Movie Thoughts: Moana (2016)

• Released: November 23, 2016
  
• Directed by: Ron Clements. John Musker, Don Hall
• Running time: 1 h 47 min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

A girl with a special connection to the ocean wishes to restore the heart of her goddess in order to save her people. On her journey, she is joined by the cocky demi-god Maui, who has his own goals in mind.

My Thoughts

I've loved this movie since I first saw it and yeah, I still do. This isn't one of my most re-watched Disney movies or anything, but each time I do watch it I have a great time. 

And by all accounts this movie has some things working against it for me personally, most notably about 85% of this movie taking place on a boat at sea. You know me. Not a fan of boats and not a fan of the sea as a setting. Another aspect that I could pin-point as an actual flaw are the animal sidekicks in this. They're pretty much useless. Pua the pig does nothing despite being on the poster and Heihei is present but he's not funny and outside of catching the heart one or two times he just...has nothing to him or any purpose to the plot. He's just a dumb funny-looking rooster and that's the entire joke.

But for the good stuff, oh man is there a lot of it. Moana is one of my favorite modern Disney heroines. Maui is really likable and I love the bond he develops with Moana over the course of the movie. The animation is stunning and the visuals top-notch. The songs? I'm not the biggest fan of all of them per se, but I do love a select few a whole lot more than I do on average with Disney songs. Despite the main setting being on a tiny boat at sea, I was never bored or even disliked the setting with how it was presented in this movie. I love Moana getting to re-discover her culture's love for wayfinding/sailing. I love her bond with her grandmother. The movie is also pretty darn funny at times (when it isn't trying to be self-aware or joking about Heihei, at least) and of course it contains the best Disney villain from modern times: Tamatoa.

Seriously, that crab is only in the film for like, what, five minutes but he has a better villain song and is a better villain than pretty much most of Disney's modern catalog. "Shiny" is one of my all-time favorite Disney songs and I don't even know why. It's just super fun and catchy, and Tamatoa is a fun and memorable villain. None of that boring or forced twist villain nonsense of the recent years, he's just a giant crab who likes to decorate himself with shiny things and wants to kill our heroes. We don't need more than that. He's fantastic.

The final reveal with Te Kā turning out to be a corrupted heartless form of Te Fiti was also super well-handled. I guess this could technically qualify as her being a twist villain, however the final resolution and the reveal of who she truly is is handled much better than any of the other modern Disney twist villains, except maybe Turbo in Wreck-It Ralph if we were to see her as one. I also love how in the end Moana (or Maui) doesn't forcibly put the heart in Te Kā, she instead does it peacefully while trying to calm her down and Te Kā lets her. Which is just a very peaceful way for her evil form to turn back into Te Fiti. It wouldn't have been nearly as heartfelt and beautiful if Moana and Maui had to device a plan to forcefully put the heart back in its place. 

Overall this is a beautiful film. It's not perfect but I love it a lot and it's definitely one of my favorite modern Disney movies.