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Two traditions join forces with delightful results in the animated adventure "Moana": the Pacific Islander culture that is lovingly and respectfully borrowed, and the Disney tradition of bright, engaging stories about young women on an epic journey.
Moana — voiced by Oahu native Auli'i Carvalho, a real find — is the spunky 15-year-old daughter of Chief Tui (voiced by Temuera Morrison), leader of a tribe on a Pacific island, in an unspecified age before technology. She feels the call of the ocean, but Tui warns her that the sea is dangerous and her people stay put on their island.
But when a dark pestilence spreads from the ocean to bring destruction to the island, Moana feels the pull of the water even stronger. She learns from her grandmother Tala (voiced by Rachel House, from "Hunt for the Wilderpeople") of a legendary life-giving island — whose heart, in the form of a jade rock, was taken by the mischievous demigod Maui and his magic fishhook.
Tala also tells Moana that her ancestors were seafaring people, "way-finders" who fearlessly explored the Pacific. This revelation comes, as most things in Disney cartoons do, in song — a collaboration of Samoan musician Opetaia Foa'i, composer Mark Mancina and "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (and any "Hamilton" fans will hear the rhyme patterns here and nod in recognition).
Moana takes an outrigger out on the ocean to find the jade rock and to find Maui (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), who has been stranded on a deserted island without his fishhook.
Directors Ron Clements and John Musker are veterans of Disney oceans, having directed "The Little Mermaid" and "Treasure Planet," and their first all-computer-animated tale bursts with color and vitality. And, yes, the ocean is a character, seen sometimes as a wave that hovers at eye level and wordlessly helps Moana on her journey.
Clements and Musker also directed "Aladdin," and there's a touch of Genie in Maui, a trickster character with shape-shifting talents. Maui, like Johnson, is ridiculously muscle-bound and bedecked with tribal tattoos — though Maui's tattoos are a character in themselves, giving running commentary and acting as his conscience.
"Moana" gently tweaks the Disney princess tradition, getting a bit snarky when Moana denies being a princess, even though her dad is the chief. "If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you're a princess," Maui replies, pointing to her dumb-as-rocks pet rooster, Heihei (squawked by Alan Tudyk). Moana is a princess, but she's also tough and resilient, a hero worth singing about.
Twitter: @moviecricket —
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'Moana'
In this vibrant Pacific adventure, Disney gives us a heroine who's a princess and more.
Where • Theaters everywhere.
When • Opens Wednesday, Nov. 23.
Rating • PG for peril, some scary images and brief thematic elements.
Running time • 104 minutes, plus a 7-minute short, "Inner Workings."