heart that it has.
    Moana is yet another great film to come from Disney Animation. It features great songs, fun characters, and an interesting plot that is sure to entertain everyone in your family. You don’t even need to be with your family to see this. Anybody can enjoy this film no matter who they’re with. This year’s Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars was already a close race, but Moana just made it even more so.
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8.5/10

   So what did you think of Moana? How do you think it compares to other Disney films? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie review and miscellaneous movie thoughts! Thanks for stopping by!