Moana Review

#TeamCurlyHair

Moana Review – Disney takes us on another journey with their latest ‘Princess’.

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Moana is the only daughter of the present village leader of Motanui. She grows up hearing great stories from her Grandmother and longs to explore the ocean. Her father however forbids her from getting into the water. Pretty soon Moana accepts her reality having to take over her father’s throne. Unfortunately strange things begins to happen until she finds out about an old legend on how a demi-god, Maui ‘stole’ the heart of Te Fiti causing dark force to consume the island one by one. Moana makes a promise to her grandmother that she will try to fix the situation and sets sail to find Maui and restore Te Fiti’s heart. Maui though proves to be a handful and it’s up to Moana to convince him to help her save her beloved island. Can these two different characters work together or are they doomed in the Pacific Ocean forever?

Moana and Maui on a mission

Moana is a combination of Disney’s previous princess, I saw a bit Jasmine of Aladdin (longing to explore the world outside), Merida of Brave (rebellious against her parents wish), Fa Mulan of Mulan (taking over her father’s responsibility) and I could go on and on. The voice talent of native Hawaiian, Auli’i Cravalho suited well for the role of Moana while Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson rocked-pun intended as the mischievous Maui. Dude’s even got a pretty decent voice to belt out a few numbers in the movie as well. Produced by current Broadway musical king, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songs are worth humming after this film ends. As for the visual, Disney has in it their bag to only serve the best. The liveliness is breath-taking with colourful vibrancy capturing the South Pacific’s beauty on land and sea. The story is simple for the enjoyment of both kids and adults to relate with. It’s has almost all the previous successful ingredients with some extra enhancements.

Baby Moana. Chooooo cuteeee!!!

Disney never fails to bring out the kid in me and this flick is no exception. I enjoyed watching it but was not fully satisfied as it lacked a little of more of the magic they used to have. After the let-down of Finding Dory earlier this year, I was hoping for this to be another Disney classic but it just didn’t make the cut. Maybe I’m getting old but you can give me The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and The Beast over Moana anytime, but then perhaps that’s just me.