Great looking and good characters and that's about it

Rating: 7/10 (2 March 2018)

Some time has passed since my viewing of this movie and the first thing that comes to mind, when I think about it, is the scene in which Moana goes to the shoreline of the island where she lives and the first song plays. Watching this scene on a big TV in HD makes your jaw drop, as you are mesmerized by all the pretty colours.
As with many recent Pixar animations, the creators go out of their way to make everything as colourful as possible, to the point that certain neon-lit magical creatures and scenes feel like they were created solely for the purpose of allowing creators the freedom of using extreme colours that you would not otherwise encounter in a realistic setting. This is not a complaint, at least not on its own. The net result is that the movie does look gorgeous.
However, this observation takes the shape of a minor complaint when you take into account just how standard the other aspects of the movie are. At that point, the excessive visuals and style start looking more like a set of jingling keys, distracting the viewer from the fact that the rest of the movie is just ok.
Moana has interesting characters, with Moana herself not being one of them. The demigod Maui's dominating arrogance is a refreshing trait for a main character, his animating tattoos are funny (although this again is more of a visual aspect rather than a character trait), his backstory is interesting and his arch is subtle. The giant crab is fun, even though he is not on screen for long. The acting and dialogue are good, though not groundbreaking.
However, the plot is just a rehash of the same old story: a young character feels the drive to cross a boundary, set by his or her guardians. The young character then disobeys and gets in trouble, but ultimately overcomes, learning about self in the process and usually learning to be more responsible. There is an interesting little twist at the end, which puts Maui's character in an even more interesting light but that's about it.
Moana has no major flaws and it's a pleasant watch from beginning to end, but I do contest the apparent tendency of some people to treat this movie as a God that needs to be worshiped.