Disney's latest princess movie since Frozen, Moana, just came out about a week and a half ago. As of the writing of this post, it has garnered a respectable 8.2 on IMDb and a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only that, but it has reeled in about $179 million in only 10-ish days. Without having read any critic reviews and minimal fan reviews, I want to quickly talk about some things I've thought about since watching Moana. So here are seven thoughts about Disney's Moana.

1. The Music Is Incredible (Minus "Shiny")

The first time I heard Moana'a music was when my roommate started singing "You're Welcome," performed by Dwayne Johnson. He told me the music had been released to Spotify and he'd had the song stuck in his head. Sure enough, he played it for me and ever since then I've had it stuck in my head. Not just this song though; "How Far I'll Go" is my personal favorite from the movie. I'm not really certain how accurate it is to traditional Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander music, but it certainly is noticeable. How I imagine Hawaiian music to sound is definitely present as inspiration at least, and it's super cool to hear the music of another culture. The only thing to watch out for is the song "Shiny," sung by a giant glittering crab. The song felt really gratuitous to me since the crab wasn't the primary villain and had exactly one scene, but somehow warranted a ridiculous song.

2. The Animation Is Spectacular

Against a budget of $150 million, it's no surprise that the effects in this movie are incredible. This is a similar budget to Frozen, which also had some killer visuals. The water especially is just magical to watch. I found myself audibly saying "wow" at several moments in the film just because of how much work was put into the visual effects of this film. Really a masterpiece in the animation department. I found myself describing it as the "Life of Pi" of animation.

3. Some Great Diversity

I am not one of the people who cares if a movie has more white characters than characters of color. The only thing I look for in a movie is whether it's entertaining and everything else (political awareness, cultural impact, etc.) is icing on the cake. That said, I think it's awesome that Disney made this because now there are fewer and fewer claims of Disney whitewashing their princesses, something I find ridiculous in the first place. But now with Moana, we're getting more people of color represented, so it's a step in the right direction for everyone involved. I get a great movie, those select few get their precious diversity.

4. Body Diversity

While we're on the subject of diversity, I really want to dismantle this absurd idea I've heard circulating about Maui's body type. I'm not seeing the logic in these arguments. Some people are saying that Maui represents a negative stereotype about pacific men being fat. But at the same time, I've heard complaints about the lack of body diversity; everybody in Disney movies is thin or buff. Wouldn't this, in theory, be a good thing? Or is it just not allowed because we can't allow people of color to be fat? Do some of these people not see the irony in asking for preferential treatment on account of skin color? Besides, Maui isn't really fat. He's large, but he's insanely strong. His size is a benefit to him and represents his character pretty well. He's hard-headed and stubborn and arrogant and strong. He's a demigod; he has to be physically imposing. I think he definitely achieves that, so screw all the naysayers who are saying there's anything wrong with Maui's body.

5. Now I'm Deeply Fascinated By The Mythology

The very beginning of the movie starts with some history and mythology about the characters and it really intrigued me. When I think about popular mythologies, I think Egyptian, Greek, Norse, Roman, etc. But what about ancient Hawaiian stories and beliefs? Are they still the same now? This obviously isn't a movie explicitly about the gods and beliefs of the people, but now I'm very curious. These beliefs came when there was no mainland and the entire world to these people was made of water and small islands. So I wonder if these characters, like Maui and Te Ka and Te Fiti, are actual deities in Hawaiian belief. Was the plot of this movie a real legend? Is Moana an entirely fictional character, or is she similar to Mulan in the way that her character is based on an actual legend? I have no idea, but I'm really interested now.

6. They're Voyagers!!

I have these kinds of thoughts whenever I think about people who lived before me, but holy cow it must've been weird living on an island. All these people knew was their own tribe and, if the movie is to be trusted, then there were no other clans to conflict with. To them, they were the only people in the world. Everything they saw was theirs for the taking. Then, they built canoes so they could sail to other islands and this was their way of life. It just scares me a little to think about living life that way. Endlessly putting homes behind to find a new one? How do they not get lost? How do they survive while on the water? It's a completely different way of life that kind of scares me, but has a certain liberation and almost complete freedom. Intriguing.

7. Family Structures And Importance Are Really Nice

I suppose it makes sense in light of what I just described above, but the grandparents are much more important in this movie than I think they are nowadays. They're all confined to the same island, so cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and other family members are all around each other all the time. My personal experience is that grandparents and extended family are hardly ever seen and minimally important. I love my extended family to death, but I'd be lying if I said I was strongly influenced by them. I just see them so little that they can't really impact me the same way Moana'a grandma impacts her. She is my favorite character in the movie and I thought it was very cool to see the dynamic of grandmother and granddaughter, something I don't think is present in many (Disney) movies. Oh, that reminds me, Moana's parents are both alive in this movie and don't die, so it breaks that Disney trope!

So there you have it! Seven thoughts about Moana. I thought it was a fantastic movie and you should definitely go see it. It is at the very least equal to Frozen, I would even say better than Frozen. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go karaoke to "How Far I'll Go."