Review of Moana (2016) by Michael M — 07 Jan 2018

I will admit, Moana is not the most original Disney movie. It's not a wildly different experience like Zootopia, and it's not as subversive to the Disney tropes as Frozen was. It has a lot of the same tropes you see in any Disney movie, and in a lot of ways it's one of the most pure Disney movies, tropes and all, that's come out in a while. It doesn't have a romance which is definitely a refreshing take, but other than that we've definitely seen a lot of this before. But here's the thing, even though it's full of tropes, they're all tropes I love, and it's able to use these tropes in an original environment with characters I really loved.

First thing you'll notice is that the movie is absolutely gorgeous. The closest thing it reminded me of was Zelda: Wind Waker, but honestly this is a culture and environment we very rarely see, certainly not to this degree, and Wind Waker is a gorgeous game so to have anything compare to it is impressive. The journey through this world is incredible, and I couldn't wait to see what weird thing they would encounter next. There are these weird coconut pirate guys they encounter early on. Are they sentient coconuts? Are the coconut things a mask? I have no idea, but the scene was awesome, and added to the grand sense of adventure that this movie is reeking with. The characters, while familiar, are all great. Again, these are character types we've seen before, but they're still likable. Moana is the adorkable free-spirited princess, but I love that character. She reminded me of some of the female friends I had in high school, and that's not a bad reminder. Not to mention she has an incredible voice. Maui is your cocky, smart-mouthed hero with a tragic backstory, but again, he's great. Dwayne Johnson freaking nails it as this character, and the character himself feels like an animated take on Dwayne Johnson with all the charisma intact while still being a respectful celebration of the actual mythos of this character. There are lots of other trope-y characters including a wacky grandmother I loved, and most of them worked. I didn't really like the stubborn father who's all about the old ways, but he's not a huge part of the story.

Despite its heavy reliance on tropes and Disney formula, Moana is able to take these familiar ingredients and create something new. It doesn't rely on the formula, it celebrates it, and leads to a new film that feels like a classic. I have some nitpicks, including one of my most hated tropes which is the third-act breakup which goes absolutely nowhere. Really though, my nitpicks mostly boil down to minor annoyances that only bother me as much as they do because the rest of the movie is just so good. It's a beautiful movie and a wonderful adventure.