First shot of animation: Textile textures show the beginning of the backstory legend

The Iger era works under two simple guiding principles: if a competitor is successful either buy them or copy them, and if something internal is successful do it again with a bigger investment. That brings us Moana, an adventure princess for the 21st century with all the talent and sass money can by. The Kakamora attack has so much happening! The water and lava effects!

Moana is one of my favorite types of adventure characters: a scrambler. Just the way she climbs over and through things shows so much about how her dedication will carry her past her inexperience. It’s a fun journey to watch.

Maui is sunk by celebrity casting. Taken out of context it’s a fine, unexceptional performance. But I spend the whole movie thinking about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s self-mythologizing quest and it sucks. The commitment to casting from the small pool of Pacific Islanders in Hollywood also means imaging Jango Fett the whole time.

The songs on the island are great. Just all-timer uses of musical theatre technique and theory, leading to the most impactful 3rd act reprise in WDAS’ history. The two pastiche songs after don’t age as well. They wink too hard.

The chicken is too dumb to live and too stupid to die. The ocean will not have him and he is my enemy.