Disney's Moana Movie Review

From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes “Moana,” a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people.  The story is inspired in part by oral histories of the people and cultures of Oceania, where filmmakers traveled to learn as much as possible.

“It’s a story that takes place many, many years ago, but with a contemporary feel,” says producer Osnat Shurer.  “Our hope as filmmakers has been to create a universal story that is also an homage to the beautiful people of the Pacific Islands who inspired us along this journey.” 

Moana stars Hawaii’s own Auli‘i Cravalho as the voice of Moana and Dwayne Johnson as the voice of demigod Maui. 

My children and I were super lucky to attend the Hawaii premiere of Moana which was the next night after the world premiere in Los Angeles.  The kids could hardly contain their excitement and loved the movie from start to finish.  They laughed throughout the movie especially enjoying the funny interaction between Moana and Maui. 

Although a little slow in the beginning, I thought the film was beautifully made and heartwarming.  I love that our young girls have an inspiring role model in Moana who is struggling to discover herself.  Should she listen to her father and proudly take the role she has been given or follow her heart to discover what’s beyond the reef of her island home?

What is awesome about the movie Moana was that the filmmakers took a lot of time to have the culture accurately depicted.  They researched everything from the costumes to the look of Moana’s canoe to the species of plants featured in the film.    

As for the sound track, I loved Moana’s anthem, “How Far I’ll Go” but I wasn’t really impressed with the rest of the songs.  While my kids found the songs catchy, I thought “You’re Welcome” was underwhelming and the rock tune “Shiny” was out of place.

Be sure to catch Moana, Disney’s 56^th animated feature, when it sails into theaters today!


Thank you to our sponsor for the complimentary movie tickets!