A perfection of the formula for a Disney classic.

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2016)

Disney's "Moana" is their first musical movie since Frozen, and so they had to show they still had potential in regards to making meaningful movies for all ages. Moana is the perfect successor to Frozen's success. Yet, originality should be the most influential factor of a Disney movie, and Moana feels solely like a "best bits" compilation of it's older siblings.
The storytelling found in Moana is almost a perfection of the formula Disney established alongside its "Revival era" back in 2009 with "The Princess and the Frog" and later movies. So, ultimately, the movie has a warm, familiar feeling to it that makes it instantly lovable. That said, it also means originality story line-wise is rare. You're given a similar protagonist to Rapunzel from Tangled, with similar deuteragonists to Hans from Frozen or Flynn Rider from Tangled. Many of the themes found in Moana are simple copy-and- pastes of other movies.
Although I've seen many concepts in other Disney movies, that does not mean I don't like them. Disney used the best ideas from its predecessors in order to establish a perfect story line. You can really feel themes from movies like Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Hercules, Frozen, Brother Bear and definitely Tangled appearing in Moana. I'm not expecting Disney to whip up a new 100%-successful formula for each Disney movie it creates. That wouldn't work. The only way art can progress is by building on what went right previously. It's like the natural selection of storytelling.
On another note, the voice work in Moana is stunning. Bringing in such powerful (and arguably unqualified) voice actors was definitely a risk for Disney, and they knew that. Auli'i Cravalho has such a magnificent voice in regards to emotion in both speech and singing. Even at only 14 years old, she was an admirable and talented person. Dwayne Johnson was a surprise for me, as I truly didn't expect him to be as good as he was. I knew he could act, but to portray such emotion through his voice AND sing magnificently was the biggest plot twist.
Speaking of singing, the soundtrack to Moana is beautiful in every way. Everyone expected a lot when they found out the writer of the songs behind the hit musical "Hamilton" was behind the soundtrack for the movie, and Moana does Miranda true justice. I went in blind by intentionally not listening to the soundtrack before watching, and I was so glad I chose to do that. Songs like "How far I'll go", "We know the way" and "You're Welcome" are amazing to listening to in true immersion for the first time. You get to appreciate them as storytelling devices before you get to hear them as well-written songs, and they are successful in both fields.
The animation in Moana is simply beautiful. The hair on all characters really bounces and falls so satisfyingly, the sky and sea always maintain their beauty, and the movie's shots are all so artistic in both aesthetic and angle. The characters and scenes are rendered so well and look genuinely pleasing to the eye. Although, backgrounds and scenery arguably don't look as stunning as those in Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur" but this movie suits the more cartoon-y feel that it maintains.
The characters in Moana are authentic in personality, such as their intentionally self-obsession or humbleness. They progress and develop to attach emotions for one another that you definitely respect as an audience. That said, many characters do not live up to their potential. Heihei the chicken contributes almost nothing to the story line of Moana other than to create a cheap laugh from the young children that may be bored. I feel like this was also done in movies like Brother Bear or Cinderella. One thing Frozen did so well was that its comic relief sidekick actually contributed to the plot by allowing the protagonist to learn something new that could help along the journey. Heihei doesn't do that. Moana's pig, Pua, starts off almost like a sidekick to Moana in the first 20 minutes, yet does not appear in the movie until the final 5 minutes. Pua had potential and could've been a friend to Moana on her journey like Pascal was to Rapunzel, or like Mushu and the Flea were to Mulan.
Overall, Moana was definitely an amazing Disney classic, as it took what other movies did so well and squashed it into a new, fantastic movie. With stunning visuals, lovable characters, and catchy songs, Moana stands with the greats like Tangled, Aladdin, and Mulan.