Can we just talk about how great Moana Is?

Yes, Moana. The kids Disney movie. That Moana.

First off, I consider myself to have a fairly decent taste in movies (although who doesn’t think that their own taste in movies is good?) But seriously, I will watch any genre of movie, from any time period and I like to think that I can judge it with good merit. (I know too many people who won’t watch anything in black and white, or who refuse to watch something foreign with subtitles). With all that said, Moana is quite possibly one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

Now for those of you who aren’t into kid’s movies, just give it a try. This movie gives a shout out at some historic Polynesian myths and legends. It also has a lot of jokes that will even have adults in tears laughing.

One think that I especially loved about the movie was how strong and independent the leading lady was. Moana travels across the sea, outsmarts monsters and ultimately saves her people (sorry spoiler, but it’s a Disney movie obviously it has a happy ending) through all her hard work and determination. Even when she has help along the way, she is never tied down or in total need of her prince charming to come and save the day. While the idea of a strong female lead has been in more and more Disney princess-esque movies in recent years, I was really surprised that unlike in Tangled and Frozen, there’s no romantic love scenes. Now not to sound like a ranting feminist, but I think it’s great that a girl can go out into the world, save the day and not get so easily distracted by a hot guy.

While the jokes and the pro-female feel alone would make this a watch-worthy movie, I think the amazing music deserves a paragraph of its own. The soundtrack is composed by a number of well-known as well as several new artists. Unlike a lot of other Disney movies, there are not too many songs. (You know what I mean? When you’re watching a movie and there is just constant song after song after song, and all you want is for the characters to stop singing long enough to move the plot along?) But there is a number of cute and catchy (and not too long) little songs. There’s even a song sung by Dwayne Johnson (who ever would have guessed that guy would be singing in animated film?) And I’m not going to lie; I wanted to make the “Shiny” song my ring tone immediately after the end credits.

So if you haven’t seen it already, go out and rent it now. I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised by the powerful and funny animated children’s film.