Moana, the titular character, lives on an island village and is the chief's daughter. The island provides for everything they need and thus it is forbidden to go out the sea beyond the reefs, and naturally, this is what Moana had dreamed of doing ever since she was young. One of the best aspects of Moana is how it integrates its own legends and tales into the core of its plot. In the past, the demigod Maui had stolen the heart of the goddess Te Fiti, and as a result, life was cursed. It ends up eventually hitting Moana's island and she sets out to find Maui and force him to journey with her to return and restore Te Fiti's heart. The humor is spot on for the most part, with a lot of great gags and one liners. Still though, there are also a lot of overused elements such as the clueless sidekick for comic relief. Maui, as you'd expect of a demigod, doesn't take Moana well but they eventually develop a strong relationship and are the perfect partners as they work together by the end of the film. Songs pepper throughout the movie and while the earlier ones are so so, the later ones are catchy and suits the theme of the movie extremely well. Moana is at its best after the slow build up, around one hour into the movie, as the adventure truly begins.
