Moana

In the ancient Polynesian Islands, Moana is the daughter of a chieftain who feels the ocean calling to her as if it wanted her to leave her island and explore. Since she was a little girl, she's heard stories from her grandmother of the demigod Maui about how he stole the gem-like heart of Te Fiti, the goddess of the ocean and creator of the world. In the stories, due to Maui's actions the world is slowly dying,  and the only way to save it is to force Maui to return the heart back to Te Fiti. Moana hears these stories and longs for adventure, not realizing just how real the stories really are.

I didn't see Moana while it was out in theaters, I waited until it was on Netflix. I'm not sure why, but it never really sparked my interest. Even then it took me searching Netflix and not finding anything else interesting to watch before I saw it. Having now seen it, I wish I had while it was still in theaters, because it was just as good as pretty much all the reviews I'd read said it was.

While Moana may be the main character, it's Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui who steals the show. I think he's grown considerably as an actor since making his debut as the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns. In Moana, he's still got his trademark goofy humor that he's become known for, and it's a good thing too, because a few of the other humorous moments - especially the ones involving a chicken who's a few fries short of a Happy Meal and always getting into trouble - fall somewhat flat. I'm sure younger kids will find the movie as a whole humorous, but for me as a young adult guy I found myself not laughing as much as I probably would have liked. But while the humor can be 'meh' at times, the rest of the movie holds up well. The songs featured throughout the movie are really catchy, I caught myself humming along to each of them. No surprise, really, seeing as how it's a Disney animated movie and they've always been good at the musical aspect over the years. Auli'i Cravalho also does a fantastic job as Moana.

If you have young kids and didn't get a chance to see Moana while it was in theaters, do yourself a favor and go rent it, or find it on Netflix. It's a fun little film that the whole family will enjoy.