Just as the Star Wars universe is becoming more diverse, so is the stable of Disney animation characters and stories.  Princesses still rule the roost, but The Princess and the Frog‘s Tiana and Moana‘s Moana at least look and sound differently than the archetypal pale-skinned beauties with parental issues.  Both of these Disney adventures are directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, both break the mold of classic fairy tales, and both wildly succeed in telling unusual stories with gorgeous animation, vivid music and cultural distinction.

Moana is a Polynesian tale, mystical and mythical, bringing to life forces of nature, mythological creatures, demigods and such.  The story is elaborate, persuading princess Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) to leave her island paradise to cross the ocean, retrieve the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson), sail to a different island and end a curse that is slowly ravaging the Polynesian world.  It’s kind of like a Sinbad adventure, except with a female lead, lots of music and jokes and a nonsensical chicken.  No kidding.

Part of what makes Moana so powerful is its music.  It isn’t purely Polynesian music, but rather that style, tailored to a mainstream audience by composer Mark Mancina and songwriters Opetaia Foa’i and Lin-Manuel Miranda.  About ten songs complement the story, move the action forward and establish character.  The animation is lush, vivid and beautifully rendered.  Most of it is computer-generated, but the moving tattoos on Maui are all hand-drawn, keeping that old-fashioned film function alive.

The movie’s individual sequences are impressive but what really packs a punch is the cumulative effect, so that by the end of the story, Moana’s trek across the ocean becomes an epic voyage, similar to that of Sinbad, or Jason (of Argonauts fame).  It is curious that the Disney folks bypassed the opportunity to let the cute pig be Moana’s sidekick instead of the insipid chicken, but that misstep does not overly diminish the effect of this charming, elemental story.  Moana is a delight.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  27 December 2016.