Moana

This review may contain spoilers!

This is a film that does a lot of good by Pasifika cultures and is set to be yet another Disney classic. I would give Moana a 9/10.

I enjoyed how different this was from other Disney films in regards to how culture was presented and celebrated; Pasifika culture wasn't merely the background of this film it was at the heart of the narrative which is what makes it such an important film. The adventure that unfolds is about Moana, a chieftain's daughter, sailing out on her own to drag a demi-god, Maui, kicking and screaming all the way to save the world. It's a beautiful story in which this young woman saves the day for her people and also manages to discover a lot about herself and her people along the way. The animation is stunning, the settings and very vivid colours set the whole thing apart but also the tiny details such as hair or how objects in an environment move. The score for the film is very powerful and grounded in Pasifika roots; the songs are also brilliant character pieces and have a lot of depth in how they're presented, my personal favourite being 'You're Welcome' sung by Dwayne Johnson.

Dwayne Johnson, who voiced Maui, is such a cocky jerk in this film that's kind of funny to watch; however Johnson brings a great deal of humility to the character as the narrative moves along that is really fulfilling to watch. Rachel House, who voiced Gramma Tala, provides a sweet nurturing figure to the central protagonist of the film; House also has some great line delivery and stands out as one of the funniest characters of the film. Temuera Morrison, who voiced Chief Tui, made for a good authoritative figure and for the most part a pretty good father figure; Morrison creates a role who is very brash and stubborn as a result of a past trauma he endured at a younger age.

However the best performance came from Auli'i Cravalho, who voiced Moana. I appreciated that it was firmly mentioned that Moana didn't view herself as a princess, she was wayfinder looking to save her people; it's an important distinction as Moana quickly becomes pivotal as the hero of this story. This role is really a force unto herself, she charges headfirst into danger and has a kind, compassionate heart that enables her to look out for her people, Maui and Te Fiti. Cravalho takes this character to some tough places and we see her come close to breaking many a time; yet it's also the drive Cravalho puts into her portrayal that makes Moana such a brilliant character to watch. Her singing is also enchanting and some of the best I've heard in a Disney film.

The problem I had with the film's narrative is that it did tend towards the predictable and had a lot of themes or plot devices identical to other recent and classic Disney films; unfortunately what this meant was that you felt like you were being delivered the same old model of storytelling at times and it'd be nice for the stories to deviate from form. The plot should have also lingered a little longer on Moana and her time at the village; she was never really explored too heavily here as a character, in fact we only get some ideas about her and were instead given more information about her people and culture at this point. Finally the animal companions are an old trait of Disney films but in this particular one they felt excessively redundant, frankly if the pig and chicken had been taken out then nothing would have been any different at all.

Jemaine Clement, who voiced Tamatoa, was a bit of an odd antagonist; Clement's comedic delivery is usually fairly entertaining but it felt a bit off base in this film. Nicole Scherzinger, who voiced Sina, was a victim of the Disney curse around motherly roles; they usually get minimum screen time and don't really get developed as was the case with Sina here.