Hi guys, I finally watched Moana with 2 of my classmates before one of them is going back to the UK to complete her houseman-ship. So, here is my review on the Polynesian movie.

The Story Plot

When I watched the film, I absolutely love how the film opens. I felt that it was trying to be a bit like Frozen where we hear Scandinavian muziek at the beginning of the film, so to keep that same tradition. Disney used Polynesian muziek at the beginning of the film, I love how the prologue is very Polynesian-oriented and I adored the artwork!
The film reminds me of a few films, Treasure Planet, Ferngully and The Firebird from Fantasia 2000. I will explain that later on how this film is connected to these 3 films.

The Characters

Moana is actually my favourite character following Anna & Elsa from Frozen, in fact she reminds of Princess Merida, Ariel and Anna because they're fiercely independent, headstrong and their great curiosity!
Her dad, Chief Toi is combination of Queen Elinor and King Triton, especially the latter because of their overprotective tendencies towards their loved ones. Unlike King Triton, he's not violent despite that he nearly was going to destroy the ships before being informed that his mother is on her deathbed.
Speaking of her, I love her eccentricity because she provides comic relief at the beginning prior to her death and is very supportive of Moana alongside her daughter-in-law, even going as far as to appear as a spirit to remind her of her duties.
Maui is another interesting character that I grew a liking on. I love how funny and yet selfish at the same time when we met him, I was really taken aback that Dwayne Johnson could sing! I love how he actually forgive Moana and help her later on when she was on a seconde attempt to stop Te Ka alone!
Finally, Tamatoa is one of favourite funny villains I like. When he sings his song, he reminds me of Elton John due to the way he sings and his voice as well. Also, Sven the reindeer from Frozen makes a cameo appearance when Maui uses his magical hook after so many years of not using it in that same scene!

Visual Effects

I love how the film took inspiration from The Life of Pi, especially the ocean where we see glowing animals and it makes the film very lively. So kudos to Ron Clement, John Musker and John Lasseter!

Movie Connections

As I promised, the film makes a number of references to vorige Disney and Non-Disney films alike, both the prologue and Te Ka reminds me of Ferngully. So I would not be surprise at all door this!
The scene where Maui teaches Moana to sail reminds me of Jim and John Silver in Treasure Planet in a similar scene. Both Maui and John Silver serve as a fatherly figure to the main protagonist, the only difference is that Moana's dad is around while Jim's father left the family when Jim was a little boy.
The final scene with Te Ka reminds me of the Lord of the Rings and the Firebird from Fantasia 2000, because it was like destroying the ring! Whereas in Moana, it was restoring the hart-, hart to Te Ka and it reverts back to Te Fiti. Whom she reminds me of the giant version of the Sprite from 'The Firebird Suite' in Fantasia 2000.

The Songs & Musical Scores

I really love the songs, and Moana's song How Far I'll Go is actually better than the Godly overrated Let It Go and My hart-, hart will Go On from Frozen and James Cameron's Titanic respectively despite that the former is my favourite. But it also eerily has the same tempo as For the First Time in Forever!
When I heard the song at the ending credits, I kept thinking it was Miley Cyrus singing it. But it is actually Alessia Cara!
Mark Mancina had previously done Tarzan back in 1999, so his musical style sounds similar!

Some Enchanted Evening

Spoiler alerts! For those who haven't seen it yet, this film is definitely a strong recommendation and a great introduction to Polynesian culture.