Review of Moana (2016) by Kai82 — 22 Apr 2022

It has great characters that work so well together, a lot of good humor and an appealing heroes journey story that develops the characters. Atop of that the singing is nice and not overburdened. Even the character Maui makes a jab at this when he says something like “If you start singing now I will puke”.

I am the person who mostly dislike Disney songs except for Encanto, Frozen and a few other examples but say here it is done well enough here to win me over. I did watch this movie because friends recommend it and I was not disappointed.

This movie is set in Polynesia. The Polynesians were the best naval navigators in history of mankind. Even the colonial captains were deeply impressed and this is a statement. They navigate by starts but also could read wave patters, clouds and animal behavior to find even the most remote islands.

Just look how big the Pacific Ocean is and that they discovered all island. Their culture is also remarkable but I get off track. The events start far before the events of the movie when Maui a shape-shifting demi god steals the hearth of the goodness Te Fiti which has the shape of a pounamon stone.

However the hearth is a precious object and he loses it immediately in the ocean as Te Ka a volcanic demon attacks him. A millennia later the chief of the Motunui has a daughter named Moana who is blessed by the ocean itself.

She is drawn to the open water but the Motunui don't go there. She is told the old stories by her grandmother and wants to safe her people as the events of Maui’s acts reach slowly the island. This is the set up for the story.

It is surprisingly smart, has good twists and is really entertaining. The main strengths are the characters and their journey. Both Moana and Maui are relatable, believable and feel like real characters.

Their chemistry is so great that no moment is wasted. They grow a lot and the characters / heroes journey is truly excellent. I praise the voice actors here too. Auli’I Cravalho for Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui.

I should say that the rest is also really good and I praise Rachel House as Tala, Temuera Morrison as Tui and of cause Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa. Watch the end credits scene for a great joke. The humor is excellent too.

Every joke works and the humor does not harm the serious parts of the story. They took a lot of effort here and I praise the whole team. The animations have a great style and capture the Polynesian feeling.

Be warned that I am no native or expert on this and it could be awfully wrong even making a fool out of me here. However the movie looks gorgeous. Overall I have to give a 10/10. It might not be the best animated movie ever but is so entertaining and enjoyable that a 9/10 feels wrong or too harsh.