Once again solid effort from Disney

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2017)

With Moana Disney returns to its princess formula, albeit with a more adventurous plot and a noticeable lack of romance. Which is a good thing. Disney has tried to re-examine its own traditions ever since The Princess and the Frog, and this movie is a logical continuation of that. And it's still perfectly recognizable as Disney. It's about going on an adventure, finding yourself, believing in yourself, all that good stuff.
It's also the best-looking film Disney has yet made. And that's saying something. The water effects utilized in this film are jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Someone joked that it would have been easier for Disney to go out and film real Polynesian waters. Because it looks so good I'm not convinced they didn't do just that. The rest of the textures, designs and visuals overall are almost equally as pleasing and it's simply a joy to watch.
Also full props to the two leading voice actors and their characters in general. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson continues to prove that he's one of the most likable persons on Earth, but the true star of this film has to be Auli'i Cravalho as Moana in her first ever film role. Her sheer singing talents would have made the character one of the best Disney heroines ever, but it's more than that. It's the will of the character, the passion mixed with fear of the unknown, tempered by fierce will to protect her people. And all this wrapped inside compassion and goodwill. Auli'i easily made Moana one of my all-time favourite Disney characters.
Probably the only real complaint I have about the film is the story. Because while it's perfectly fine, it could have been better. At times you get this nasty feeling like you're being manipulated. Like certain scenes are there just because it's a Disney film, not because the film itself needs them. The film also makes fun of Disney's own clichés a bit too mean-spiritedly in my opinion.
That being said, the ending is fantastic. One of the best I've ever seen. And that's because it's not a big action scene or a showstopper. Rather the scene that saves the day is intimate, quieter, something that fits Moana's character perfectly.
Moana is a great film. It's not perfect and personally I do like Frozen and Zootopia better, but it's still head and shoulder above its competition and a proud mark for Disney once again.