It could have been better, but this is mainly nitpicking

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2016)

So let's get this over with. I start with the many great points Moana had in it's entire movie. The plot was an exceptional one, not that it wasn't unpredictable but it was great nonetheless. I commend the start of the story for it's amazing narrative and songs and I love that 20 minutes or so of the movie most. It teared me up when Moana finally left the island what with the grandmother dying and all but it became more bitter-sweet when she reincarnated as the animal she chose. Then Moana goes on the search for Maui with Heihei as an unexpected companion (another pleasant plot twist). Then she was stuck in a storm and woke up on the island Maui was stuck on. She meets with Maui and he sings his introduction song which was okay. It's not great. Then he leaves her stranded on the island while she swims after him to no avail. Then the sea helps and they sorta talk. He's scared of Te Fiti's heart. Then the first monsters of the sea finds them and they clashed. I like this part of the movie as well. The visual was amazing! (Though I did question if that other movie with the mammoth and the sabre tooth tiger and the 2 sloths might raise some questions about that scene) Following that scene was Maui teaching Moana how to sail and they reached the island where they could reach Maui's fish hook. Tamatoa could have been a really great support character but instead we get that weird intro song that I just dislike with mighty passion! BUT more on that later. They got Maui's fish hook, he has an identity crisis (I probably forgot most of what happened next) and they reached Te Fiti's island which was guarded or surrounded by TeKa. Maui tells Moana to go, he fights Te Ka, loses,Moana tries to help but instead Maui's fish hook gets destroyed. They part ways. Then the sequence of her doubting herself, grandma comes to help, she finds herself again and she sails to Te Fiti again. This time she outsmarts Te Ka and manages to sail into the enclosure. Maui comes to help. Now at this point I love the movie again. She gets closer to the island at the cost of her boat and Maui sacrifices his demigod power so that Moana makes it to the island. Put the heart in the spiral, she was told but alas the island was no longer there. Te Fiti was just a silhouette in the sea. Turns out Te Ka was Te Fiti. Using her power as the sea's chosen one Moana parts the sea and put the heart stone back where it belonged. Te Ka changed back to Te Fiti, gifts Moana a boat and Maui a new fish hook and returns to her slumber. Moana part ways with Maui and went back home to Motunui where she awakens their explorer blood and the tribe sailed across the sea like they once did a thousand years before.
Now that was the good part. I will start with what could be better. Song choice would be my first pick. Tamatoa's song was awful and I hate it. I still do. You gave him a villain like song but not make him stay throughout the whole movie. I think he had a potential as the anti-hero or just another unwilling sidekick who in the end was utterly surprised that TeKa was actually TeFiti all along. The lack of characters would be my second point. Most of the time, less is better but in Moana it did not serve the story so well. Maybe it's because I don't know much about polynesian lores but I believe that was lacking in the story.
To compare with Frozen (it was the last Disney princess movie so bear with me), there many side characters who added colour to the plot. They weren't exactly important like the lodge-keeper atop the mountain or the many maids in the castle but they added something to the story. They added life. The same formula in Tangled as well. You don't expect people to remember everyone from the tavern but they were a fun addition to the movie. That is what Moana is lacking. There were so few characters that not much about the film's setting was not explored. They could have had Tamatoa following them around or had other demigods point them in their way, maybe some of Maui's friends? He can't be a total loner right? Or the ONLY demigod in Moana's entire universe, right? I'll educate myself on those lores later but I'm just saying some more side characters wouldn't hurt. It's because I can name most of the characters in the first viewing of the movie that I think the movie could use more characters. I seriously can name them all. It is a great idea to omit a male romantic counterpart for Moana but they should have added some side characters to the story.
In conclusion, I am not dissing the movie, not all of it at least. As a matter of fact it was good...just not as good as Zootopia or Frozen.
P/S: I like the theme that the calmest of beings could become the most ferocious of monsters.