Although Moana specifically says throughout the movie that she’s not a princess, she’s the chief’s daughter, for all intents and purposes, Moana is the newest princess in Disney’s lineup. The film, which hit theaters November 23, 2016, is 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and is nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.
Moana lives on a Pacific island, where she is next in line to become the chief of her village. The problem is, unlike the rest of the village, she doesn’t want to stay on the island forever. Much like Nemo, Moana dreams of venturing beyond the reef to find better things for herself and her people.
On her journey, Moana teams up with Maui, and a chicken named HeiHei. Maui is played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and is hilarious. He has great little dancing tattoos (kind of like the singing muses in another Disney classic, Hercules), and Lin Manuel Miranda, of Hamilton, does the rap parts in his songs, which is pretty cool. HeiHei is super annoying and he could easily be cut from the movie. At the beginning, there was a little pig, who I think should have gone with instead because he was much cuter.
Moana herself is awesome. She’s funny, relatable, and driven. The actress who does her voice, Auli’i Cravalho, is a native Polynesian and newcomer who is perfect for the role.
The soundtrack to this movie is adorable. I walked out of the theater singing “How Far I’ll Go”, by Allesia Cara, the “Let it Go” girl power song of this movie. The animation is beautiful and left me fantasizing about a trip to the islands.
All in all, I loved Moana and would definitely recommend it. Especially if you have younger siblings or cousins, this would be a great way to get out of the house and win their love by taking them to a fantastic Disney movie. Even if you go on your own, Moana is a hit that Disney fans will treasure.