It's Fine

Rating: 3/10 (31 March 2019)

I've always stood by the belief that just because something is pretty does not make it good. This movie definitely reflects that sentiment. It is very pretty in its own right. It was beautifully animated and it a wonderfully colorful spectacle, but that's it. The characters themselves are very shallow in actual characterization. There is very little development that actually goes on between any of the characters, especially between Moana and Maui. What development that does happen is expected and not very original. It all also happens so quickly that there isn't enough time dedicated to the details needed to push their relationship or the story forward.
And, as far as story goes, there really isn't much of one. It's a very simple quest that had so much potential to be a grand adventure, but it just wasn't there. There wasn't enough of an adventure to keep me engrossed. It played everything very safe and didn't take enough chances. It could have been so much more, but it just wasn't enough. So, it left me feeling kind of empty at the end. I wanted more from it and instead it was just like a passing moment. It's there, then It's gone, and I won't remember it later on.
It honestly felt a lot like a sandbox game. Anything can happen because there isn't enough lore to set everything in stone, but at the same time nothing of significance can happen because there's nothing grounding it to a specific plot. Sadly, this isn't a game and the latter is the case for this movie. So much more could have happened, but instead not enough does to keep my interest.