Too Mainstream to Be Memorable

Rating: 5/10 (14 December 2016)

Apparently, a lot of effort HAS gone into this animation of Polynesian folklore and it has all the elements kids these days have come to expect from Disney movies: 3D animation, wide-eyed characters bumbling around or talking like hip kids are 'supposed' to talk, the hero and his/her pet, and an adventure that makes use of the aforementioned 3D animation because its clear the character design isn't! So what's wrong with it?
Well, nothing you can put your finger on right away. I've enjoyed old Disney flicks and recent ones equally - Inside Out being one of the most recent that I've liked, and I've got to say, this movie was a bit boring. That's surprising considering how the characters all seem to run about and pull faces, but then again that's the DUMB way to captivate your audience. The smart way is to establish an atmosphere that gives the story it's own identity, and this movie doesn't do that.
The first few minutes with Moana growing up in the village reminded me of Pocahontas, and I couldn't help but feel how everything in THAT particular movie roped me in to the world the story was trying to create, and did so very well. The music, the sound effects, the art, the way the characters spoke, everything BREATHED life into the story of the Native Americans, gave the story identity, and made it incredibly, incredibly enticing. I've heard Disney's been trying to diversify its repertoire of animated films, but with Moana, it hasn't succeeded. There was no real charm or identity breathed into the Polynesian characters. Our heroine's dialogue and delivery matches that of a teenager in 2016, not of the era she's supposed to live in.
With Moana, Disney is just going through the motions to try to sell something colorful and "diverse", and looking at general reception, it has succeeded. I however, am not convinced.