Five-Word Review: Exquisite, Enjoyable Fun; Somewhat Unoriginal

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2016)

Moana continues the recovery Disney has enjoyed this decade. Hawaiian Auli'i Cravalho voices the titular not-a-princess, who sets off on a quest to find demigod Māui (Dwayne Johnson) and restore life to the islands and oceans of Polynesia.
Moana has received a lot of critical acclaim for being fun, witty, and different, and overall it is pretty good. The voice work is stellar, with Johnson excelling at Māui's cocky bravura but also bringing depth to the role, and this should be a solid start for Cravalho. Jemaine Clement, however, steals the show, his unique voice instantly recognisable as a villainous and boastful crab.
The music overall is simply wonderful. The influence of lyrical genius Lin-Manuel Miranda is clear, with some catchy and memorable songs, with stand-outs being Clement's and Johnson's songs.
The very best thing is the animation, however - the best I've ever seen in a film. The water looks simply dazzling, surpassing anything seen in Finding Nemo/Dory. The final effect is an absolutely breath-taking aesthetic, and it's simply marvellous how much animation has progressed.
It's also quite funny: at times self-referential (even too much in bits) and guaranteed to muster a chuckle. All in all it's quite a fun time and shows Disney reaching a scale close to that achieved by Pixar, even if it ultimately doesn't offer much new and maybe won't linger so long in the memory. 73/100