Moana 2016

A-

I was pleasantly surprised by Moana, the second Disney animated movie of 2016 after Zootopia. Not exactly a princess movie, Moana is the daughter and heir presumptive of a Pacific island chief, who has forbidden his people from seafaring. Of course, Moana, wants to go seafaring. There is also a lot of backstory regarding Polynesian mythology, which is kind of neat though I’ve never been that big on mythology. Still, the mythology gives the movie some cultural depth instead of just having a tropical backdrop to the movie. Moana is a strong character who has a lot of challenges, not least from the demi-god Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson, who has some challenges of his own. There are some animal sidekicks, but they have a pretty small role, mostly comic relief from a very dumb chicken. There are also some very strong songs, though it’s the first time I’ve heard them (they get better with repeated listens). The story is decent, with a couple of challenges maybe tacked on to what otherwise would have been a pretty simple plot. The animation is pretty amazing, with cartoonish humans with realistic skin and hair, and all kinds of intricate camera work and action, plus a glowing manta ray that you see under the water from in the air, which looks pretty impressive. This is more of an adventure story than one with a big message or a ton of laughs, but it is fun to watch and solid entertainment, with maybe a few lessons about knowing your history and facing challenges.

The animated short before the movie is called “Inner Workings” and shows a guy in a tedious office job wanting more, looking inside at how his organs control and react to what is going on. I didn’t like the style of animation and the concept borrows too heavily from Inside Out. Not as good as some of the Pixar shorts.

Written: 04 Dec 2016

Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital