Moana

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. During her journey, Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho) meets the once-mighty demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson), who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds, and along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she’s always sought: her own identity. Directed by the renowned filmmaking team of Ron Clements and John Musker (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “The Princess & the Frog”) and produced by Osnat Shurer (“Lifted,” “One Man Band”), “Moana” sails into U.S. theaters on Nov. 23, 2016.

Moana is such a fun movie! The music is super great, the animation is wonderful, and the story is beautiful. Disney has defiantly entered a new golden era with Frozen, Zootopia, and now Moana. I was not a huge fan of the 3D animation at first, but this movie sold it to me.  Water is one of the hardest things to animate, along with hair, and there was not a scene in this movie without water in it.  Which is crazy to think about. 

Moana follows the story of the chief's daughter, Moana, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, who has always felt the call to the sea.  However, her father forbids anyone from sailing past the reefs because of bad seas. He does everything he can to discourage Moana from sailing and focusing on helping her people.  However, after seeing her island slowly dying, and with some encouragement from her grandmother, Moana takes to the sea to find the demi-god Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, and help her people. 

What I loved most about the story was that it was about Moana finding courage in herself.  She is a hard worker, willing to learn, and has a compassionate heart.  Overall, a great role model for everyone. There are jokes about her not being a princess in the movie, and well she's not.  She's as much a princess as Pocahontas and Mulan are Disney Princesses. (Trust me, when it comes to marketing, those girls are still considered Disney Princesses despite their lack of royal upbringing, or even having Princesses in their respected countries).  I know people are saying she's automatically better because she is not a Princess (and doesn't have a romantic interest in the movie) and I hate that way of thinking.  She has the same amazing qualities as the other Disney Princesses, she's true to herself and show's kindness wherever she goes. What are your favorite Disney movies? 

Here's just a taste of the amazing soundtrack: