I went to see Moana yesterday and before I get to the review itself. Here are my thoughts on it. It wasn't the first time Disney did a movie based around Hawaii or Disney did anything related to the Polynesians. The Tiki Tiki Room and Lilo & Stitch. My guess that Disney always had a fascination with Polynesian culture and you can see that in some of the rides. But, we never really had a movie from that studio that diverged into the Polynesian culture. And now we have. I was worried for this movie as well. Considering how successful Zootopia was earlier this year and now a second Disney animated movie just came out. Wasn't sure if it'll be like Pixar last year with Inside Out coming out first and then The Good Dinosaur. Inside Out was a terrific movie while The Good Dinosaur was subpar. But, with the record Disney has been doing so far this decade with their New Age of animated movies. This one could be good as well.

And it was. I really enjoyed this movie. The animation was beautiful. Especially with the ocean. I think this movie up the ante on water further than Finding Dory did. And it was treated as a character. I can't remember any movie that ever did that. And I really like the characters. At first, Maui seem like an arrogant jerk, but after a while he grew on me. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was perfectly cast for this role. His persona matches Maui to a tee. And the main character Moana was such a great heroine/princess. A much great addition to the princess line-up. She's a bit highstrung at first, but after going on a journey, she learns about herself and becomes a leader for her people.

The music was also fantastic as well. Didn't think this was going to be a musical, but why not I guess. I've never seen Hamilton and hadn't heard any of his songs, so my opinions about Lin-Maunel Miranda is practically none. Which is perfect for me to judge his skills solely on this movie alone. And the songs were great. I think I have like two or three songs that I clearly liked. Your Welcome stands out for me the most. Can't wait to get the soundtrack for Christmas. :)

Though, if I have to nitpick. The pacing seems slow at first, but I learned it's part of it. The animal sidekick they used in the movie is clearly just for laughs for the little kiddies. Heyhey is not my favorite, but he did got a few laughs out of me. I prefer the pig over the chicken, in my honest opinion. One of the songs didn't do it for me which was Shiny sung by a monster crab. Didn't fit too well with the movie overall, but the rest of the songs were great.

Overall, a clearly cliché Disney princess movie with some differences. The music is terrific, the animation subpar, and the main characters are memorable. If you're a Disney fan or have a great fascination on Polynesian culture. This movie is for you.