Moana

Disney is certainly one of the kings of animation, and with the success of so many of their animated films, they have profited well. Films such as "Jungle Book", "Mulan", "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin" and others have been redone in a live version hoping they will reap the same profit once again. Some have done well--some not, but Disney always strives. So, Disney yet tries again with a live version of "Moana", ten years after the original animated version. 

In Disney's live-action reimagining of the beloved animated adventure, Moana (Catherine Laga'aia) answers the Ocean's call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui, with  which is forbidden by her dad, Chief Tui (John Tui) for safety reasons, with the infamous demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people in the form of a stone, The Heart of Taviti. Maui is the only one who can guide Moana in this dangerous quest.

Others to round out the cast are Fankie Adams as Sina, Rena Owen as Gramma Tala, Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa, Amayan Masoli as Moana (8 years old) and Emma Puahi-Shapazian (Moana (4 years old).

This was directed with wit and adventure by Thomas Kail ("Grease Live!" (TV movie) '16, "Hamilton" '20) plus TV. Considering this director's experience in the musical realm, and Moana being basically a musical, his take on this project was delineated well, especially working with the same collaborators--Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda that worked on the original. He knew just where the musical numbers would be the most effective in this film. The film was effectively written by Jared Bush ("Zootopia" '16, "Moana" '16, "Encanto" '21, "Moana 2"'24, "Zootopia 2" '25) plus TV and a video game, and Dana Ledoux Miller ("Moana 2" '24) plus TV, based on the 2016 animated film "Moana" by Jared Bush, Ron Clements and John Musker. Obviously, Bush has the lion's share of the experience here, but then considering that Miller wrote the screenplay for "Moana 2", it was concluded that this writer needed to be included and I believe it helped. What can I say about the writing here than the fact that it followed the animated version almost verbatim. Dwayne Johnson reprised his role as Maui and I'm not sure where they got Catherine Laga'aia to play Moana since she was very believable and could belt out a song. And, of course, the visual effects predominantly designed by ILM (Idustrial, Light & Magic) were seamless. As with the animated version these two music composers hit a homerun with the score and songs. 

Again, if you thoroughly enjoyed the animated version of this film, you will undoubtedly love this since it follows its predecessor almost word for word. But, then again, Disney is the king of remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels, franchises, etc. If you want a huge version, it's also presented in an IMAX format as well. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                         Rated: PG                                             116mins.