Moana (2016)

Every once in a while, I like to check out Disney Plus and maybe watch films that I avoided at the cinemas which definitely includes the film I chose for today. Back in 2016, Disney tackled a new topic when they explored the lore of the Polynesian islands and their culture when they released Moana in 2016. Legend has it that a goddess by the name of Te Fiti created life with the power of her heart. One day, a demigod by the name of Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) stole her heart and when he tried to escape it was lost in the ocean and he was banished. Fast forward to the future and we meet Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) who is a very curious girl and only daughter of the chief of her island. All she wants to do is set sail in the ocean, but when resources start to become scarce because of the curse, she finds the heart and sets out to find Maui to convince him to make things right once and for all to save her island. The film also stars Rachel House (Thor: Ragnarok) as Gramma Tala,  Temuera Morrison (Star Wars: Episode II- Attack Of The Clones) as Chief Tui, Jemaine Clement (What We Do In The Shadows) as Tamatoa, Nicole Scherzinger (Men In Black 3) as Sina, Alan Tudyk (Frozen) as Heihei, Oscar Kightley (Hunt For The Wilderpeople) as Fisherman, and the film was directed by Ron Clements (Hercules), John Musker (Aladdin), Don Hall (Big Hero 6), and Chris Williams (Bolt).

What can be said about a Disney movie that hasn't already been said before? They all follow the same formula where you have your main characters with one being on a mission, one being funny, and then they give you the comedic relief character in the form of an animal or creation (snowman). Most every single Disney movie follows that formula and why not? The formula has worked for years and as long as they keep it fresh it will work for more and more years. One thing I will say is that even though he is in cartoon mode, Dwayne Johnson still found a way to be funny and a very integral part of the film because if it wasn't for him I may not have enjoyed this as much. To be honest, I think he was more the comedic relief then the darn chicken who was just too dumb to be eaten. I thought some of the songs were just too much and it's probably the one thing that drives me nuts about Disney movies, but the one I did like was when Jemaine Clement had his time to shine with his song which had a very Bowie/Tim Curry feel to it and that was awesome. This was definitely enjoyable especially if you want to learn about some of the legends of the culture and how they received their names. I however don't think it's the best Disney movie ever made cause that belongs to The Toy Story. Therefore I am going to give this film an B+ for a final grade.