Disney's latest outing, "Moana," is, no doubt, a visual spectacle. It has an endearing cast of characters in the musical numbers that help relate this unique world to the general audience. Where it falters is its pacing and its simply told story that could've added a couple twists and turns to keep the audience engaged.
Although the musical score is wonderful, it's lacking that cultural vibe that should be consistent throughout the whole soundtrack. When said vibes appear, it is a welcome addition as well as engrossing to listen to because of its unique take on music. More often than not, I was expecting something a little bit more tribal in relation to the music. Instead, I got a track dedicated to Moana's solo voice which was a bit disappointing.
Having more culturally relevant content in this movie would have serviced it well and added to the legend. I found myself predicting most of the plot before anything even happened with one exception towards the end of the movie. The result is an average movie with a thin plot but excellent animation and music that could've focused more on the culture instead of this legend with such an overused, simplistic template.
For example: Start. Recruit side character with relevance to the plot and go there to obtain MacGuffin A. Deliver Macguffin B. Stop the generic darkness taking hold over the land. I'll take into account that it is a children's film but even "Lion King" had a far less predictable plot and many more twists and turns along with an excellent soundtrack and animation for its time.
With that said, Disney knocks it out of the park by producing endearing characters once again. The animation and soundtrack alone are worth the price of admission. Lin-Manuel Miranda had his work cut out for him and he and his musical team delivered.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays the narcissistic Maui very well with that classic Johnson charm. First-time voice actress Auli'i Cravalho plays an exceptional Moana, especially in regards to singing.
Overall, "Moana" is a very solid installment for Disney animation held back by its lack of risk-taking.
7/10 An excellent animation showcase but little narrative complexity.
