Movie Review: Moana
Rating: 3 Stars
According to the Moana IMDB page, former superstar safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Troy Polamalu, was cast as a voice for an unnamed villager. Well actually, he’s villager #1.
Considering that’s my starting point, I imagine you can tell at this point that there’s not much compelling for me to say about Moana. Disney’s made another good animated movie, yada yada yada. It’s no Pixar masterpiece but Moana will end up being more rewatchable than some of Disney’s other efforts.
The baseline test for Moana is if you thought Tangled was a fun time than you’ll feel some deja vu as themes and plotlines follow similar trajectories.
The titular Moana is landlocked by her helicopter dad who wants to keep her daughter away from the dangerous depths of the vast ocean. Moana’s island is dying and she is literally being called by the sea. Moana’s grandmother regales her with a tale as to why the island is dying and how she must find the demigod Maui who is the only person who can return a special stone to a special island.
Moana discovers Maui to be a self-interested crook but the ocean insists that the two must work together to return the stone. Dwayne Johnson handles the role of voicing Maui with relative ease as he bellows out the remarkably catchy “You're Welcome” song. Johnson’s casting is akin to when Robin Williams was cast as the genie in Aladdin. It’s the perfect role paired with the perfect voice.
Moana plays its story and writing by the book. Moana has her coming-of-age arc. Maui has to decide between his self-interest, pride, and dignity.
The animation is gorgeous but it would be weird if it wasn’t considering Disney has this down to a science.
Moana is your typical plug-and-play, fun for the family, and easy to enjoy.
