Disney films have become some of the most highly respected, loved, and anticipated movies to come out in any given year. We have seen greats such as The Lion King, Mulan, Toy Story, and more recently--Frozen, and Zootopia. However, among these greats lies a new movie. One that takes a region not yet seen as the feature of a Disney movie--the Pacific Islands. Yes, this is in fact Moana. I have heard this title pronounced multiple ways, with the most common incorrect version being "Mwah-nah". The correct pronunciation is "Mo-Ah-Nah".

I was lucky enough to be able to see Moana within about a week of its release, which is not common for me. I would be lying if I didn't say I was slightly concerned though. My concern arose because I had not heard much about it. I hadn't seen anything on Facebook--including memes. Nor had I seen anything about people going to see it on Instagram or Twitter. I hadn't heard anything horrible, but I hadn't heard anything fantastic either. Because of this, I walked in expecting another mediocre Disney performance between their big hits.

I was happily proven wrong.

Moana is now one of my favorite Disney movies. With songs by Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foa'i, and the one and only playwright/lyricist/composer Lin Manuel Miranda, this turned out to be a fantastically upbeat and joyful movie. Some of you may be asking the same thing as me though: "Who on earth are Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i?" Well, based on Moana...they're pretty fantastic lyricists and composers!

Moana follows a young girl, whom the movie is named after (voiced by Auli'i Cravalho), through her journey as being "the one chosen by the ocean." Her island is in danger, and she must find the demi-god Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to bring the darkness to a screeching halt. When she does find him, it takes an entire musical number ("You're Welcome") and some serious convincing to get him to travel with her. However, Maui is powerless without his magic fishhook that was given to him by the gods, so they have to go through a singing, shiny crustacean named Tamatoa (Jemaine Clement) and terrifying pirate coconuts to retrieve it. Then, they have to go through a gargantuan lava monster to return the heart of the Te Fiti.

That last paragraph probably sounded like a whole bunch of craziness on a twisting, turning roller coaster of nonsensical verbiage, but I promise if you go see it you will not be disappointed!

I don't want to give too much away, so I want to take a look at one of the songs (probably my favorite) from Moana. This song is the aforementioned "You're Welcome". This song is sung by Dwayne Johnson, and was written by none other than Lin Manuel Miranda, which is made incredibly obvious during a small rap break in the middle of the number. "You're Welcome" gives us a feel for Maui's personality, but it does so in a way that makes you want to jump out of your seat and dance! It has now been over a week and a half since I saw the movie, and this song is still often stuck in my head.

I highly suggest going to see Moana. Take you children. Take your nieces and nephews. Take your grandkids, your cousins, your neighbor's kids (with your neighbor's permission of course)! Take your spouse, girl/boyfriend, fiance, someone! Just go see this movie and don't hesitate! You will find it hard to take your eyes off the screen.

And in case you need a little more of a push: here's a clip of "You're Welcome".