Moana

2016 - 3.7/5

As with all Disney movies, I will start with the short, Inner Workings. I loved it. It was such a neat way to portray what we usually see on the outside. In a way, it was an extension of Inside Out.

Loved the animation, it was truly beautiful. The water, the sand, the colours!

Throughout the movie I felt as if some bits and pieces were taken from other Disney classics: The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Mulan and others I’m currently forgetting.

Moana and Maui weren’t just the main characters, they were pretty much the only characters. Yes, the movie did have secondary characters, but none of which that had their own storylines/side things going on. This was great because it kept the focus on Moana and Maui. So few movies can actually do that and keep it entertaining, and this one managed to do so. The girl who did Moana’s voice did a good job. When she sang though, if that was her voice, wow. The Rock (I’ve always found it hard to say Dwayne Johnson; he will always be The Rock to me) was an incredibly charismatic character. He was the perfect fit for this voice over roll because he has an authoritative voice, but at the same time, it’s charming. I absolutely loved how his tattoo was it’s own character in a way and it would literally hold him back.

I really liked that there wasn’t too much singing in this one, it was kept to a minimum and what was sung was really good and catchy. My favourite musical was when Moana first meets Maui. I loved the 2D animation that was added and The Rock can sing well!

Two things that I actually didn’t notice, but friends pointed them out to me:
1. That the body shape of the characters in this one seem more “realistic”, in the sense that the characters were not skinny twigs. I understand that this detail could rub people the wrong way considering Moana is from the “South Pacific”. Having seen the movie, I will say that although Moana’s face, arms, and legs weren’t tiny, her waist was.
2. That there was no love story. Not sure how that one flew over my head, but maybe because I hate when movies do that when it isn’t needed so because I didn’t think it needed one, and it didn’t have one, I didn’t catch it.

And if you haven’t seen it yet, I’d say that you should watch until the end credits.

“I am Moeshaaaa” –LE/AK (sorry, I had to add that in here; inside joke).