Again, Disney is capping off the year in a great way with this movie and Rogue One coming out. It is doing more outstanding business than any other movie studio this year and maybe even longer with their filmographies in the upcoming years. So, sometimes, Disney would put a throwaway animated film in the end of the year to let themselves breathe a bit. The Good Dinosaur, a Pixar film, is a prime example of it did not do as outstanding business as it was predicted but also it was not as well-received and I enjoyed primely of its technical animation but it is not a memorable movie. It is definitely in contention for the best animated movie of the year along with Kubo and the Two Strings and Zootopia. But, I'm not sure it is as original.
Te Fiti, an island goddess, created life and also became an island to cover an all-aquatic planet, which you can considerably call it Earth. Te Fiti's heart, an ancient green gemstone, is located at the center of the island until the mischievous demigod, Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), stole it. He uses his fish hook to transform into any other animal. However, Te Ka, a giant volcanic goddess, also wanted the heart of Te Fiti and hits Maui with one of his fireballs preventing him to escape and he was never heard of again.
Gramma Tala (voiced by Rachel House) is revealed to be telling the story of that myth to the scared children, however, it does not scare Moana who was a young toddler wandering into the ocean as the waters show her the ancient green gemstone. Her father, Chief Tui (voiced by Temeura Harrison), is overprotective as Moana is pushed back to the shore and the heart of Te Fiti goes missing again.
Moana (voiced by Auli'i Carvalho) is now a teenager who has a pet pig, Pua, and a pet chicken named Hei Hei, is determined and wants to explore how far the world goes for her to discover new territories and other obstacles. There have been bad news from Motonui as the harvested coconuts are rotten and there have been no fish for the village. Her father once again is fed up with Moana's suggestion because he thought that she gave up. She gets help from Gramma Tala as she says that she needs to find Maui to bring back the ancient green gemstone and by coincidence later on the movie, she does.
This is a vibrant, luscious film that is supported by a grand, old fashioned story that sets back to the great films of the Disney Renaissance and maybe the older classics such as Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. There is some rich texture in its animation in Maui's tattoo drawings, the gorgeous animation in its beaches and water and its action sequences against some of the gods. Again, all of that is supported by an inspiring story in which a Polynesian native is chosen to save her people. It is more daunting inspiration that adds to the background of continuing strong female characters in the Disney universe and I believe she is up there with strong characters with Princess Jasmine and Belle.
Auli'i Carvalho is going to get some work off of this movie because she provides a nuanced, gentle and composed voice to her ferocity and her confidence onto her character. It is a real-good character. Dwayne Johnson is fantastic as Maui, who is believably strong but also a bit barbaric because of his character's background but brings some humor and charm onto the film and onto the chemistry with Moana. All the characters are well-drawn except for an unnecessary character which is the chicken, which provided a bit of forced humor.
Now, the songs are solid as Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mark Mancina provided the orchestrations onto the Polynesian vibe that upgrades the movie into a remarkable film. Even though the movie has a familiar setup in its story that is somewhat similar to Brave, Sleeping Beauty or The Little Mermaid, it is the setting and the unique, imaginative story that blends in the remarkable animation with the memorable characters and fun atmosphere. It is a delightful movie to watch with the entire family this upcoming holiday season to just get you into the spirit.
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