Movie #1301 "Moana" --- well, I finally saw a Dwayne Johnson movie, and it wasn't bad. Of course, it was animated, Disney, with Lin Manuel Miranda music, and it will probably be nominated for best animated feature for the Academy Awards, so it did have a lot going for it. I liked it. I can't tell if the kids in the theatre along with me did, but they were quiet. It takes some focus to follow the story, I think, and there is some humor but it isn't overt. The Maui (Johnson) character has some shape-shifting tattoos that are a source of constant amusement, and the bad guys , esp. the "shiny" one is pretty humorous (and his sung reminded me of Ursula's in "Little Mermaid") -- The music is what I liked the best -- reminded me of "Hamilton" in many sections, so that kept my interest. The film has a rather long exposition that I was snoozing off through (warm theatre), but the second half took off, the songs got better. Maui was finally introduced and Moana and he together make a fun duo to watch. Really strong female, and the guy in the film, as big as he is, is playing what a female would have done in previous films, so I was liking that a lot! I found it quite good, good strong theme, but a bit of a convoluted story, and kind of a lame secondary chicken that gets tiring after a while --- Disney characters have had better secondary helpers! Cast is small for this one, but it was an enjoyable afternoon. Not sure it is good enough to beat "Zootopia," though. We'll see. It IS strong in music, did I say that? 4 stars out of 5
"MOANA" 2016 2 hours (longer than usual Disney films) 4 stars out of 5 PG
This aquatic animated tale follows the journey of Moana Waialiki, a plucky Polynesian teen who sets out on a long and perilous ocean voyage in search of a mythical island, aided by the demigod Maui.
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