Official
Australian release date: 26/12/16. Viewed: 30/12/16.
Director:
Ron Clements
Actors:
Auli’I Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison
Genre: Adventure/Comedy
Rating:
PG
‘Moana’ is a near-flawless family film
from Disney. It’s got pretty much everything: comedy (mostly from a chicken!),
pathos, a good journey with some adversity to overcome, some self-discovery, a
great sidekick, some songs, the death of a loved one (the Grandma [House]) and
heaps of great animation/scenery.
The Chief (Morrison/Jango Fett), doesn’t
want Moana (Cravalho) to leave their Pacific island, for fear of the big ocean,
but she has to follow her destiny and find Maui (Johnson) to restore the heart
of Te Fiti and restore balance to the islands. Maui obviously starts out as a
bit of a jerk, but he endears himself to us with his well-meaning ways and
hilarious moving-tattoos. The lava monster’s cool, but not too scary – definitely
OK for kids over 3.
It’s great to see/hear Polynesian
actors, songs (particularly the tribal drums) and ancestral art/tattoos. There’s
a great voice cast – the Grandma is touching – and Clement (Flight of the
Conchords) is hilarious as the giant/evil crab. However, it’s Moana’s film and
she’s charismatic, feisty and respectful, depending on the situation (helps
that they chose a 14-year-old Hawaiian to play her!). She probably sings a few
too many songs for me (think there’s about seven in the film), and they definitely
could’ve done without The Rock’s song! It all ends happily, with her people
voyaging again.
Overall: Great looking and sounding
ocean adventure.
Gav's Rating: 4 stars.
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